(Seattle - October 27, 2015) The E.P.A. has awarded $1,919,653 in Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) backing to Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington to reduce diesel, greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions from large polluting diesel sources, such as trucks and buses.
In the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest Regions, the DERA plan is administered by EPA's West Coast Collaborative, a clean air partnership which leverages public and private funds to reduce emissions from the most polluting diesel sources in impacted communities. Public and private partners in Alaska, American Samoa, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington received a combined total of $5,435,116 in 2015 DERA funds to retrofit and replace old, polluting diesel vehicles and equipment, including school buses, trucks, and generators.
The 2015 DERA grants are backing the following plans in the Pacific Northwest:
Alaska
- Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation received $248,212 to replace 5 diesel generators in 4 rural communities: Clark's Point, Golvin, Hughes, and Perryville.
Idaho
- Idaho Department of Environmental Quality received $118,286 to retrofit 23 school buses with anti-idling and emissions control technology.
Oregon
- Oregon Department of Environmental Quality received $192,762 to replace 7 older school buses.
- Metropolitan Contractor Improvement Partnership received $548,326 to retrofit twelve vehicles and non-road equipment and replace 6 heavy duty trucks operating in Portland, Oregon.
Washington
- Washington Department of Ecology received $212,067 to retrofit 76 school buses with anti-idling technology.
- Puget Sound Clean Air Agency received $600,000 to replace 51 diesel‐powered airport ground support equipment with all electric replacements at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
This backing is part of EPA's DERA fiscal year 2015 allocation which include engine replacements, repowers, idle reduction and retrofit technologies to clean up a variety of older diesel engines. EPA's requirements make newly manufactured diesel engines in excess of 90 percent cleaner, but many older diesel vehicles and equipment remain in operation and emit large amounts of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These pollutants are linked to health problems, including asthma, lung damage, and other serious health problems.
Since 2008, the DERA plan has awarded in excess of 700 grants across the country in 600 communities. These plans have reduced emissions from in excess of 60,000 engines.
Today's selected plans fund cleaner diesel engines that operate near economically disadvantaged communities whose residents may suffer from higher-than-average instances of asthma, heart, and lung disease.
Reducing particulate matter emissions also reduces black carbon, which influences climate by directly absorbing light, reducing the reflectivity ("albedo") of snow and ice through deposition, and interacting with clouds.
Learn more about this year's West Coast Collaborative DERA projects:
http://www.westcoastcollaborative.org
Find more information about EPA's National Clean Diesel campaign and the awarded DERA plans nationally at:
http://www2.epa.gov/cleandiesel
