Reducing emissions from diesel engines is one of the most important air quality challenges facing the country.  In 2011 alone, diesel emissions from the approximately 20 million mobile source diesel engines in operation nationwide will account for approximately 300,000 tons of particulate matter (PM) emissions and 6.4 million tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contributes to the formation of ozone. Even with more stringent heavy-duty highway and non-road engine standards taking effect over the next decade, millions of diesel engines already in use – known as the “Legacy Fleet” – will continue to emit large amounts of PM, NOx, and toxic air pollutants. These pollutants contribute to a range of public health problems, including asthma, lung cancer, and many serious cardiac and respiratory diseases. These health problems result in thousands of premature deaths, millions of lost work and school days, and numerous additional negative health and economic impacts annually.

What is clean diesel technology? 

Diesel engines are the work horses of our nation’s fleets, providing more power and fuel efficiency than engines that burn gasoline and natural gas.  “Clean diesel” refers to a number of advancing technologies that aim to reduce harmful emissions of PM, NOx, and toxic air pollutants from diesel exhaust.  Diesel particulate filters, auxiliary power units, and engine repowers are some of the technologies now available to help “clean and green” older vehicles.  It all adds up to cleaner air and healthier communities.

Clean Diesel Grants  

Learn more about our recent successes and partnerships to implement clean diesel technology in Kentucky below.  

2010 Funding Awards

In 2010, The Kentucky Division for Air Quality (DAQ) made approximately $235,000 in clean diesel funding available to local government agencies to assist in the reduction of emissions from their municipal diesel fleets. The division issued a 2010 Request for Proposals (RFP) (now closed) in October 2010, and through this competitive selection process the Louisville Metro Government was selected and awarded the full funding amount. The Louisville Metro Government will utilize this funding to retrofit 13 refuse haulers with Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) and Closed Crankcase Ventilation systems (CCVs). 

2009 Funding Awards

Kentucky Clean Diesel Grant Program

In late 2009, DAQ expanded the DERA grant program beyond school buses to include diesel vehicles from all sectors across the state. Two projects are currently underway utilizing the $235,000 that was available through this competitive round of funding. These projects include a truck replacement project with an independent owner-operator long-haul trucking operation and a retrofit project with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government refuse hauler fleet.

Kentucky Clean School Bus Grant Program

In the spring of 2009, DAQ received an additional $1.73 million in DERA funding through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the division chose to utilize this funding to expand 2008’s Kentucky Clean School Bus Grant Program. In turn, 22 school districts had the opportunity to reduce diesel emissions in their districts through the installation of emission control devices in their bus fleets. The funded school districts included Ashland Independent, Corbin Independent, Daviess County, Elizabethtown Independent, Floyd County, Frankfort Independent, Franklin County, Gallatin County, Grayson County, Jefferson County, Lincoln County, Livingston County, Madison County, Marion County, Montgomery County, Owsley County, Pike County, Pulaski County, Somerset Independent, Spencer County, Taylor County and Warren County.

Upon completion of the grant program, 660 total school buses have been retrofitted, resulting in a reduction of 9.1 tons of particulate matter, 39.5 tons of hydrocarbons, and 124.7 tons of carbon monoxide.  While school buses are the safest way to get students to and from school, DAQ is proud to have worked to ensure that school buses are also the cleanest way to transport students.

In addition to the bus retrofits performed, each school district also implemented an idle reduction policy in their school bus fleet. The division encouraged this action as a component of participation in the Clean School Bus Grant Program, and DAQ staff provided educational materials, templates, and support for the adoption and implementation of these policies. By eliminating unnecessary idling in their fleets, schools are able to save money while reducing student and driver exposure to harmful diesel emissions.

2008 Funding Awards

Kentucky Clean School Bus Grant Program

During the inaugural year of the Kentucky Clean School Bus Grant Program, DAQ awarded $196,000 in DERA funds to six school districts in Kentucky to help reduce emissions in their districts through the installation of pollution control devices on their school buses. The funded districts were Bell County, Boone County, Fayette County, Franklin County, Jefferson County and Paducah Independent. Upon completion of the grant program, 95 buses were retrofitted with a combination of Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOCs) and Closed Crankcase Ventilation systems (CCVs), resulting in a reduction of 0.5 tons of particulate matter, 5.2 tons of hydrocarbons, and 9.2 tons of carbon monoxide.

• EPA’s Verified Technology List:              http://www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit/verif-list.htm
• CARB’s Verified Technology List:           http://www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/verdev/verdev.htm
• Retrofit Technologies Contacts:              http://www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit/contacts.htm
• EPA’s Diesel Emissions Quantifier:       http://cfpub.epa.gov/quantifier/index.cfm?action=fleet.edit
• National Clean Diesel Campaign:           http://www.epa.gov/diesel/
• Southeast Diesel Collaborative:              http://www.southeastdiesel.org/  
• Kentucky PM Nonattainment Areas:      http://epa.gov/airquality/greenbk/qncs.html#KENTUCKY

References

The following have served as project managers for past Kentucky Clean Diesel Grant Program projects and may be contacted by interested applicants seeking additional information about the grant program and retrofit technologies: