December 8, 2021

SEATTLE (Dec. 8, 2021) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding more than $2 million in grants to projects in Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland that reduce diesel emissions from the region’s existing fleet of older, dirtier engines and vehicles. An additional $2 million in grant funding was awarded for state-led emission reduction programs in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The funding is part of $77 million awarded nationwide through the 2021 Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA).

“Cleaner trucks, buses, boats, and heavy equipment keep local economies thriving while better protecting the health of the people living and working near ports, schools, and along delivery routes,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Combined with $5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law going to electric and alternative fuel school buses over the coming months and years, EPA is leading an unprecedented investment in cleaner air for communities across the country.”

In EPA’s Region 10, over $2 million in DERA national grants were awarded to:

• Northwest Seaport Alliance (Tacoma, WA), $719,957. NW Seaport Alliance project will replace drayage trucks with new, cleaner trucks.

In addition, more than $2 million in DERA state grants were awarded for diesel emission reduction programs in:

• Alaska Energy Authority, $506,679. AEA program will replace prime power diesel engines in rural Alaska. These engines typically run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and make the largest impact on air quality for a rural community.

• Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, $509,502. DEQ program replaces or retrofits eligible vehicles or equipment with new diesel engines, alternate fueled engines (propane, compressed natural gas), or all-electric engines that emit fewer pollutants.

• Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, $516,957. DEQ program supports upgrades of older transit and school buses with new diesel engines, alternate fueled engines, or all-electric engines that emit fewer pollutants.

• Washington Department of Ecology, $526,487. Ecology helps school districts retrofit or replace old school buses with new, clean-running buses and retrofit public fleet vehicles, cargo-handling equipment, locomotives, and garbage trucks in densely populated areas.

In selecting projects for awards, priority is given to projects that: are in areas designated as having poor air quality; reduce emissions from ports and other goods movement facilities; benefit local communities; incorporate local communities in project planning; and demonstrate an ability to continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended. 

Nationwide, DERA grants cover a wide range of projects to reduce diesel emissions including upgrades to school buses, port equipment, and construction equipment. Many of these awards will support replacing older diesel equipment with zero emission technologies such as transportation refrigeration units, terminal tractors, drayage trucks, refuse trucks, a locomotive, and a port ship-to-shore gantry crane. Grant-funded projects will reduce diesel pollution and benefit local communities, many of which are facing environmental justice concerns.

The DERA Program funds grants and rebates that protect human health and improve air quality by reducing harmful emissions from diesel engines. Since the start of the DERA program in 2008, EPA has awarded over $1 billion in grants and rebates to modernize the nation’s diesel fleet and speed the turnover to cleaner on- and off-road heavy-duty trucks and equipment.

In addition to DERA, following the passage of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA will be making significant investments in the health, equity, and resilience of American communities. EPA will offer a total of $5 billion between fiscal years 2022 and 2026 for a Clean School Bus Plan to fund the replacement of dirtier school buses with low- or no-carbon school buses. Each year, $500 million will be available exclusively for electric school buses and $500 million will be available for electric buses and multiple types of cleaner alternative fuel school buses. In line with the President’s commitment to Justice40, EPA is actively working to ensure DERA funding, including Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, maximizes the benefits that are directed to underserved communities. 

EPA’s Region 10 serves communities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and 271 Tribal Nations. Learn more about EPA’s work in the Pacific Northwest at: epa.gov/epa-region-10-pacific-northwest. Connect with us on Twitter: @EPAnorthwest and Facebook: @eparegion10. 

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Originally Appeared Here