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EPA awards $200,000 grant to Indiana to cut diesel emissions at Jeffersonville port

Release Date: 12/12/2006
Contact Information: William Omohundro, (312) 353-8254, [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 06-OPA231

CHICAGO (Dec. 12, 2006) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has awarded a $200,000 grant to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for a project to cut diesel emissions from locomotives at the Ports of Indiana facility in Jeffersonville, Ind., on the Ohio River.

EPA said the grant will be used to upgrade as many as four rail switch engines that operate full time on the port property with technologies that will reduce diesel emissions, improve fuel efficiency and have a direct effect on local air quality. The port is in Clark County, which fails to meet national outdoor air quality standards for fine particles (soot).

"Emissions from diesel engines are a serious public health and environmental challenge," said Regional Administrator Mary A. Gade. "Reducing emissions from these engines is a top priority for EPA."

Diesel exhaust contains nitrogen oxides, fine particles (soot) and air toxics. Nitrogen oxides are precursors of ozone (smog), and, when breathed, fine particles can lodge deep in the lungs.

The grant is part of Region 5's Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative, a collaboration of federal, state and local agencies, along with communities, non-profit organizations and private companies working together to reduce emissions from diesel engines in the Midwest.

MCDI estimates there are approximately 3.3 million diesel-powered engines in the Midwest that can be affected through voluntary action. Its goal is to reduce emissions from 1 million diesel-powered engines by 2010. This will be done through operational changes, technological improvements and use of cleaner fuels.