At a Tuesday press conference in St. Paul, United States Environmental Protection Agency officials announced they would be investing as much as $73 million in Clean Diesel projects, including $800,000 for Minnesota.
Senator Eric Pratt (R-Prior Lake), chairman of the Minnesota Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Committee, issued the following statement:
“As elected officials, we have a responsibility to strike a balance between being good stewards of the environment and protecting consumer freedom. Rather than a blanket, top-down mandate that says people can only buy certain types of vehicles, this funding will help us deliver lower emissions and cleaner air the right way — by investing in newer, cleaner diesel technology.”
The entire EPA press release is as follows:
EPA to Award up to $73 million for Clean Diesel Projects
In Minneapolis, Administrator Wheeler announced more than $800,000 to Minnesota projects
St. Paul, Minn. (September 29, 2020) — Today, at a press conference in Minnesota, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced over $73 million in grants and funding expected to be awarded to support numerous clean diesel programs and projects across the country at the state and local level. Over $50 million in Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) National Grants Program funding is expected to be awarded to implement projects aimed at reducing diesel emissions from the nation’s existing fleet of old, dirty engines and vehicles. Additionally, EPA anticipates providing approximately $23.5 million under DERA’s 2020 State Grants program to 48 states and four territories to implement their own diesel emissions reduction programs.
“EPA is proud to support our partners as they deliver cleaner air benefits to local communities across the country,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “New diesel engines operate cleaner than older engines, and for each dollar invested in clean diesel projects, communities get $13 in cumulative health benefits.”
“Reducing diesel emissions helps everyone breathe easier,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Kurt Thiede. “The cleaner air made possible through these grants will especially benefit children and other vulnerable populations.”
“I am grateful to the EPA and Administrator Andrew Wheeler for this investment in Minnesota and for their commitment to the health of our communities. This funding to reduce diesel emissions will have lasting benefits to our state, Washington County, and our residents,” said U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-6). “I applaud this Administration’s dedicated work to provide Minnesotans the means to reduce fuel emissions and improve our environment.”
Administrator Wheeler specifically highlighted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency DERA State Award, which will provide $515,073 for projects including engine retrofits, upgrades and remanufactures, cleaner fuels and additives, idle reduction technologies, engine replacements, vehicle replacements or clean alternative fuel conversions. These projects will reduce emissions, including particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.
He also announced the award of $314,365 in DERA funding to the Leonardo Academy to replace four non-Tiered diesel engine construction cranes – owned and operated by Kramer North America – with four Tier 4 diesel engine cranes. Three of the cranes are located in Hennepin and Washington Counties in Minnesota. Not only will the cranes reduce emissions along the project areas, but the projects, once completed, will reduce emissions due to less traffic idling time.
Under President Trump, the combined emission of criteria pollutants and their precursors dropped 7%. In the past three years, we saw the following drops in emissions of criteria and precursor pollutants:
- Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) ↓ 10 %
- Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) ↓ 1 %
- Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) ↓ 16%
- Carbon monoxide (CO) ↓ 6%
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) ↓ 3%
Over the last three years during the Trump Administration, EPA will have awarded about $300 million in grants and rebates to modernize the diesel fleet and speed the turnover to cleaner on- and off-road heavy-duty trucks and equipment. Much of this assistance has been provided to help better protect areas of poor air quality and areas of highly concentrated diesel pollution, such as ports and distribution centers.
To support the Administrator’s clean air goals, the agency anticipates awarding these grants once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. So far in 2020, EPA has finalized awards for 41 clean diesel projects and programs. The agency anticipates completing additional awards throughout the rest of the year. The following grants have been finalized as of Monday, September 28:
As these new grants are finalized and awarded, details on recipients, funding amounts, and project types will be listed on the DERA program webpages. For more information, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dera.
Background
DERA funded projects typically include retrofitting or replacing legacy school buses, transit buses, heavy-duty diesel trucks, marine engines, locomotives, and other heavy-duty equipment with new, cleaner technologies.