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EPA ACTING CHIEF AWARDS NATIONAL CLEAN DIESEL GRANTS AT EVENT IN ST. LOUIS

Release Date: 02/23/2005
Contact Information:

Environmental News
Kim Olson
(913) 551-7458
olson.kim@epa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 23, 2005

EPA ACTING CHIEF AWARDS NATIONAL CLEAN DIESEL GRANTS AT EVENT IN ST. LOUIS

A grant of nearly $125,000 was presented today to the American Lung Association of Missouri to partner with St. Louis for diesel retrofitting of 44 trash trucks. The grant was presented by Steve Johnson, acting EPA administrator.

Johnson presented the grant to Lori Pickens, chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of Missouri, and Christopher Amos, St. Louis commissioner of Equipment Services. The presentation was part of an announced $1.6 million in grants for diesel engine retrofit projects nationwide.

Johnson said, “By reducing diesel emissions, the air will be cleaner and healthier for everyone. These grants, which are part of EPA’s National Diesel Campaign, will help clean up some of the 11 million existing diesel engines across the country.”

The diesel retrofits in St. Louis will reduce harmful emissions from trash trucks operating in densely populated urban neighborhoods. The addition of diesel oxidation catalysts and crankcase controls to each of the 44 trash trucks is projected to reduce the annual emission production by 30 percent for particulate matter, 50 percent for hydrocarbons and 42 percent for carbon monoxide. Emissions will be measured and recorded before and after installation of the retrofit devices.

Jim Gulliford, EPA Region 7 administrator, also participated in the event. “The St. Louis area has benefited from having an impressive group of partners working on clean air issues,” Gulliford said. “Many air quality stakeholders are working collaboratively to attain compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards in St. Louis.”

The St. Louis Community Air Project, the North Side Clean Air Project, the Regional Chamber and Growth Association, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and many other organizations are also involved in working for healthier air in St. Louis. Many areas of the country, including metropolitan St. Louis, are designated as nonattainment for particulate matter and ozone.

Each national grant awarded under this announcement reduces the effects of pollution on a population that is particularly susceptible to the effects of diesel exhaust, including children, the elderly and the chronically ill.

The Clean Diesel Campaign consists of regulatory and voluntary efforts to reduce emissions from new diesel engines and the 11 million existing diesel engines by 2014. The campaign has two components: Develop and implement the most stringent emissions standards for new engines and fuel, and promote voluntary emissions reductions of the existing fleet through retrofits, cleaner fuels, engine replacement, reduced idling and other pollution-cutting measures.