March 20,
2015
New York, N.Y.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is supporting local efforts to
reduce air pollution in the New York City metropolitan area by providing a
total of $1.18 million to help two organizations replace old, dirty diesel
engines on boats with less polluting models. The projects will cut emissions of
harmful nitrogen oxides and particulate matter among other pollutants. These
pollutants are linked to health problems, including asthma, lung and heart
disease and premature death.
Diesel engines often remain
in use a long time. Older diesel engines that predate current and stricter air
pollution standards emit large amounts of air pollutants. EPA grants such as
those announced today are helping to reduce air pollution from some of the more
than 11 million older diesel engines that continue to emit higher levels of
pollution.
“Older diesel engines
generate significant amounts of air pollution that can make people sick,” said
EPA Regional Administrator, Judith A. Enck. “Replacing or retrofitting old
polluting diesel engines reduces people’s exposure to pollutants that can lead
to asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days and many other
health impacts.”
The Connecticut Maritime
Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, will use a $600,000 EPA grant to
replace two old engines on the Cape Henlopen, a ferry, which operates out of
Long Island, with new and cleaner EPA-certified engines. The project is
expected to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 24.4 tons per year and particulate
matter by 0.94 tons per year in addition to conserving 12,400 gallons of fuel
annually.
The New Jersey Clean Cities
Coalition, a not-for-profit organization, will use a $589,025 EPA grant to
replace the old engines on five cruise and excursion marine vessels and two
tugboats that operate out of New York harbor with new and cleaner EPA-certified
engines. The project is expected to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 55.4
tons and particulate matter by 2.85 tons per year in addition to conserving
over 184,000 gallons of fuel annually.
Since the start of EPA’s
diesel emission reduction grant program in 2008, EPA has awarded over 700
grants across the U.S. in 600 communities. Many of these projects fund cleaner
diesel engines that operate in economically disadvantaged communities whose
residents suffer from higher-than-average instances of asthma, heart, and lung
disease.
For more information and
learn more about the awarded projects, visit www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/prgnational.htm.
For more information on
EPA’s National Clean Diesel campaign visit www.epa.gov/cleandiesel.
For information about EPA’s
clean diesel initiatives, visit: the Northeast Diesel Collaborative http://www.northeastdiesel.org.