On Friday, the EPA announced that it has awarded almost $4 million to the Northeast for projects aimed at cutting diesel pollution.
At a ceremony in New Haven, CT, Stephen L. Johnson, Administrator of the EPA, presented $3.8 million to eight organizations in the region to reduce pollution from diesel vehicles as part of the Northeast Diesel Collaborative.
“President Bush and EPA are committed to making that black puff of diesel smoke something you only read about in history books,” Johnson said. “Together with our partners in the Northeast Diesel Collaborative, we are moving America toward a cleaner, healthier, more productive future.”
The Erie County Dept. of Environment and Planning in New York received $298,960 to retrofit 128 school buses with pollution control technology; the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority received $171,040 to retrofit 1,300 school buses; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey received $125,000 to retrofit 5 New Jersey diesel locomotive utility track vehicles; and Local Governments for Sustainability received $299,406 to retrofit 100 school buses in 5 states.
The EPA on Thursday announced a $50,000 grant to the Wisconsin Dept. of Commerce to help the state reduce emissions from heavy-duty diesel trucks.
“Heavy duty trucks are the workhorses of our transportation economy,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Mary A. Gade. “This grant will help truckers reduce air pollution in the communities they serve.”
The grant will upgrade 25 trucks with a cost per truck ranging from $2,000 for diesel oxidation catalysts to $12,000 for diesel particulate filters.
The Wisconsin grant is part of the EPA’s Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative, which is a partnership of federal, state and local agencies, communities and non-profit organization aimed at reducing emissions from diesel engines in the region.
For more information on the Northeast initiative, click here.
For more information on the Midwest initiative, click here.
