Reducing diesel emissions is becoming more important in today’s marketplace as clients increasingly call for clean diesel practices and leading companies take steps to protect workers and communities from harmful diesel emissions. Contractors with cleaner operations are well-positioned for future business opportunities.
Reducing emissions from diesel engines is one of the most important air quality challenges facing the United States. Many scientific studies have linked diesel pollution—which contributes to particulate matter (soot), ground-level ozone (smog) and air toxins—to a number of serious respiratory and cardiac health effects, such as heart and lung disease, chronic bronchitis, exacerbations of asthma symptoms and even premature mortality. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified diesel exhaust as likely to be carcinogenic at environmental concentrations.
Diesel engines provide the power needed to keep communities running, but more of these communities are looking to ensure the most environmentally friendly products and practices are used in the areas where people work, live and send their children to school.
The good news is that cost-effective solutions and financial incentives to adopt green technologies currently are available. Congress authorized grant funding for the EPA to establish clean diesel projects aimed at reducing emissions from the nation’s existing fleet of diesel engines through the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
“In 2008, the EPA awarded approximately 125 grants totaling $49.2 million to eligible entities across the country to establish new clean diesel projects,” reports Jim Blubaugh, director of the EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign. “These new projects will go a long way toward reaching our goal of reducing emissions from the 11 million engines in the existing fleet.”
EPA funding is available for clean diesel activities for fiscal year 2009. A main program of interest for construction fleets is the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program.
National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program
The National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program is an EPA competitive grant process promoted through the extensive clean diesel network of seven regional clean diesel collaboratives.
Northeast Diesel Collaborative: www.northeastdiesel.org
Mid-Atlantic Diesel Collaborative: www.dieselmidatlantic.org
Southeast Diesel Collaborative: www.southeastdiesel.org
Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative: www.epa.gov/midwestcleandiesel
Blue Skyways Collaborative: www.blueskyways.org
Rocky Mountain Clean Diesel Collaborative: www.epa.gov/region8/air/rmcdc.html
West Coast Collaborative: www.westcoastcollaborative.org
These collaboratives are public-private partnerships working to improve air quality by reducing diesel emissions through projects that use innovations in diesel engines, alternative fuels and renewable energy technologies. Working together allows members to leverage funding and share technology and professional expertise.
By law, half of the funding is dedicated to benefit public fleets, including private fleets contracted for public purpose, such as private school buses or refuse haulers.
State, local, regional and tribal governments can apply for grants under the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. School districts, federally recognized Indian tribes, municipalities, metropolitan planning organizations, cities, counties, and nonprofits and institutions with transportation, educational services and air quality responsibilities are all eligible entities under this assistance agreement program. Construction companies, private sector fleet owners and contractors can partner with these eligible entities to establish their clean diesel programs.
Funding through the program only can be used to support technologies and engines that have been verified or certified by the EPA or the California Air Resources Board. Assistance grants cannot fund the cost of emissions reductions currently mandated under federal, state or local law. However, prior to the compliance effective dates, applicants can propose projects to gain experience with new technologies and to begin their emission reduction program. Specific details can be viewed in the requests for proposals found on the aforementioned websites.
Eligible fleets and equipment include, but are not limited to:
- buses;
- medium or heavy duty trucks;
- marine engines;
- locomotives; and
- non-road engine, stationary engine or vehicles used for: construction, handling of cargo (including at a port or airport), agriculture, mining and energy production.
Grant recipients can use several cost-effective emission reduction strategies, such as EPA-verified retrofit and idle-reduction technologies, engine upgrades, and vehicle or equipment replacements. For example, a piece of equipment with no pollution control technology can be replaced with a new piece of equipment with the latest emission control technology.
Project proposals that align with the following priority areas will rank higher in the evaluation process:
- most cost-effective;
- areas with high population, air quality issues and toxic air concerns;
- areas that receive a disproportionate quantity of air pollution (e.g., truck stops and marine ports);
- maximize the useful life of the engine; and
- conserve diesel fuel and utilize ultra-low sulfur diesel.
Additional Funding Available
Following these same criteria, the EPA is administering three additional clean diesel funding opportunities. The National SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program provides funding to eligible entities, such as states, that can establish national innovative financing mechanisms (e.g., low cost revolving loans). The Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies Program will support projects that use new technologies not yet verified by the EPA but that are on the agency’s emerging technology list. The State Clean Diesel Grant Program allocates funds to assist states in establishing state programs to reduce diesel emissions.
The construction industry can benefit from the federal funding available for diesel activities. Members of organizations such as Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) are eligible to apply for funding. Construction companies, private sector fleet owners and contractors are positioned to partner with ABC chapters or with other eligible agencies or organizations to create and implement clean diesel programs funded through the National Clean Diesel Campaign. If a company is contracted on a state, city or local government project, the state can apply for funds on behalf of the contractor. Grant recipients arrange to purchase necessary equipment through competitive acquisitions.
The diesel engine is the workhorse in building and maintaining America’s infrastructure. However, these engines last a long time and can be highly polluting. Fortunately, cost-effective solutions can make the existing diesel fleet much cleaner. By partnering with eligible entities, members of the construction industry can reduce diesel emissions, help protect the health of their communities and enhance their bottom lines while providing leadership in the green marketplace.
For more information, visit www.epa.gov/cleandiesel. To request a free copy of the EPA’s six-page brochure, Low-Cost Ways to Cleaner Construction, contact the National Service Center for Environmental Publications at (800) 490-9198. Request brochure number: EPA 420-F-08-008, March 2008.
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Wednesday, February 8, 2012