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Northeast Air Managers Awarded $2.7 Million in Recovery Act Funding to Reduce Diesel Emissions and Create Jobs

Release Date: 07/02/2009
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – July 2, 2009) – In a move that stands to create jobs, boost local economies, reduce diesel emissions and protect human health and the environment for people across New England, EPA has awarded $2.7 million to the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) for two projects that will replace unregulated rail and marine engines with EPA-certified emissions control technologies. These clean diesel projects will create jobs while protecting air quality in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

"Investing in Clean Diesel projects through the Recovery Act is a down payment on protecting health, improving air quality, helping the economy and creating jobs in our communities," said Ira Leighton, acting regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "New England has some of the highest rates of asthma in the country. By reducing diesel emissions - especially in urban areas - we are helping thousands of our neighbors to breath easier."

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 1 alone received over 30 grant applications requesting $35.8 million to help fund clean diesel emissions projects. The awards announced today were chosen to both maximize economic impact and emissions reductions.

The two projects will achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions through the installation of certified emissions control technologies:

- In Northern New England, five ferries and three tugboats moored in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont will have their currently unregulated Tier 0 engines replaced with EPA-certified Tier 2 engines. This will reduce annual emissions of nitrogen oxides by 32.8 tons, particulate matter by 2.3 tons, and carbon dioxide by 103 tons.

- In New Haven, Connecticut, an environmental justice area, the currently unregulated Tier 0 engine on a switcher locomotive will be replaced with a three-part configuration of smaller and cleaner EPA-certified Tier 3 generator sets (gensets) that allow the locomotive to run more efficiently and save fuel. This project will reduce annual emissions of nitrogen oxides by 16.6 tons, particulate matter by 0.5 tons, and volatile organic compounds by 1.7 tons.

Both of these projects will create/preserve jobs through the manufacture and installation of the equipment, as well as through the management of the program.

In addition to helping to create and retain jobs, the clean diesel projects will 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.

More information:

- EPA’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in New England (http://epa.gov/region1/eparecovery/index.html)

- EPA’s clean diesel initiatives (www.epa.gov/cleandiesel)

- Information about NESCAUM (http://www.nescaum.org/)

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