The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a funding allocation of over $12 million to five Texas organizations under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) National Grants Program. The initiative aims to facilitate the upgrade or retirement of older diesel engines in favor of cleaner and zero-emission solutions, thereby improving air quality and public health.
The grants have been awarded to the Texas Department of Transportation, Fort Bend County, the Coalition for Sustainable Initiatives Inc, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and the Port of Houston Authority. This funding is intended to incentivize significant reductions in emissions, particularly benefiting disadvantaged communities facing environmental justice risks.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan emphasized the importance of clean air for all communities, stating, “Every community deserves to breathe clean air, but too many communities are still over-burdened by pollution from older diesel equipment.” He added that the DERA program would help make progress toward a "cleaner, more just, and healthier future for all Americans."
Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance highlighted the long-term benefits of these improvements: “DERA grants improve air quality for everyone, and especially for workers and other people who are directly exposed to harmful fumes from diesel vehicles.”
The breakdown of funding includes:
- The Texas Department of Transportation will receive $535,850 to replace six heavy-duty on-road legacy diesel short-haul dump trucks with new ultra-low sulfur diesel trucks.
- Fort Bend County will receive $2,956,500 to replace 22 diesel heavy-duty trucks with electric ones.
- The Coalition for Sustainable Initiatives Inc will get $2,685,750 for replacing 57 eligible trucks with compressed natural gas trucks.
- The North Central Texas Council of Governments is allocated $2,999,155 for various truck replacements including low nitrogen oxides certified utility refuse haulers.
- The Port of Houston Authority will be granted $3 million to retrofit eight rubber tire gantry cranes with hybrid motors.
Overall, approximately 70 national DERA projects have been tentatively selected by EPA to reduce diesel emissions across transportation sectors. These projects include engine replacements and upgrades for school buses and port equipment. More than half aim at replacing older equipment with zero-emission technologies such as all-electric school buses.
Eligible activities under this program include retrofitting or replacing existing diesel engines with EPA-certified configurations. Addressing emissions from legacy diesel engines remains a critical challenge due to their higher levels of harmful pollutants compared to newer models.
This effort aligns with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative which seeks that 40% of certain federal investment benefits flow to marginalized communities burdened by pollution.
Further details on the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act can be found through EPA resources.
