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EPA awards $2.8 million in Recovery Act funding in Colorado to reduce diesel emissions and create jobs

Release Date: 07/24/2009
Contact Information: Rebecca Russo, USEPA, 303-312-6757; Richard Mylott, USEPA, 303-312-6654

(Denver, Colo. – July 24, 2009) In a move that stands to create jobs, boost local economies, reduce diesel emissions and protect human health and the environment for people of Colorado, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $2.8 million in grants to the Denver Regional Air Quality Council, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the City and County of Denver to install clean diesel technologies on hundreds of trucks, buses and vehicles throughout the state. These clean diesel projects will create jobs while protecting Colorado’s air quality.

“These Recovery Act projects significantly advance efforts to secure clean-diesel technologies for our nation’s school buses, construction and farm equipment, long-haul trucks and other diesel vehicles,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator, Carol Rushin. “In Colorado, our partners will use these funds to reduce toxic pollution from hundreds of vehicles and will help create and maintain jobs in communities across the state.”

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 more than 35 grant applications requesting more than $56 million to help fund clean diesel emissions projects.

The awards announced today were chosen to both maximize economic impact and emissions reductions. In addition to helping create and retain jobs, these clean diesel projects will help to reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days and many other health impacts every year.

Grant award recipients in Colorado include:

Denver Regional Air Quality Council: $1,250,000
This project will partner with owners and operators of over-the-road truck fleets, the oil and gas industry and one school district to install 100 auxiliary power units, 20 diesel oxidation catalysts, 56 fuel-operated heaters for anti-idling and in-cab heaters, 44 thermal coolers, 10 full sets of SmartWay low-rolling resistance tires and 20 SmartWay trailer gap fairings on vehicles throughout the state. The primary goal of these efforts is to reduce exposure to toxic emissions from diesel exhaust and to conserve diesel fuel. Contact: Sarah Anderson, Steve McCannon 303-629-5450

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, $850,000
This project will provide emissions control solutions for over-the-road diesel trucks. The funding will be used to partially pay for 180 auxiliary power units or battery air conditioning systems for long-haul trucks, with individual truck owners providing the remaining cost shares. This project will provide air quality benefits throughout Colorado and will provide significant fuel savings. Contact: Lisa Silva, 303-692-3119

City and County of Denver: $700,000
This project will retrofit 48 refuse vehicles with fuel-operated hydraulic and cab heaters, retrofit 9 snow plows with fuel operated cab heaters, retrofit 53 heavy duty diesel vehicles with diesel oxidation catalysts and closed crankcase filtration devices and utilize biodiesel fuel. This funding will pay for the full cost of retrofits and the incremental cost of biodiesel fuel. The primary goal of the project is to reduce exposure to toxic emissions from diesel exhaust. Contact: Sabrina Williams, 720-865-5477

Colorado 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 Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and Utah.

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

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