BOISE – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding more than $500,000 in grants to Idaho seeking to reduce emissions from the region’s existing fleet of older, dirtier engines and vehicles. The funding is part of $77 million awarded nationwide through the 2021 Diesel Emission Reduction Act.
“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.
In EPA’s Region 10, which includes Idaho, over $2 million in DERA national grants were awarded to:
- 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.
- Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (Seattle, WA), $1,000,000. PSCAA project will replace 9 yard trucks with electric yard trucks.
- Northwest Seaport AllianceExit Exit EPA website (Tacoma, WA), $719,957. NW Seaport Alliance project will replace drayage trucks with new, cleaner trucks.
- Columbia Corridor AssociationExit Exit EPA website (Portland, OR), $372,630. CCA project will replace 5 heavy duty trucks with new, cleaner vehicles.
- In addition, more than $2 million in DERA state grants were awarded for diesel emission reduction programs in:
- Alaska Energy AuthorityExit Exit EPA website, $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.
- 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.