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U.S. EPA Awards Over $126,000 to Nevada for Clean Diesel Project

Release Date: 10/15/2012
Contact Information: Rusty Harris-Bishop, 415-972-3140

(10/15/12) SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded a $126,421 grant to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) for a clean diesel project in Clark County. This was part of the agency’s ongoing national campaign with $30 million being awarded to reduce harmful diesel exhaust that can lead to asthma attacks and premature deaths.

“Awarding these important diesel emission reduction projects is another example of how collaboration amongst public and private partners can benefit everyone – most importantly the communities in which these projects are located” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest Region. “Residents, employees and visitors in Clark County will be able to breathe cleaner, healthier air.”

NDEP received the grant to replace a Clark County public works street sweeper with a 2010 or newer vehicle. This project is expected to reduce 0.6 tons of particulate matter, 11.5 tons of nitrogen oxides, 1.3 tons of hydrocarbons, 5.6 tons of carbon monoxide, and 1,165 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over its operational life.

The West Coast Collaborative administers the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) program in Nevada. The DERA program is designed to help owners and operators replace, retrofit or repower older medium and heavy-duty diesel-powered engines like those that operate in marine vessels, port equipment, locomotives, construction and agriculture equipment, trucks and buses.

Diesel engines are durable, fuel-efficient workhorses in the American economy. However, older diesels that predate newer, cleaner standards emit large amounts of air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These pollutants are linked to health problems, including asthma, lung and heart disease and even premature death. Clean diesel projects funded through these grants will work to address the more than 11 million older diesel engines that continue to emit higher levels of pollution.

In this year’s competition, winners were selected based on a proposal’s potential for maximizing health and environmental benefits by targeting areas that have significant air quality issues. Reduced air pollution from diesel engines in these areas can have a direct and significant impact on community health.

DERA was enacted in 2005 and since it was first funded in fiscal year 2008, EPA has awarded over 500 grants nationwide. These
projects have reduced hundreds of thousands of tons of air pollution and saved millions of gallons of fuel. More on the grants and
the National Clean Diesel Campaign may be found at: https://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel

These projects are part of the West Coast Collaborative. The Collaborative is part of the National Clean Diesel Campaign. On the West Coast, it is a an ambitious partnership between leaders from federal, state, and local government, the private sector and environmental groups committed to reducing diesel emissions. Partners come from all over the Western North America, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and the Pacific Island Territories of American Samoa, the Common Wealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, and Guam, and Canada and Mexico.

More information about the West Coast Collaborative may be found at: http://www.westcoastcollaborative.org

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