Groups Ask EPA to Maintain Funding for Diesel Emissions Reduction Grants
This story appears in the March 13 print edition of Transport Topics.
Several transportation organizations have asked Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt to continue Diesel Emissions Reduction Act funding in EPA’s fiscal 2018 budget.
Supporters of DERA funding say the program has been highly successful in reducing diesel emissions and should not be included in any cuts.
EPA is threatening to slash its budget as much as 25%, according to published news reports.
“Through this valuable program, older diesel-powered vehicles and equipment can be retrofit with new, more effective emission control technologies or retired and replaced with equipment that can greatly accelerate progress in cleaning our air,” the supporters, including American Trucking Associations, said in a March 3 letter to Pruitt. “We respectfully request your continued support for the DERA program as an important part of the administration’s support for practical, effective and voluntary programs that improve the nation’s health and environment.”
Other co-signers of the letter include the American Association of Port Authorities, American Highway Users Alliance, Associated General Contractors of America, the Association of American Railroads, Cummins Inc., the Emissions Control Technology Association, the Diesel Technology Forum, Navistar International Corp. and Volvo Group North America.
EPA has estimated that the funding has generated about $12.6 billion in health benefits from an investment of $700 million in DERA over the past 10 years.
Meanwhile, lawmakers, industry groups and environmentalists say the Trump administration is moving to roll back federal fuel-economy requirements that would have forced automakers to increase significantly the efficiency of new cars and trucks, reversing a key part of former President Barack Obama’s strategy to combat global warming, Associated Press recently reported.
Automakers have asked Pruitt to discard a Jan. 13 decision that requires the fleet of new cars to average a real-world figure of 36 miles per gallon, saying that the Obama rules could add thousands of dollars to the price of new cars and cost more than a million jobs.
The DERA funding letter to Pruitt said that most recent EPA estimates indicate that the program has upgraded nearly 73,000 vehicles or pieces of equipment while saving more than 450 million gallons of fuel.
The agency estimates that total lifetime emission reductions achieved through DERA funding are 14,700 tons of particulate matter and 335,200 tons of oxides of nitrogen.
“The program helps to improve air quality and upgrade equipment and vehicles at our nation’s schools, construction sites, highways, rail yards and ports,” the DERA letter said.
