EPA Targets Diesel Emissions in Four States
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it is awarding American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to four southern states, including Georgia, in an effort to reduce diesel emissions, protect the health of citizens and the environment, and create jobs.
Georgia is set to receive $748,000 to provide truck stop electrification at three truck stop locations and another $165,000 to retrofit cargo handling equipment.
“This grant is a great investment in environmental protection and will provide long-term economic benefits for Georgia,” Stan Meiburg, EPA Acting Administrator in Atlanta, said. “This funding will go a long way in helping to bolster the economy and protect public health and the environment by creating green jobs that improve air quality.”
In order to expedite these funds, the EPA is funding proposal’s from 2008’s National Clean Diesel Campaign grant competition.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources will use the $748,000 to create 85 parking spaces at three truck stop locations. Emission reductions will be based on the estimated reduction in fuel consumption.
The Georgia Ports Authority will use $165,000 to retrofit about 47 cargo handling equipment unit, providing sustainable emission reductions for approximately 20 to 25 years. These retrofitted units, operated on ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, will reduce emissions by approximately 13.7 tons or 34 percent over the 15 month grant period.
The City of Miami will use $731,000 to replace 17 garbage trucks with new trucks that have better emissions, thereby reducing 1.2 tons per year of pollution from existing trucks.
The South Carolina Department of Education will use nearly $554,000 to replace four 65-passenger Type C buses with four hybrid electric public school buses and install retrofit crankcase ventilation filtration systems on 500 additional school buses, thereby reducing emissions by 4.7 tons.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction will use $509,000 to retrofit 121 school buses with diesel control devices having a particulate removal efficiency of 25 percent or more. The state will also replace six buses with buses having newer, cleaner 2010 engines. The project is expected to reduce total lifetime emissions from these buses by 43.5 tons.
The EPA says the clean diesel projects will reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year. The agency says it will award the remaining ARRA clean diesel grants in the next few months.