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Last Call for Emissions Reduction Grants is April 11 at 5:00 p.m.

Release Date: 04/10/2008
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – April 10, 2008) Armed with the most money ever appropriated for emissions reduction grants, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is calling on all applicants to submit their application packages no later than Friday, April 11, at 5:00 p.m.

The Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP) is offering $110 million in grants to offset the incremental costs associated with reducing emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) from heavy-duty diesel engines. NOx is one of the primary components of ground-level ozone, or smog. The grant amounts vary, depending on the amount of NOx reductions each project can achieve.

The EPA challenged local leaders to use the TERP financial incentive to clean up approximately 4,500 heavy-duty diesel engines operating in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which could reduce ozone-forming pollution by 14 tons of NOx per day. Local businesses have already received over $9 million in first-come first-served rebates and helped reduce a total of 931 tons of NOx over the next seven years. Since 2001, the TCEQ has awarded $506.2 million in TERP grants and rebates, covering 7,000 vehicles and pieces of equipment, for a total NOx reduction of over 125,000 tons.

TERP applications must be submitted to the TCEQ no later than 5:00 p.m. CDT, April 11, 2008. Applications submitted on April 11 should be dropped off at the TCEQ, Room 2202, second floor of
building F, at 12100 Park 35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753.

TERP 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.

For more information, interested applicants can visit www.terpgrants.org or for immediate assistance call (800) 919-8377.

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#audio041008_terp15