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Forklifts Become “Vehicles” for Clean Air

Release Date: 04/04/2008
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – April 4, 2008) They have been the muscle behind manufacturing and warehousing for decades, and now forklifts are putting power into North Texas efforts for clean air.

Deford Lumber, Ltd., of Dallas is one of several companies helping forklifts become the newest “vehicles” for clean air as part of the Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP). The company received more than $130,000 from the state-run program to replace the aging diesel engines in four of its forklifts and two haul trucks with cleaner, less-polluting models. In doing so, Deford will prevent more than 13 tons of nitrogen oxide from polluting North Texas air.

Other grant recipients from the Dallas-Fort Worth area include Land Lumber Co., Inc.; Mitchell and Bourland; Pam Heart; Neal Gay; James O. Worley; Robert Boyer; Bret Sapp; and Wayne Carroll. Together, their individual grants total more than $718,000 towards new engines for haul, cement, and dump trucks. They will also prevent the release of more than 71 tons of nitrogen oxide, which is one of the key contributors to ground-level ozone, or smog.

Businesses interested in greening their fleets still have time to apply for TERP grants by the April 11, 2008, deadline. Individual application assistance is available at Community Help Desks in Arlington, Dallas, Denton and Fort Worth until April 10 to help applicants with questions. For more information, interested applicants can visit www.terpgrants.org or for immediate assistance call (800) 919-8377.

TERP is managed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and serves as a national model for replacing and retrofitting older diesel engines. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports local efforts to encourage participation in TERP as a way to improve air quality in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

More about activities in EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/region6

EPA audio file is available at https://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio040408_forklifts.