Today, U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet announced that the state of Colorado and the city and county of Denver have been awarded $2.8 million in grants to install clean diesel technologies on hundreds of trucks, buses and vehicles. The grants awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will create jobs and protect Colorado’s air quality by enabling the city and state to put vehicles with cleaner-burning technology on the road.
“This funding will mean cleaner air and a healthier economy for Colorado,” Senator Udall said. “By upgrading hundreds of trucks and construction vehicles with cleaner-burning diesel technology, we can reduce air pollution while creating new, good-paying jobs throughout the state.”
“Colorado’s transition to a clean energy economy will help create jobs, provide cleaner air and deliver a more sustainable energy future,” Senator Bennet said. “This funding will help transform our transportation fleet to run on cleaner-burning, more energy-efficient fuels, which is good for public health and good for our economy.”
The funds are being provided under the Recovery Act’s National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. The recipients were chosen because they could maximize both economic impact and emissions reductions. Emissions from vehicles and machinery are significant sources of air pollution.
The Colorado grant award recipients were:
* Denver Regional Air Quality Council: $1,250,000
This project will partner with owners and operators of over-the-road truck fleets, the oil and gas industry and one school district to install 100 auxiliary power units, 20 diesel oxidation catalysts, 56 fuel-operated heaters for anti-idling and in-cab heaters, 44 thermal coolers, 10 full sets of SmartWay low-rolling resistance tires and 20 SmartWay trailer gap fairings on vehicles throughout the state. The primary goal of these efforts is to reduce exposure to toxic emissions from diesel exhaust and to conserve diesel fuel.
* Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, $850,000
This project will provide emissions control solutions for over-the-road diesel trucks. The funding will be used to partially pay for 180 auxiliary power units or battery air conditioning systems for long-haul trucks, with individual truck owners providing the remaining cost shares. This project will provide air quality benefits throughout Colorado and will provide significant fuel savings.
* City and County of Denver: $700,000
This project will retrofit 48 refuse vehicles with fuel-operated hydraulic and cab heaters, retrofit 9 snow plows with fuel operated cab heaters, retrofit 53 heavy duty diesel vehicles with diesel oxidation catalysts and closed crankcase filtration devices and utilize biodiesel fuel. This funding will pay for the full cost of retrofits and the incremental cost of biodiesel fuel. The primary goal of the project is to reduce exposure to toxic emissions from diesel exhaust.
* Colorado will also benefit from a grant of $850,000 awarded to Oregon-based Cascade Sierra Solutions. Cascade Sierra Solutions will use the funds to provide emissions control solutions for the over-the road diesel trucks based in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and Utah.
Altogether, the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance program received $156 million to fund competitive grants across the nation. The Recovery Act also included $20 million for the National Clean Diesel Emerging Technology program grants and $30 million for the SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance program grants.
Another $88.2 million has been provided to states for clean diesel projects through a non-competitive allocation process, under the Recovery Act’s State Clean Diesel Grant program.
For information on EPA’s implementation of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit:
For information about EPA’s clean diesel initiatives, visit: