SOUTHEAST DIESEL COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Press release:


For Immediate Release:
August 23, 2012
SOUTHEAST DIESEL COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov
ATLANTA – During the recent Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC) 7th Annual Partners Meeting in Atlanta, GA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 Air, Pesticides, and Toxics Management Division Director Beverly Banister, on behalf of the SEDC, presented the SEDC Leadership Awards to the 2011 winners.  The awardees are:
Staples Inc., Framingham, Massachusetts - SEDC Industry Leadership Award for
• Outfitting their fleet with 53 electric delivery trucks, with six of these in service in Atlanta,
• Implementing efficiency initiatives including hybrid vehicles, advanced idle reduction technology, engine horsepower reduction, transmission changes, and route planning to improve fuel economy by 18 percent since 2006,
• Achieving fuel savings of 724,000 gallons and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 8000 tons annually in 2010.
The Alabama Department of Transportation - SEDC Community Leadership Award for
• Implementing a fleet replacement program to auction older diesel vehicles to acquire vehicles and equipment that meet the 2007 and 2010 diesel emission standards,
• Retrofitting 312 on road and off road vehicles and equipment with diesel oxidation catalysts, either stand-alone or in concert with a closed crankcase ventilation system,
• Maintaining a fleet of 1256 alternative fuel vehicles and supporting the development of biofuels infrastructure in Alabama,
• Deploying GPS units in two-thirds of their fleet to ensure accountability with their no idle policy.
 
The Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition - SEDC Visionary Champion Leadership Award for
• Partnering with the Kentucky Department of Education to purchase and create the largest hybrid bus fleet in the nation,
• Managing alternative fuel and advanced technology projects across the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
• Promoting sustainability partnerships with industry and other organizations.
The efforts by Staples, the Alabama DOT, and the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition demonstrated exemplary leadership in the use of latest clean diesel technologies, and serve as a role model for others to follow in effective collaboration and partnership to reduce diesel emissions.

This is the fourth year the SEDC Leadership Council has presented the Leadership Awards to recognize exemplary projects in emissions reductions in EPA Region 4. Nominated parties are judged on their effectiveness in meeting the SEDC’s goal to reduce emissions from existing diesel engines and the work done in several sectors to reduce these emissions. Previous years’ winners include United Parcel Service, Coca Cola Enterprises, Ingram Barge Company, the North Carolina Solar Center, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Miami-Dade County, Florida Government.

Organized in early 2006 by EPA Region 4, the Southeast Diesel Collaborative has enjoyed unprecedented success in bringing together leaders from federal, state and local governments, organizations, industry and academia to reduce diesel engine emissions across the eight southeastern states. Focused on promoting energy independence, a cleaner environment and growing, sustainable economies, this partnership offers wide ranging health and economic benefits to the public fleet, freight and non-road sectors.

The Southeast Diesel Collaborative is part of EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign, a program combining regulatory measures with voluntary initiatives to reduce the pollution emitted from diesel engines across the country. Visit the Southeast Diesel Collaborative website at: www.southeastdiesel.org.

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SOUTHEAST DIESEL COLLABORATIVE CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN ATLANTA

Media Advisory
August 3, 2012

SOUTHEAST DIESEL COLLABORATIVE CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN ATLANTA
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

ATLANTA — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will join a consortium of federal, state and local government agencies, non-profit organizations, and industry to hold the Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC) Seventh Annual Partners Meeting in Atlanta on August 7-8, 2012. The SEDC is a public-private partnership composed of stakeholders from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The goal of the collaborative is to improve air quality and public health by reducing emissions from existing diesel engines. The conference theme is “Amplifying the Reach of the Southeast Diesel Collaborative” and will focus on nationally and regionally significant diesel emissions issues related to freight, public fleets and nonroad focus areas.  Topics also include: innovative strategies, projects, and funding; outreach and collaboration; renewable and alternative fueling for diesel engines; and future clean diesel opportunities and funding.

On August 7, this year’s winners of the SEDC Annual Leadership awards will be announced and recognized.  The winners include: Staples Inc. (Industry Award); the Alabama Department of Transportation (Community Award) and the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition (Visionary Award). The SEDC workshop, the “Freight Growth and Livable Communities Summit,” will be held on August 6.  

What:  Southeast Diesel Collaborative Seventh Annual Partners Meeting

When: August 6, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., Freight Growth and Livable Communities Summit
  August 7, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., SEDC Leadership Awards at 11:30 a.m.
  August 8, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Where:  Crowne Plaza Hotel Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia
4355 Ashford Dunwoody Road
Atlanta, GA 30346
  (770) 395-7700

How:   Registration at www.southeastdiesel.org. There is no registration fee to attend.

About the Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC)
Organized in early 2006 by EPA Region 4, the Southeast Diesel Collaborative has enjoyed unprecedented success in bringing together leaders from federal, state and local governments, non-government organizations, industry, and academia to reduce diesel engine emissions across the eight southeastern states. Focused on promoting energy independence, a cleaner environment and growing, sustainable economies, this partnership offers wide ranging health and economic benefits across a broad range of sectors. 

The Southeast Diesel Collaborative is part of EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign, a program combining regulatory measures with voluntary initiatives to reduce the pollution emitted from diesel engines across the country. Visit the Southeast Diesel Collaborative website at: www.southeastdiesel.org.

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EPA Awards CNMI & American Samoa Grants for Clean Diesel Projects

For Immediate Release: March 19, 2012
Contact:  Dean Higuchi, 808-541-2711, higuchi.dean@epa.gov                         

EPA awards CNMI and American Samoa over $117,000 for clean diesel projects
Two Territories receive funding for the first time

HONOLULU – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded over $117,000 in Diesel Emission Reduction Act grants to the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to be used for projects to reduce diesel emissions.

“For the first time the Pacific Territories will benefit from this funding to aid in reducing resident’s exposure to diesel emissions,” said Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator of the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “Our ongoing West Coast Collaborative clean diesel campaign will reduce harmful emissions in the air, better protect people's health, and supports green jobs in our region and across the country.”

* CNMI will receive $70,677 to be used to improve fuel efficiency and allow the use of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) in diesel engines at one of their power plants through fuel pump and injector replacements.
* American Samoa will use its $47,117 for the purchase of ULSD that will be used in 19 new diesel generators that provide power to the island.

The overall emissions reductions from the CNMI and American Samoa projects will result in significant reductions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and hydrocarbons. The territories have mainly used diesel fuels containing higher levels of sulfur, contributing to air pollution in their areas. The upcoming projects will assist in the wider use of the cleaner ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, resulting in a greater lasting reduction in harmful diesel emissions in the territories.

The funding is part of $50 million in clean diesel grants recently awarded across the country. These efforts will replace, retrofit or repower more than 8,000 older school buses, trucks, locomotives, vessels, and other diesel powered machines, like diesel power plant generators.

From 2008 to 2010, EPA has awarded nearly $470 million to more than 350 grantees across the nation, cleaning or replacing more than 50,000 vehicles and equipment nationwide.

Nationally, diesel engines emit 7.3 million tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and 333,000 tons of soot annually. Diesel pollution is linked to thousands of premature deaths, hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks and millions of lost work days. While EPA's standards significantly reduce emissions from newly manufactured engines, clean diesel projects funded through these grants will work to address some of the more than 11 million older diesel engines that continue to emit higher levels of harmful pollution.

Every state will receive funding for clean diesel projects through direct state allocations. This year for the first time, the U.S. territories can now receive direct state allocation funds. EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign works cooperatively with state and local air agencies, tribes, communities, environmental groups, and the diesel industry to help control diesel emissions.

Cleaning up diesel emissions can also have direct near term climate benefits.  For more information visit: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/BC%20Report%20to%20Congress?OpenDocument

More information on these grants and to learn more about the West Coast Collaborative, visit: http://www.westcoastcollaborative.org.

For more information on the National Clean Diesel Campaign, including a list of all grants nation-wide, visit: http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel

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Grants for Clean Air Projects in San Joaquin Valley

News Release from EPA Region 9:

For Immediate Release: January 24, 2012

Media Contact:  Nahal Mogharabi, 213-514- 4361, mogharabi.nahal@epa.gov    

 EPA Announces Millions in Grants to Clean Air Projects in San Joaquin Valley
Strategic Plan Aims to Reduce Harmful Air Pollutants, Improve Water Quality

SAN FRANCISCO—U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld today announced $5 million in funding that will pay for cleaner locomotives throughout the San Joaquin Valley, including a state-of-the art locomotive operating between the Port of Stockton and Lodi. EPA and its partners in the valley, the California Air Resources Board and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District made the announcement at the Central California Traction Rail Company in Stockton, CA.


In addition, approximately $16 million in grants was announced to slash diesel emissions, advance air quality and improve public health throughout the state of California. The San Joaquin Valley, one of the most productive agricultural areas in the country, also has some of the nation’s worst air quality and highest rates of asthma. Federal, local and state partners are working to alleviate these problems by channeling significant funds into new clear air technologies.


“EPA’s goal is to reduce the public health impact of diesel emissions from the trucks and trains moving goods through the San Joaquin Valley,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “This funding will reduce particulate matter emissions by 210 tons statewide for the lifetime of these projects—the equivalent of removing 1,000 heavy-duty trucks off the road.”


The state of the art locomotive unveiled in Stockton uses significantly less fuel than its 1953 model year predecessor and emits 90 percent less particulate matter and 92 percent less nitrogen oxides into the environment. This locomotive also uses a regenerative braking system, in which energy otherwise lost as the train slows down is captured and reused.  New technologies such as these significantly cut emissions, while creating new jobs and revitalizing local economies.


"The Air Resources Board is committed to slashing diesel emissions throughout California," said Air Resources Board Member Dorene D'Adamo. "By adopting effective regulations and working with our local and federal partners to bring projects like clean locomotives to the Central Valley, we are making great progress.  Our air is quantifiably cleaner than it was back in the last decade, and everyone here today has contributed to that achievement."     


These EPA clean diesel grant funds will eliminate approximately 210 tons of particulate matter, 4,500 tons of nitrogen oxides and 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions for the lifetime of these projects. 


“The challenges we face in the Valley are unmatched by any other region in the nation, and we highly value our partnership with the EPA in our joint efforts to reach our clean air goals,” said Seyed Sadredin, Executive Director and Air Pollution Control Officer of the San Joaquin Valley Air District. “Achieving zero emission goods movement is a key component of our clean air strategy.”


Pollution from dirty diesel engines remains one of the most significant health risks in California. The California Air Resources Board estimates that approximately 9,000 people in California die prematurely each year as a result of exposure to fine particle pollution like diesel exhaust.


The $21 million in funds will go to new projects throughout the state and existing locomotives in San Joaquin Valley including:

San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District: $2,000,000 to repower two older locomotives with newer, cleaner engines.

California Air Resources Board: $14 million to replace 18 older with ultra-low emitting genset locomotives in San Joaquin Valley and Southern California and install a selective catalytic reduction system with a diesel oxidation catalyst capable of meeting Tier 4 emission levels on a line haul locomotive.

Bay Area Air Quality Management District: $1,557,987 to replace 43 heavy-duty drayage trucks that operate at ports around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sacramento Air Quality Management District: $1,097,032 to establish a voucher program to replace 200 existing diesel agricultural irrigation pump engines with new electric agricultural pump motors to power agricultural irrigation pumps.

