American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Diesel Emission Reduction Act Program - DERA
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or Recovery Act, allocated $300 million nationwide for the Diesel Emission Reduction Act, or DERA, program. All 50 states and District of Columbia applied for this funding. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency divided the funding into equal portions giving Missouri approximately $1.73 million for its State Clean Diesel Grant Program. In addition, the Department of Natural Resources applied for a National Competitive Diesel Emission Reduction Grant and received approximately $1 million for two projects in Missouri. For additional background information on Missouri's Recovery Act Diesel Emission Reduction Act program, visit the Transform Missouri Web page and transform.mo.gov.
Examples of a few Diesel Emission Reduction Act Projects
- Kansas City Southern Railway received $43,084 for five automatic locomotive engine shutdown/startup devices that shut down a locomotive if it idles for a set amount of time. Over the locomotives’ lifetimes, these devices will prevent more than 425 tons of ground-level ozone causing pollutants from being released and more than 88,000 gallons of diesel fuel are expected to be saved.
- Approximately 45 school buses in Pattonville, Riverview Gardens and Normandy school districts in the St. Louis area received diesel oxidation catalyst muffler retrofits. Controlling school buses emissions is a high priority because children’s respiratory systems are still developing, making them susceptible to the health effects of diesel emissions.
- The Willard School District in southwest Missouri was able to purchase two new school buses that emit approximately 76 to 90 percent fewer pollutants than the older models they replaced.
- In southeast Missouri, as with the other areas of the state, private diesel fleet owners and operators, like Hull Trucking and TNT Trucking, installed auxiliary power units. These units power certain functions of diesel equipment, like a heater or air conditioner, without the vehicle having to idle.
- Cape Girardeau replaced three of its refuse haulers with new, more efficient vehicles. The three older, higher polluting vehicles that were replaced were permanently disabled.
Missouri’s air is cleaner thanks to these and the other diesel emission reducing projects across the state. Thousands of tons of pollutants will not be released into the air. Diesel emissions are known to cause and aggravate lung and respiratory diseases such as asthma. Reducing emissions is an important step toward protecting public health and improving the air quality in Missouri.
In addition, these businesses will save more than a million gallons of diesel fuel. Diesel equipment owners and operators saved money on upgrades and will continue to save money on fuel costs, allowing them to invest in other aspects of their business, like expanding or hiring employees.
State Clean Diesel Grant Program
The department distributed $1,649,764 in noncompetitive DERA Recovery Act funding to four regions in the state that monitored values at or above the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone. Those four regions include: St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Southeast Missouri. Reducing diesel emissions and the harmful emissions that contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone are important steps toward protecting public health in Missouri.
The department provided a subgrant to each of the following partners:
- St. Louis Regional Clean Cities for the St. Louis area. (stlcleancities.org)
- Ozarks Center for Sustainable Solutions at Drury University for the Southwest portion of the state. (showmecleanair.com)
- Mid-America Regional Council for the Kansas City area. (marc.org)
- Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission for the Southeast portion of the state. (semorpc.org)
Under these subgrant awards, the partners provided funding to eligible public and private diesel fleet owners and operators. Both the public and private diesel fleet owners and operators used this funding to purchase and install EPA or California Air Resources Board verified emission-reduction technologies, idle reduction technologies, SmartWay technologies, engine upgrades, fuel conversion kits and/or engine replacements. The funding was also used to partially fund the early replacement of older more polluting vehicles or equipment with new cleaner operating vehicles or equipment.
Many jobs were created for mechanics and equipment manufacturers/distributors located throughout the state. The over-the-road trucking business also received funding that improved fuel economy and reduced the state’s use of diesel fuel. This in turn reduced fuel costs and decreased the price per mile that truckers have to pay to do business.
National Competitive Diesel Emission Reduction Grant
The department submitted several project proposals to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency to apply for the National Competitive Diesel Assistance Program to target areas in the state facing the biggest air quality challenges. The department was awarded $975,609 to implement the projects selected in St. Louis and Southwest Missouri. The department awarded subgrants to St. Louis Regional Clean Cities to implement the projects in the St. Louis area and to the Ozark Center for Sustainable Solutions at Drury University to implement the projects in Southwest Missouri.
St. Louis Regional Clean Cities
The department awarded a $228,250 subgrant to St. Louis Regional Clean Cities to retrofit school buses and various trucks to reduce diesel emissions. Controlling emissions from school buses is a high priority as children are more susceptible to the health effects of diesel emissions because their respiratory systems are still developing. Projects planned in this area are expected to reduce diesel emissions in the St. Louis area, which will improve air quality and protect public health. The projects include:
- Diesel Oxidation Catalyst muffler retrofits for approximately 45 school buses in Pattonville, Riverview Gardens and Normandy school districts;
- Diesel Oxidation Catalyst muffler retrofits for three Fred Weber Inc. trash trucks
- Partial flow-through filter muffler retrofits for 13 Fred Weber Inc. trash trucks and 10 Breckenridge Materials concrete mixers in St. Louis. Breckenridge Materials is the largest supplier of concrete to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Southwest Missouri Area
The department awarded a $1,294,657 subgrant to Ozark Center for Sustainable Solutions to retrofit school buses to reduce diesel emissions. Controlling emissions from school buses is a high priority as children are more susceptible to the health effects of diesel emissions because their respiratory systems are still developing. Springfield area is currently monitoring values that are extremely close to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone that were set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2008. The suburban areas surrounding Springfield are growing rapidly and the expansion is contributing to air quality concerns. Additional ozone monitors have recently been placed near the Joplin area to determine the ambient air quality levels in that area.
Projects planned in this area are expected to reduce diesel emissions in Southwest Missouri, which will improve air quality and protect public health. The projects include:
- Diesel Oxidation Catalyst muffler retrofits for approximately 98 school buses and 13 early school bus replacements in the local school districts. Eleven of the 13 early school bus replacements will include the purchase of school buses that meet EPA 2010 emission standards. The school districts included in the project are Fair Play, Joplin, Branson, Republic, Fair Grove, Neosho, Willard, Strafford, Crane and Cassville.
Recovery Act Event to Celebration MARC and Kansas City Southern Railway for Recovery Act project Aug. 24, 2010
- DNR recognizes MARC and Kansas City Southern Railway for Recovery Act project that will help reduce diesel emissions, improve air quality - news release
- Media Advisory
Recovery Act Event to Celebration Ozarks Center for Sustainable Solutions at Drury University and Willard School Distriction Feb. 25, 2010
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DNR recognizes OCSS and Willard School District for Recovery Act project that will help reduce diesel emissions, improve air quality - news release
- Tons of Diesel Emissions Reduced in Southwest Missouri from the National Competitive DERA Grant - chart >
Contact Information
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Air Pollution Control Program
P.O. Box 176
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176
800-361-4827 or 573-751-4817
cleanair@dnr.mo.gov email
Return to DNR Transform Missouri Page | Visit the Missouri Transform Site
