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Press
January 24, 2006
Contact: Peter Murchie, EPA Region 10, Portland, OR (503) 326-6554
or
Cell:(206) 890-0196. Tony Brown, Public Affairs, EPA Region
10, Seattle, WA (206)
553-1203
EPA Offers $3 Million in Grants for Innovative Diesel Emissions
Reduction Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced
the availability of $3 million in grant monies for projects
aimed at
reducing diesel emissions on the West Coast. The grant program
is part
of the highly successful West Coast Collaborative which has
awarded more than $2.6 million in grants for 28 projects
since 2004. This year the agency expects to award up to 12 grants
ranging from $50,000 to $500,000.
EPA is seeking grant proposals for projects that demonstrate
new, innovative or experimental approaches to reducing diesel
emissions.
Past grant projects have included electrifying truck stops
and cruise ship terminals, converting restaurant waste oil
to biodiesel fuel and a establishing a revolving loan fund to
reduce locomotive emissions.
EPA will consider proposals from states, the District of Columbia,
territories, federally recognized tribes and tribal consortia,
international organizations, public and private universities
and colleges, hospitals, laboratories and other public or private
nonprofit institutions. Proposals are due on March 23, 2006.
EPA will host a question and answer session via teleconference
on February 6, 2006 at 1 p.m. PST, call-in number: 1-866-299-3188,
passcode 2023439636#; and will attempt to answer any appropriate
questions about the grant solicitation.
In 2005, under the National Clean Diesel Campaign, Smartway
and the West Coast Collaborative, EPA awarded more than $2.2
million to West Coast states for diesel emissions reductions.
Of this, more than $1.4 million went to projects in Idaho, Oregon
and Washington.
- Idaho received $150,000 for two projects to retrofit agriculture
equipment in the Treasure Valley and use cleaner fuels
and retrofits
for rock crushers.
- Oregon received nearly $1 million for five projects including
cleaner
fuels and retrofits on construction equipment being used
in the
Oregon Bridges Project; supporting the I-5 Idle Free
Corridor
Initiative that supports truck stop electrification and
the use of
auxiliary power units; and setting up a revolving loan
fund to pay
for emissions reductions and fuel savings in the rail
sector.
- Washington received $305,000 for four projects to demonstrate
biodiesel production and use for utility trucks along
the U.S. -
Canada border; reducing diesel emissions at the Port
of Seattle; use
direct seed/no till practices on eastern Washington farms
to reduce
operating costs and emissions.
Diesel exhaust contributes to elevated levels of smog and particulate
matter pollution. The West Coast Collaborative, part of the
National Clean Diesel Campaign, is a partnership between
leaders from federal, state, and local governments, the private
sector and environmental groups in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon,
Washington, California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Canada
and Mexico. This group has joined together and made reducing
emissions from diesel engines a priority along the West Coast.
For additional general information about this Request for Proposals
contact: Peter Murchie (Region 10),
(206) 890-0196.
For more information about the West Coast Collaborative Grants
and the application process you can go to the following website:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/airpage.nsf/grants/wcc+rfp.
For more information about the West Coast Collaborative you
can go to the following website: http://www.westcoastcollaborative.org.
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