Columbus, OH (June 3, 2009) – This morning EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced the first of several clean diesel retrofit projects that are being funded from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.  The Ohio Department of Development will receive $5 million to retrofit a variety of locomotives, construction equipment, trucks, buses and other municipal vehicles.  The Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners will also receive $1 million for clean diesel school buses. 

“Clean diesel retrofit technologies like the ones announced today are a proven, cost effective means to reduce emissions from older vehicles and equipment while still protecting the capital investment of those fleet owners,” said Allen Schaeffer, Executive Director of the Diesel Technology Forum, a Frederick, MD-based organization representing the diesel industry. 

“President Obama and Administrator Jackson know a winner when they see it, and that’s why today they’ve chosen to invest in clean diesel technology.  Upgrading or replacing older equipment with cleaner and more fuel efficient diesel technologies will simultaneously help the state’s economy and its environment,” continued Schaeffer.  Studies have shown that $1 in clean diesel retrofit spending provides $6 of increased economic output and $13 worth of environmental benefits.

Recognizing these benefits, Ohio policymakers created a Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant Program (DERG)  in 2006.  The DERG program received $19.8 million from the state’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds to launch the program, which expires at the end of this year.  The projects announced today will build on that program’s success.

“As an industry, we’re proud of our contribution to clean air, and especially the fact that we are attacking the emissions challenge on both ends, making the cleanest new technology possible while also applying that technology along with cleaner diesel fuels to many projects and equipment already in use,” said Schaeffer.  New construction machines are on a path to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter by over 90 percent beginning in 2011. 

President Obama recognized the value and importance of clean diesel technology and the potential for modernizing and upgrading existing diesel engines in the award of $300 million in funds for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  The Diesel Technology Forum has been a leading partner with U.S. EPA, state governments and environmental groups working side by side to expand the benefits of clean diesel retrofit technology since March of 2000.

Because of diesel’s unmatched and unique combination of power, performance, reliability, fuel efficiency and now low emissions, diesel engines power two-thirds of all construction equipment like the one being showcased here today.

Key Facts on Diesel Power in Ohio:

• 118,000 diesel powered construction machines used by the state’s construction industry, generating 15.7 billion and employing over 250,000. (2007)

• Over 20,000 school buses operating statewide; nearly all diesel powered.  So far more than 1,100 school buses have been retrofitted, accounting for emissions reductions of more than 16.5 tons. 

• 2.26 Billion gallons of diesel fuel sold (2008)

ABOUT THE DIESEL TECHNOLOGY FORUM
The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the economic importance and environmental progress of diesel engines and equipment. Forum members represent the three parts of the modern clean-diesel system: advanced engines, cleaner diesel fuel and effective emissions-control systems.