(DALLAS – November 29, 2011) More
than $3.1 million in Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funds have been
granted to four organizations in EPA Region 6 to aid in diesel emissions
reductions. The organizations are the Houston-Galveston Area Council, Railroad
Research Foundation, Leonardo Academy and Port of Houston Authority. The funds
are part of $50 million allocated nationwide through the National Clean Diesel
Program’s DERA grant program.
“Reducing diesel emissions is an
effective way to improve air quality and protect public health,” said EPA
Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “These projects will help improve our
economy, our health and our environment.”
Diesel engines emit 7.3 million
tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 333,000 tons of soot annually.
Diesel pollution is linked to thousands of premature deaths, hundreds of
thousands of asthma attacks and millions of lost work days.
Through DERA, EPA provides support
for retrofits, engine upgrades, vehicle replacements, idle reduction, cleaner
fuels and financing for clean technologies for trucks, buses, marine vessels,
railroad switch engines and non-road equipment. Overall, the improvements funded
by these grants consist of EPA-verified and certified technologies to assist in
the reduction of diesel emissions.
The Houston-Galveston Area
Council has been selected to receive $991,041 in DERA funds. This
project will repower three marine vessels operating throughout the
Houston-Galveston and Corpus Christi areas. Seven engines on three old tug boat
and harbor craft will be repowered with new, cleaner engine technology.
The Railroad
Research Foundation will receive $265,807 in federal funds to install
EPA-verified automatic engine start-stop devices on 40 switch engines assigned
to key locations in Shreveport, Louisiana. These engines operate all year
around the clock, each consuming an average of 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel
annually. Idle reduction technology will reduce fuel consumption by about 7,000
gallons per engine per year or about 280,000 gallons per year for the project.
The Leonardo Academy
has been selected to receive $971,090 in DERA funds for clean diesel projects
involving Class 8 delivery trucks fleets in Louisiana, Texas and Missouri.
Conventional Class 8 tractors will be replaced with new trucks equipped with
hybrid-electric or Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Systems. It is
anticipated this project will save 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year and
reduce emissions by more than 20 percent. This project will be focused on 40
diesel engines within EPA Regions 6 and 7, with an anticipated improvement in
regional and national air quality and increased public health benefits. (EPA
Region 7 includes Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska and nine tribal nations.
EPA Region 6 includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and 66
tribal nations).
The Port of Houston
Authority will receive $943,413 in DERA funds. This is a
public/private partnership for “fuel-switching,” which substitutes one type of
fuel for a more environmentally friendly fuel, with CMA CGM and the Port of
Houston Authority. CMA CGM is a global carrier operating on all the world’s
oceans and headquartered in Marseille, France. Marine engines
typically operate on bunker fuel with a sulfur content of 2.7 percent. The
project will utilize distillate marine diesel fuel with a sulfur content less
than or equal to 0.2 percent. It will be used at and within 24 nautical miles
of the Texas coast. The project will accelerate the adoption of fuel switching
for ocean going vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and will be a significant
incentive for reducing emissions in the Houston-Galveston area.
From 2008 to 2010, EPA has awarded
nearly $470 million to more than 350 grantees across the nation under the DERA
grant program. The grant-supported clean diesel projects have cleaned or
replaced more than 50,000 vehicles and equipment nationwide.
More information on the National
Clean Diesel Campaign, including a list of grantees is available at http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel
More about activities in EPA Region
6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html
EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/nov2011.html
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