Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Awards Diesel Emission Reduction Grants

The Ohio Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant (DERG) Program has awarded 26 Ohio grants totaling more than $15 million for 2015–2016 refurbishing or replacing aging diesel engines with newer, cleaner diesel technology or natural gas or other alternative fuel technology.

Ohio EPA estimates that these projects will result in an annual reduction of more than 745 tons of air pollutants in Ohio counties. These benefits will continue to accrue each year that the new vehicles remain in service.

The Ohio projects that were funded for the purchase and deployment of natural gas vehicles include:

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. received $254,250 to replace five 2003-2007 diesel trucks with five 2016 CNG powered trucks.

Central Ohio Transit Authority in Franklin County received $984,880 to replace ten 2003 diesel transit buses with 2016 CNG powered buses.

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in Cuyahoga County received $796,000 to replace two 2002 diesel transit buses with 2016 CNG powered buses.

Portage Area RTA in Portage County received $830,000 to replace two 2006 diesel transit buses with 2016 CNG powered buses.

Republic Services in Stark County received $936,255 to replace 2009 diesel refuse trucks with 2016 CNG powered refuse trucks, and to construct a CNG refueling facility at Republic Services’ facility in Akron, Ohio.

Funding for the grants comes from the Federal Highway Administrations’ Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program. There will be another DERG application cycle later in 2016, with approximately $10 million available in grant awards.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact derg@epa.ohio.gov to receive email updates when the RFP is released.