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U.S. EPA awards $750,000 in Recovery Act Funding to Utah Department of Environmental Quality to reduce diesel emissions and create jobs

Release Date: 06/26/2009
Contact Information: Rebecca Russo, EPA, 303-312-6757, [email protected]; Mat Carlile, UT DEQ, 801-536-4136; Wendy Chipp, EPA, 303-312-6603, [email protected]

(Denver, Colo. – June 26, 2009) In a move that stands to create jobs, boost local economies, reduce diesel emissions and protect human health and the environment for the people of Utah, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $750,000 Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality to help Utah farmers install clean diesel technologies on farm equipment. This clean diesel project will create jobs while protecting Utah’s air quality.

“This Recovery Act project offers clear economic and environmental benefits for the people of Utah,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator, Carol Rushin. “This effort will help Utah farmers install clean diesel technologies on farm equipment that will reduce pollution, conserve fuel and help create and maintain jobs.”

The funds are provided under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009 National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. Under this funding competition, EPA Region 8 alone received 37 grant applications requesting more than $56 million to help fund clean diesel emissions projects. The award announced today was chosen to both maximize economic impact and emissions reductions.

This project will replace 12 agricultural vehicles, repower 26 engines in agricultural vehicles and equipment and install 25 auxiliary power units on agricultural vehicles in the state of Utah. The Recovery Act funding will pay for the full cost of the auxiliary power units, 75 percent of the cost of an engine repower and 25 percent of the cost of a vehicle/equipment replacement.

Participating agricultural operators will be responsible for contributing 25 percent of the cost of an engine repower and 75 percent of the cost of a replacement vehicle. The primary goal of the project is to reduce exposure to toxic emissions from diesel exhaust and to conserve diesel fuel through the use of the auxiliary power units.

Utah will also benefit from a grant of $850,000 awarded to Oregon-based Cascade Sierra Solutions. Cascade Sierra Solutions will use the funds to provide emissions control solutions for the over-the road diesel trucks based in Utah, Montana, Colorado and South Dakota.

In addition to helping create and retain jobs, the clean diesel projects would help to reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year.

The Recovery Act allotted the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) a total of $300 million, of which the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program received $156 million to fund competitive grants across the nation. The Recovery Act also included $20 million for the National Clean Diesel Emerging Technology Program grants and $30 million for the SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program grants.

In addition, under the Act’s State Clean Diesel Grant program, a total of $88.2 million has been provided to States for clean diesel projects through a noncompetitive allocation process.

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 Utah, visit: https://www.epa.gov/recovery

For information about EPA’s clean diesel initiatives, visit: https://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel