EPA Joins West Coast States in Efforts to Reduce Diesel Emissions

A new partnership has been launched to reduce pollution from diesel engines operating along the western coast of the U.S. The West Coast Diesel Emissions Reduction Collaborative includes participation of the U.S. EPA (Region 9), the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, industry and non-profit groups, and representatives from British Columbia, Canada, and Mexico. This group aims to significantly reduce emissions from diesel sources ahead of federal mandates through the use of incentives and voluntary programs. These incentives and voluntary efforts will target the use of low sulfur diesel fuel or other clean diesel fuel options, re-powering or replacement of existing diesel engines with newer, cleaner engines, and the use of retrofit diesel emission controls. At the kick-off event for the Collaborative, eight separate announcements were made concerning programs and grants for projects in the region, including: $75,000 for retrofit locomotive engine controls in the San Joaquin Valley of California; $532,000 for battery and grid-powered truck air conditioners; a program to evaluate the use of emulsified diesel fuel on ferries operating in the San Francisco Bay area; $150,000 for a diesel retrofit demonstration program in the San Diego-Tijuana corridor; $100,000 for a truck idle reduction program along the I-5 corridor in southern California; $1.8 million for a shore power project for Princess Cruise vessels operating out of the Port of Seattle; and more than $6 million for truck idle reduction infrastructure in Oregon. Information concerning the programs and activities of the West Coast Diesel Emissions Reduction Collaborative are available at: www.epa.gov/region9/air/westcoastdiesel/.