In addition to the funding announcement, EPA today launched its strategic plan for the Valley which suffers from some of the most pressing issues in the region. The EPA prioritizes air and water quality, enforcement of public health standards and environmental justice. EPA will continue to work with the California Air Resources Board and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and will aim to reduce particulate matter 2.5 concentrations by 7% in 2012. To improve water quality, EPA will work closely with other federal agencies to invest in 11 public water systems that need infrastructure improvements and treatment to meet drinking water standards. Under President Obama’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative, EPA has also contributed two full-time federal employees to lead a multi-agency team that will partner with the City of Fresno and local stakeholders to implement a redevelopment vision. As part of the strategic plan, EPA is also dedicated to tracking and reducing environmental hazards, recycling pesticide containers and helping to spur dairy digester projects in the Valley. EPA welcomes public comment on the San Joaquin Strategic Plan. The plan will be finalized in the coming months.

Diesel Emission Reduction Act grants are funded through the West Coast Collaborative, a public-private partnership between leaders from federal, state, and local government, the private sector, and environmental groups committed to reduce diesel emissions throughout western North America. The Collaborative has provided more than $97.5 million of grant funds, with an additional $119 million of leveraged money by its partners since 2008. This translates to emission reductions of approximately 1,725 tons of particulate matter and 38,895 tons of nitrogen oxide for the lifetime of these grant projects.


Cleaning up diesel emissions can also have direct near term climate benefits.  For more information, visit: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/BC%20Report%20to%20Congress?OpenDocument

More information on these grants and to learn more about the West Coast Collaborative, visit: http://www.westcoastcollaborative.org.

For more information on the National Clean Diesel Campaign, including a list of all grants nation-wide, visit: http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel

For information about EPA Region 9 Pacific Southwest’s San Joaquin Valley Strategy, visit: http://www.epa.gov/region9/strategicplan/sanjoaquin.html

Today’s announcement is part of EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld’s two day “Whistle Stop Tour” of San Joaquin Valley. For more information on his overall visit, today’s event and photos, please http://www.epa.gov/region9/mediacenter/sjv-tour/

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Naval Base Kitsap Fails to Properly Monitor Fuel Tanks

EPA News Release:


Naval Base Kitsap fails to properly monitor fuel tanks near Puget Sound for leaks

Contact Information: Hanady Kader, EPA Public Affairs, (206) 553-0454, kader.hanady@epa.gov
Anne Christopher, EPA Ground Water Unit, (206) 553-8293, christopher.anne@epa.gov

Navy correct violations and settles with EPA for nearly $161,000.

(Seattle—Jan. 17, 2012) Naval Base Kitsap Bangor failed to properly monitor pipes and underground fuel storage tanks for leaks on its property in Silverdale, Washington in violation of federal laws that protect groundwater, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Navy will pay nearly $161,000 in fines.

“EPA is working hard to restore Puget Sound and fuel leaks near the shoreline could seriously set us back,” said Peter Contreras, Manager of the Ground Water Unit in EPA’s Seattle office. “Nearby communities also rely on groundwater for drinking water, so preventing releases protects both Puget Sound and public health.”

The violations occurred between 2006 and 2010. The holding capacity of the inspected tanks ranges between 170 gallons and 45,000 gallons.

The Navy has 53 underground storage tanks on the base it uses for storing diesel, used oil and gasoline. EPA inspectors identified 37 violations including failure to properly monitor the tanks and pipes for leaks; failure to have the proper leak detection equipment installed for the pipes; and failure to provide an adequate alarm system to prevent delivery drivers from overfilling the tanks.

Leaks from underground storage tanks allow toxic fumes and vapors to escape and collect in areas such as parking garages or basements where they can cause explosion or respiratory illness. Toxic contaminants can also leak into groundwater sources that people depend on for drinking water. Regularly monitoring tanks and pipes minimizes contamination risks.

To detect leaks quickly, underground storage tanks must be monitored monthly and the pipes must be equipped with a leak detector and tested annually or monitored monthly.  The Navy had the appropriate monitoring equipment in place at most of the sites, but failed to check the monitors on a monthly basis and document that the tanks and pipes were not leaking.

Since the 2010 EPA inspection of the base, the Navy has corrected the violations. The Navy has agreed to provide EPA with documentation showing it is in compliance with proper monitoring.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and requires owners of underground storage tanks to regularly monitor their tank systems for leaks.

For more information on underground storage tanks, visit http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/UST/UST+LUST+home