EPA Awards $4.2 Million for Clean Diesel Port Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it will award $4.2 million in grant funding for clean diesel projects at six ports.
The grants, part of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, will fund projects such as replacing older heavy-duty drayage trucks with trucks powered by 2010 or newer certified engines, retrofitting cargo handling equipment with diesel particulate filters and supplying shoreside power to ocean going vessels.
“Ports are the main gateway for U.S. trade and are critical to our country’s economic growth, yet the communities surrounding ports face serious environmental challenges,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a statement. “Through collaboration and innovation, we can achieve the goals of economic growth and environmental stewardship.”
The grant recipients are the Port of Seattle, the Port of Hueneme, Calif., the Port of Tacoma, Wash., the Maryland Port Administration, the Virginia Port Authority and the Port of Los Angeles.
As part of its initiative program, EPA said it will work with port authorities to develop emission measurement tools to help ports better understand their environmental impact and energy use.
