EPA Awards Over $476,000 To New Mexico To Reduce Diesel Emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded a $476,330 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant to the New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) to reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter.

“This project is an effective way to improve air quality and advance innovation across the country,” said Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “Through the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, EPA is equipping these communities with cleaner-running school buses and diesel trucks.

EPA’s funding to the NMED will help fund the replacement of 16 diesel-fueled engines that operate in the Albuquerque metropolitan and greater New Mexico areas. The project will fund the purchase and installation of EPA or California Air Resources Board verified/certified technologies in accordance with DERA funding guidelines.

The replacement of existing diesel engines with new, cleaner engines will reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter and other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide, providing important public health and air quality benefits. Exposure to diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions, like asthma and respiratory illnesses and can worsen existing heart and lung disease, especially in children and the elderly.

DERA grants have supported nearly 25,000 cleaner buses across the country for America's schoolchildren. School buses travel over 4 billion miles each year, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million American children every day. However, exhaust from diesel buses can harm health, especially in children, who have a faster breathing rate than adults and whose lungs are not yet fully developed.

In FY 2019, EPA awarded over $89M in DERA funding for state, national, and tribal grants to reduce emissions from a variety of diesel emission sources, including school buses, trucks, locomotive, marine engines, and other nonroad equipment.

For more information about EPA's National Clean Diesel campaign and DERA program, visit www.epa.gov/cleandiesel.

Earlier this week, EPA announced the advancement of the Cleaner Trucks Initiative (CTI). CTI is an action that aims to establish new, more stringent emission standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and other pollutants for highway heavy-duty engines. Through this Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), EPA is seeking input from the public and interested stakeholders. EPA intends to publish a proposed rule in early 2020. Learn more about the Cleaner Trucks Initiative at: https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/advance-notice-proposed-rule-control-air-pollution-new.