The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program provides grants and rebates for replacing or retrofitting diesel engines, vehicles and equipment to reduce air pollution.
Background
Reducing emissions from diesel engines is one of the most important air quality challenges facing the country. From transportation to energy generation, diesel engines power almost every sector of the American economy.
Due to more stringent EPA emission standards for new diesel engines, the ones coming off the manufacturing line today are 60 times cleaner than those built 20 years ago. But because diesel engines can operate for 30 years or more, there are still nearly 8 million old ones releasing large amounts of dangerous pollutants. Launched in 2005, the DERA program accelerates the transition to cleaner engines.
Health Effects
Old diesel engines emit large amounts of fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. These air pollutants contribute to asthma, lung disease and other cardiac and respiratory illnesses that result in thousands of premature deaths, millions of lost workdays and many other serious public health problems every year in the U.S.
Equipment
- School buses
- Medium- and heavy-duty trucks
- Marine and locomotive engines
- Off-road engines, equipment and vehicles used in construction, agriculture, mining, energy production, and port and airport cargo operations
Eligible Applicants
- Regional, state, local, tribal and port agencies that have jurisdiction over transportation or air quality, including municipalities and school districts
- Nonprofit organizations that do either of the following:
- Represent or provide pollution-reduction or educational services to people or organizations that operate diesel fleets
- Promote transportation or air quality as a principal purpose
More Information
Visit the EPA’s DERA Funding page.