The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $1.2 million to replace 51 older delivery trucks with diesel-electric hybrid trucks certified to EPA’s 2007 diesel standards. Under an application by the not for profit organization, CALSTART, the trucks, which belong to three previously identified truck fleets operating within New York and New Jersey and will improve regional air quality.

The move is expected to create jobs, boost local economies, reduce diesel emissions and protect human health and the environment for people of New Jersey and New York.

“By replacing these older trucks with cleaner hybrid trucks we will create jobs, cut fuel costs, keep people healthy, and move our country into a clean energy future,” says Acting Regional Administrator George Pavlou. “All of the older dirtier diesel trucks that will be replaced in this project operate in areas of low air quality and high population density. So, projects like these help rebuild the economy while contributing to cleaner, healthier air quality."

The funds are provided under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009 National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. Under this funding competition, EPA Region 2 alone received more than 52 grant applications requesting $168 million to help fund clean diesel emissions projects. This project along with others announced earlier was chosen to both maximize economic impact and emissions reductions. It will also improve air quality by reducing emissions of pollutants such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and greenhouse gases as well as result in preventing 7,576 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere.

The project is made up of committed trucking fleets operating in non-attainment areas in Region 2 which are already prepared to order the advanced hybrid trucks. The three companies have previously identified specific vehicles for retirement and will replace these with new, advanced technology hybrid trucks to achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions via early replacement of older medium-duty and heavy-duty diesel trucks. CALSTART, a not for profit organization that focuses on advancing cleaner technologies, will assist the participants and supply them with technical and organizational support.

In addition to helping create and retain jobs, the clean diesel projects would help to reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year.

The Recovery Act allotted the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) a total of $300 million, of which 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.

In addition, under the Act’s State Clean Diesel Grant program, a total of $88.2 million has been provided to states for clean diesel projects through a noncompetitive allocation process.

For more information, visit www.epa.gov/recovery.