News Releases from Region 10

EPA Awards Funds to Oregon to Reduce Harmful Diesel Emissions in Portland

Clean diesel projects for Port activities will remove tons of air pollution

PORTLAND - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a $1.5 million Diesel Emission Reduction Act grant to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that ultimately will remove tons of air pollution from diesel-fueled activities at and near the Port of Portland. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy announced the grant at an event this morning in North Portland with Oregon DEQ Administrator Dick Pedersen at Northwest Container Services.

The EPA-funded projects will replace 23 heavy-duty short-haul diesel trucks that travel more than 1.3 million miles annually in the Portland metropolitan area. The project will also retrofit cargo handling equipment, two terminal tractors and an aerial lift with diesel particulate filters. Over the life of the project, these new trucks and diesel technologies are estimated to reduce air pollution by more than:

"We know this investment will not only improve air quality in Portland, but will also improve people's health and quality of life," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. "Every dollar we invest in clean diesel generates between $7 and $18 in public health benefits. By promoting clean diesel technologies, we can help save lives locally and play a leadership role on climate change globally."

"DEQ is excited about this collaborative Portland project to reduce diesel emissions in neighborhoods where people of color and those with low incomes live," said Dick Pedersen, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Director. "Cleaner diesel sustains the movement of goods so important to our economy while providing cleaner air."

The Port of Portland Project and the Oregon Trucking Associations are partnering with EPA and Oregon DEQ and have played key roles in identifying and recruiting truck fleets. They will continue to assist in a regional effort to recruit freight shippers and carriers into EPA SmartWay Transport Program.

Since 2002, the State of Oregon has received nearly $4.5 million in federal funds to clean up 367 engines in 28 fleets involving transit buses, garbage trucks, municipal vehicles, school buses, towboats and semi-trucks that has reduced diesel pollution by 9.9 tons of diesel particulate per year.

Emissions from diesel exhaust contribute to serious health conditions such as asthma and allergies, and can worsen heart and lung disease, especially in vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly. People of color and disadvantaged populations along transportation corridors in North Portland may receive disproportionate impacts from diesel emissions.

In addition to the important health benefits of reducing emissions from diesel engines, there are also climate change benefits. Black carbon, found in the particulate matter emitted from diesel engines influences climate by directly absorbing light, reducing the reflectivity ("albedo") of snow and ice through deposition, and interacting with clouds. More information about black carbon can be found on the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/blackcarbon.

Portland is one of more than 50 communities where EPA is partnering with community members, tribes and local, state and federal governments to make a visible difference in the next two years. The diesel emissions reduction grant is just one way EPA is leveraging resources with partners and demonstrating support for communities.

Additional Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grants will be awarded across the nation later this spring.

More information about DERA grants can be found at: http://www.westcoastcollaborative.org.

For more information about the National Clean Diesel Campaign, please visit: http://epa.gov/cleandiesel