The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded over $77 million in grants to projects that will help reduce diesel emissions, the EPA said in a press release Nov. 19.
The grants, awarded through the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program, fund projects that reduce emissions in the U.S’s already existing fleet of older, dirtier engines and vehicles, according to the release. This includes school buses and construction equipment.
“Cleaner trucks, buses, boats, and heavy equipment keep local economies thriving while better protecting the health of the people living and working near ports, schools, and along delivery routes,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said.
The EPA awarded a total of 55 DERA grants nationwide, including more than $1 million to the University of Puerto Rico for replacing long-haul trucks with new vehicles, the release said. With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, the EPA expects to increase its investment in the initiative.
“EPA will offer a total of $5 billion between fiscal years 2022 and 2026 to fund the replacement of dirtier school buses with low- or no-carbon school buses,” the EPA said. “Each year, $500 million will be available exclusively for electric school buses and $500 million will be available for electric buses and multiple types of cleaner alternative fuel school buses.”
The DERA program, created in 2008, was implemented to provide grants and rebates to protect human health as well as the improvement of air quality by the reduction of harmful emissions from diesel engines, according to their website.
