GRANTS TO SUPPORT CLEANER VEHICLES, IMPROVE AIR QUALITY

RALEIGH - State environmental officials have awarded $800,000 in grants for projects to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles, such as retrofitting school buses with controls to curb diesel emissions, expanding biodiesel storage and distribution equipment, and re-powering construction equipment.

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) awarded the grants through the Mobile Source Emissions Reduction Grants program, which is administered through the Division of Air Quality. This year's grant winners include 16 projects from 12 counties:

• Catawba County Schools, Catawba County, $72,000 to retrofit school buses with diesel emissions control devices
• City of Asheville, Buncombe County, $40,000 to purchase a compressed natural gas truck
• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, $108,000 to re-power school buses to lower diesel emissions
• Durham County Schools, Durham County, $125,600 to retrofit school buses with diesel emissions control devices
• Edward Wood Products, Union County, $56,042 to replace diesel forklifts with rechargeable electric forklifts
• Haywood Community College, Haywood County $16,029 to purchase an electric vehicle
• Leisure Landscapes, Wake County, $8,200 to convert commercial lawn mowers to propane
• Mecklenburg County Air Quality, $99,569 to re-power, retrofit or replace construction equipment
• NC Ports, New Hanover County, $105,000 to purchase more efficient diesel refueling infrastructure
• North Carolina and Virginia Railroad, Hertford County, $56,250 to install automatic start/stop devices on trains
• Old Salem Museum and Gardens, Forsyth County, $7,250 to replace gas powered vehicles with electric vehicles
• Piedmont Biofuels, Chatham County, $37,700 to purchase a vacuum truck to collect oil from area businesses
• Town of Montreat, Buncombe County, $12,800 to purchase an electric vehicle
• Triangle Transit Authority, Durham County $3,356 to retrofit buses with diesel emissions control devices
• Western Carolina University, Jackson County, $9,704 to replace gas vehicles with electric vehicles
• Yadkin Valley Railroad, Forsyth County, $42,500 to purchase automatic start/stop system on trains

"These projects should help reduce air pollution problems caused by buses, trucks and other vehicles," DAQ Director Keith Overcash said. "Exhaust from motor vehicles contributes to many air quality problems, including ozone, haze and particle pollution."

The mobile grants program is funded by a 1/64-cent per gallon tax on gasoline sold in North Carolina. It awards grants for projects and equipment that limit air pollution from cars, trucks and other motor vehicles. The program has awarded 132 grants totaling more than $8.6 million statewide since 1995.

Mobile sources are any type of vehicle that can pollute the air, including automobiles, trucks, buses, locomotives, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, construction equipment and lawnmowers. The grants can be used for equipment, such as alternative fuel vehicles, that directly reduce the levels of air pollutants generated by motor vehicles or for projects that indirectly reduce mobile emissions, such as car-pooling and mass transit. For more information about the mobile grants program, call Anne Galamb at (919) 715-6296 or visit the DAQ Web site: www.ncair.org.

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