E.P.A. Awards $1.3 Million Clean Diesel Grant to the Port of Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES -- Today, the E.P.A. (EPA) announced a $1.3 million grant to the City of Los Angeles Harbor Department to fund the replacement of an older diesel cargo crane with a new, zero-emission electric-drive crane. Los Angeles is one of 4 U.S. ports receiving a total of $5 million for plans aimed at significantly reducing diesel emissions and improving air quality, particularly for communities near port operations.

"Forty percent of the nation's total imports come through the San Pedro Bay ports," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA's Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. "Replacing cargo equipment with zero emissions alternatives will not only help overall air quality in Southern California, but directly benefit fence-line communities living near the port."

The plan at the Port of Los Angeles, the biggest port in the nation, will replace a 950-horsepower, diesel crane with a new electric crane. The 110-foot crane will be used to unload and process scrap metal on and off moving containers for overseas shipments. Emissions from diesel exhaust contribute to serious health conditions such as asthma, and can worsen heart and lung disease, especially in vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly. This plan will benefit the nearby communities as well as the larger Los Angeles air basin, which does not meet the current federal health-protective requirements for smog or soot -- also known as fine particulate matter.

The grants are funded through the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) and target ports located in communities that have poor air quality. Since 2008, E.P.A. has awarded about $17 million in DERA backing and leveraged $16 million from public and private partners to clean up diesel vehicles, vessels and equipment at the San Pedro Bay ports. Additionally, since 2008 E.P.A. has awarded in excess of 700 grants in 600 communities across the country. And 150 DERA grants have been targeted to improving air quality at or near ports, with about $175 million in funding. E.P.A. estimates that every $1 in DERA backing generates up to $13 in health care savings. In addition, every dollar of DERA funding, leverages $2-3 from plan partners.

Along with the City of Los Angeles Harbor Department, grants were awarded to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and the Port of Houston Authority.

More information on the DERA grants for ports: http://www2.epa.gov/ports-initiative/funding-projects-improve-air-quality-ports#awarded2014

More information about DERA grants can be found at: http://www.westcoastcollaborative.org

For more information about the National Clean Diesel Campaign, please visit: http://epa.gov/cleandiesel

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