The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $30 million for clean diesel projects as part of its ongoing campaign to reduce harmful diesel exhaust.


The Diesel Emission Reduction Program, also known as DERA, is designed to replace, retrofit or repower older diesel-powered engines like marine vessels, locomotives, trucks and buses.

While today's diesel engines are durable, fuel-efficient workhorses, older diesel engines pre-dating newer, cleaner standards emit large amounts of air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These pollutants have been linked by EPA to various health problems, including asthma, lung and heart disease and premature death. The 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.

New this year is an increased funding availability per award that will allow EPA to target larger engines used in marine vessels and locomotives, which will result in significant emissions reduced per engine.

DERA was enacted in 2005 and since it was first funded in FY 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: http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel