Maryland Showcases How $1.73 Million in Recovery Funds Will Tackle Diesel Pollution
PHILADELPHIA (May 14, 2009) - - Maryland's ability to reduce diesel pollution got a boost today with the announcement of $1.73 million in Recovery funding to the state. Against the backdrop of the Port of Baltimore, federal and state officials touted the benefits to the people of Maryland including green jobs and better air quality.
"Maryland is already tackling diesel pollution with projects that are lessening emissions from school and transit buses, municipal fleets, trucks and port equipment," said James W. Newsom, acting deputy administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's mid-Atlantic region. "This funding from EPA will create jobs and power air quality improvements that are needed to protect people and the environment."
"Each year, diesel vehicles produce 46,000 tons of soot emissions in Maryland," said Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Shari T. Wilson. "Reducing diesel emissions reduces air pollution and benefits our health. This recovery funding from EPA will help reduce diesel emissions from marine vessels, construction equipment, school buses, drayage trucks, and idling vehicles -- which will in turn cut down on harmful air emissions and reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gases."
Reducing diesel emissions is a national priority for protecting the public’s health. That's why EPA established the National Clean Diesel Campaign, which awards funding to states each year for clean diesel projects. This new Recovery funding will enable
Maryland to support more clean diesel projects across the state. The various kind of technologies to cut diesel emissions will include replacement of old diesel engines with cleaner-burning engines, retrofitting vehicles and equipment with filters to reduce particulates, closed crankcase ventilation filtration devices, and projects to lessen the idling of buses.
"The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) is proud to participate with our federal and state partners today to improve Maryland's air quality and make our state a better place to live," said MPA Deputy Executive Director M. Kathleen Broadwater. "The MPA will continue to identify new and innovative ways to make the Port of Baltimore and its properties environmentally responsible through stewardship activities, as well as preservation, protection and habitat development."
The diesel-powered dredging equipment demonstrated today by the Maryland Port Administration and Maryland Environmental Service has been retrofitted with diesel particulate filters to cut emissions by more 90 percent. These retrofits were accomplished through a 2008 clean diesel grant from EPA.
In Baltimore, retrofitted city garbage trucks, and school and transit buses are helping improve air quality thanks to an EPA clean diesel grant to Maryland’s Department of the Environment.
Diesel engines power the movement of goods across the nation; help construct the buildings in which we live and work; help build the roads on which we travel; and carry millions of children to school each day. While diesel engines provide mobility and are critical to the nation’s economy, exhaust from diesel engines contains pollutants which are harmful to people and the environment.
In addition to helping create and retain jobs, the clean diesel projects will help reduce premature deaths, asthma and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and other health impacts.
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009 and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can see how every dollar is being invested at Recovery.gov.
For information on EPA’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in Maryland, visit http://www.epa.gov/recovery.
For information about EPA’s mid-Atlantic region's clean diesel program visit the website at: http://www.epa.gov/reg3artd/diesel/index.htm.
EPA Clean Diesel News: FY 2009 NCDC Funding Opportunities Announced
EPA Clean Diesel News: 3/19/2009 Today, EPA's National Clean Diesel Campaign is announcing Requests for Applications (RFAs) for the competitive portion of the $300 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment of 2009 through the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA). This funding will be available through three separate funding assistance programs:
1. National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program ($156 million)
2. SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program ($30 million)
3. National Emerging Technology Program ($20 million)
The National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance and the Smartway Clean Diesel Finance RFAs will be open for 40 days and will close on April 28, 2009. The National Emerging Technology RFA will be open for 47
days and will close on May 5, 2009.
These RFAs and additional information are available at the EPA OTAQ Recovery Act Funding web page.
If you have any questions regarding the RFAs or how to apply, please refer first to the above links or email us at Cleandiesel@epa.gov.
All answers to questions received will be posted at the above URL.
Mid-Atlantic
Clean Diesel Week --
March 2-5, 2009
Please
let us know if you plan to attend one or more of the workshops
listed below.
Workshop Presentations:
Maryland Workshop
Date: March 5, 2009
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Maryland Dept. of the Environment |
Contact:
Tim Shepherd
P: 410-537-3236
E: tshepherd(at)mde.state.md.us |
Washington Workshop
Date: March 6, 2009
Time: 9:30 am - 11:30 am Location: Metro Washington COG |
Contact:
Joan Rohlfs
P: 202-962-3358
E: jrohlfs(at)mwcog.org |
Philadelphia Workshop
Date:
March 16, 2009
Time: 10:00 am - tentatively Location: DVRPC |
Contact:
Alison Riley
P: 215-685-9422
E: alison.riley(at)phila.gov |
New DERA Retrofit Funds Expected: How to Prepare a Competitive Application
Offered by the Diesel Technology Forum
New retrofit funding will soon be available through EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign. DERA funds could exceed $300 million, with an expedited timeline due to conditions in the stimulus package being considered in Congress.
The Diesel Technology Forum will host a free webinar on Thursday, February 12at 2:30pm ET to outline the DERA grant program.
EPA representatives and previous grant winners will explain how applications are evaluated and discuss how to improve the competitiveness of your proposal.
- Can private entities apply for funds?
- How do we estimate emission reductions and cost effectiveness?
- Are matching funds required?
- How are applications evaluated?
Register now at DTF.
Join us for 90 minutes to hear answers to these and other questions.
Space is limited so register now.
For more information visit www.dieselforum.org/webinar.
EPA Region 3 Releases Anti-Idle Resource
The Mid-Atlantic Region has numerous anti-idling laws and regulations. EPA Region 3 recently catalogued state anti-idling rules into one consolidated list. Click here for the list.
Effort to Secure Full Funding for DERA Takes Shape
Across the nation a broad coalition of transportation builders, independent truckers, local officials, environmentalists, clean diesel manufacturers, and biodiesel groups and others have been working to get the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) fully funded to create jobs and reduce pollution linked to increased rates of asthma and other health problems. Passed as part of the 2005 Energy Policy Act DERA was originally authorized at a $1 billion level to support diesel emission reduction efforts from 2006 to 2010. To date only $49.2 million has been approved.
Recent actions by a bipartisan group of senators led by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member James Inhofe (ROK) include a letter to appropriators requesting that they include $550 million for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) in the economic stimulus package that is likely to pass early next year. Fully funded, DERA would achieve three goals: create jobs, reduce diesel emissions and slash black carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming.
Other senators that signed on to the letter include Thomas Carper (D-DE), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), George Voinovich (R-OH), John Kerry (D-MA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Charles Schumer (D-NY).
Idle Reduction Resources Released
Did you know that idling a vehicle for two minutes uses about the same amount of gas as driving one mile? Idling also produces harmful pollutants that can cause health issues, especially in children. Numerous school districts have established ant-idling or idle reduction policies for vehicles operating on school grounds. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has created an Idle Reduction Fact Sheet for Schools that includes information and a draft policy for reducing idling.
The Idle Reduction Fact Sheet for Schools and the Draft School Idle Reduction Policy are available online.
Call for Participation
Please contact Susan
Stephenson about any of the participation opportunities listed below.
Forums -- We are currently building sector Forums to better address diesel
emissions in the Mid-Atlantic States and to focus and leverage regional resources.
Please let us know if you'd like to join a workgroup, or if you would like more
information about workgroup activities.
Partners -- We
are looking to build a Collaborative that truly represents the Region. So we need
participants from all types of groups across the Region. Please let us know if
you'd like to be added to our database, what your specific area of interest is, and how
you'd like to participate. |
