Partnership of Northeast Government, Private and Non-profit Organizations Honors Groups for Reducing Air Pollution (ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PR)
(New York, N.Y.) The Northeast Diesel
Collaborative – a partnership between the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), state agencies, and private and non-profit
groups – recently recognized six organizations for their
exemplary work to reduce toxic diesel emissions. Honors were given
to agencies and organizations from Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New York, Maine, and Puerto Rico as part of the newly
created Northeast Diesel Collaborative Breathe Easy Recognition
Program. The collaborative, which includes the six New England
states, New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands, is working to reduce diesel emissions, improve public
health, and promote clean diesel technology. It brings together the
collective resources and expertise of EPA, several state
environmental agencies and private sector companies to address
emissions from existing diesel-powered vehicles and
equipment.
“Diesel pollution is linked to asthma,
decreased lung function, heart attacks and even premature death,
and is especially dangerous to children and the elderly,”
said Judith Enck, EPA Region 2 Administrator. “Diesel engines
emit large amounts of air pollution and the organizations
recognized today are helping to reduce air pollution and provide
cleaner air for everyone.”
“Diesel emissions in the northeast
continue to pose health risks to the residents of the region. The
efforts put forth by the 2010 award winners to mitigate these
emissions are truly inspirational and well deserving of
recognition,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of
EPA’s New England office.
The Northeast Diesel Collaborative Breathe Easy
Recognitions are given for outstanding service in reducing air
pollution to protect human health and the environment. Recognition
is given in two categories: “Achievement” and
“Leadership.”
The “Achievement Award” is given to
the groups that have taken the most noteworthy steps to reduce
diesel emissions beyond what is required by law in their
communities. The “Leadership Award” is given to the
individual or organization whose actions best reflect the goals of
the collaborative, including the retrofit and replacement of older
diesel engines, the reduction of idling from diesel engines, the
creation of education and outreach opportunities for diesel
emission reduction strategies, and the promotion of cleaner fuels
above and beyond local, state and federal
requirements.
Leadership Award:
Lynne Cayting, Maine Department of
Environmental Protection (ME DEP)
Lynne Cayting has been a leader in reducing
diesel emissions for the state of Maine through her management of
federally funded grants awarded to ME DEP. “The Diesel
Emissions Reduction Act funds have supported Maine’s Clean
Diesel Programs to reduce emissions from school buses, fishing
boats, construction equipment, and municipal vehicles,” Lynne
stated, adding that ME DEP’s actions “have made a
significant contribution to the reduction of harmful diesel
particulate.”
New Hampshire School Transportation
Association (NHSTA)
In 2002, NHSTA partnered with the New Hampshire
Department of Environmental Services (DES) to launch their Idling
Reduction Campaign, which has resulted in extensive and on-going
outreach and education to thousands of school bus managers and
drivers throughout New Hampshire. “DES commends the NHSTA on
receiving the NEDC Breathe Easy Leadership Award. The partnership
DES and NHSTA formed has brought greater recognition to the DES
Clean School Bus Initiative and has enabled us to better protect
school children and bus drivers from exposure to harmful diesel
exhaust emissions,” stated DES Commissioner Tom
Burack.
Puerto Rico Clean School Bus
Initiative
The Puerto Rico Clean School Bus Initiative has
the primary goal of protecting people’s health by reducing
diesel pollution from school buses, and increasing the
environmental awareness of bus drivers and owners. “For our
agency, the Puerto Rico Clean School Bus Initiative is an
achievement for our people’s health and for the protection of
our environment,” stated Pedro Nieves Miranda, President of
the Environmental Quality Board. “Our goals were achieved,
and we were able to work towards protecting the health of our
people by reducing the risk of exposure to toxic air pollutants
from emissions from school buses. We were able to modify public
transportation to improve air quality and to set the standards that
will enable us to verify emission reductions throughout the island.
The satisfaction of attaining the NEDC Breathe Easy Leadership
Award is the best stimulus to keep on going.”
Achievement Award:
Municipal Diesel Engine Retrofit Program,
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
(MassDEP)
Over the past two years, the MassDEP's Municipal
Diesel Engine Retrofit Program implemented three statewide
municipal retrofit programs, resulting in retrofits of 169 on-road
and non-road engines. “A primary focus of MassDEP’s
diesel reduction efforts is to reduce harmful emissions in areas
and neighborhoods where the majority of people live and
breathe,” MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth L. Kimmell said.
“By working closely with our municipal partners, we have been
able to ensure cleaner construction vehicles, school buses, and
waste collection vehicles, improving the quality of life for
millions of citizens across the Commonwealth.” The program
has successfully encouraged 38 municipalities and regional school
districts to apply for retrofits for their construction equipment,
school buses and waste collection vehicles. Including the
populations of the municipalities feeding into the regional school
districts, approximately 1.57 million people in 86 communities will
be exposed to fewer emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and
particulate matter as a result of these municipal
initiatives.
New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA)
NYSERDA has advanced diesel emission reduction
efforts by conducting extensive air quality and health research,
evaluating new and under-utilized diesel emission reduction
technologies, and helping deploy diesel emission retrofits and low
emission vehicles. Over the past two years, NYSERDA has completed
dozens of research projects, helped retrofit more than 800 pieces
of diesel equipment with pollution control equipment, and helped
provide more than 500 low emission vehicles to our partners.
“As a leader in the development and deployment of alternative
fuels and technologies that help reduce diesel emissions, improve
public health, and strengthen the economy, NYSERDA is proud to
receive the 2010 NEDC Breathe Easy Leadership Award,” said
Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO of NYSERDA. “We
especially thank the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and our
public and private partners for their work and partnership to
improve air quality throughout New York State.”
Diesel Risk Reduction Program, New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)
NJDEP’s Diesel Risk Reduction Program has
taken many steps to cut diesel pollution, including expanding its
anti-idling outreach, providing a plug-in power for trucks at truck
stops and putting new equipment on a great number of trucks, port
equipment and construction vehicles throughout the state of New
Jersey. NJ DEP Commissioner Bob Martin: "Improving air quality is
one of the priorities of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the
DEP,'' said New Jersey DEP Commissioner Bob Martin.”In our
densely populated state, diesel emissions cause serious health
risks for our residents, but the state's Diesel Risk Reduction
Program has focused resources on the State's need to reduce diesel
emissions, making New Jersey a national leader in cleaner air and
better public health. Governor Christie also recently signed an
Executive Order for a pilot project to retrofit diesel-powered
construction equipment to reduce emissions." Peg Hanna, NJ's DEP's
Diesel Air Quality Program Manager, said "We have implemented model
programs for idling reductions, with more than 10,000 No Idling
Zone signs installed; enabled idling alternatives for truck and
locomotive drivers; obtained federal funds for the installation of
several hundred diesel retrofits on construction equipment; and
developed an anti idling program for schools. These programs are
making a real difference in improving air quality in our
communities."
To learn more about this announcement,
visit: https://www.northeastdiesel.org/.
To learn more about EPA Region 2, visit:
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-2.
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