GRANTS TO SUPPORT CLEANER DIESELS, AIR QUALITY

RALEIGH - State environmental officials today awarded $697,520 in grants for projects to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles, such as retrofitting school buses with controls to curb diesel emissions.

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) awarded the grants through the Mobile Source Emissions Reduction Grants program, which is administered through the Division of Air Quality. This year's grant winners include 10 projects from seven counties:

• Advanced Energy, Wake County, $140,000 to purchase two hybrid electric school buses.
• Asheville Public Works Department, Buncombe County, $12,000 for purchasing electric vehicles.
• Blue Ridge Biofuels, Buncombe County, $25,000 for biodiesel collection and distribution equipment.
• Charlotte/Mecklenburg County Schools $100,000 for school bus retrofits.
• Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, $100,000 for retrofitting solid waste vehicles.
• Filter Specialty Inc., Sampson County, $24,370 to expand use of biodiesel fuel.
• Henderson County Public Schools, $100,000 for school bus retrofits.
• North Carolina Zoo, Randolph County, $23,000 for equipment to produce biodiesel fuel.
• Rowan County/Salisbury School District, $73,150 for school bus retrofits.
• Wake County Public Schools, $100,000 for school bus retrofits.

"These grants should help reduce air pollution problems caused by buses, trucks and other vehicles," DENR Secretary Bill Ross said. "We focused this year's grants on diesel emissions because they have not received enough attention in the past. Diesel emissions contribute to ozone and particle pollution, which can be harmful to breathe and damage the environment."

The mobile grants program is funded by a 1/64-cent per gallon tax on gasoline sold in North Carolina. It awards grants for projects and equipment that limit air pollution from cars, trucks and other motor vehicles. The program has awarded 88 grants totaling $6.44 million statewide since 1995.

Mobile sources are any type of motor vehicle that can pollute the air, including automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, construction equipment, motorboats and lawnmowers. The grants can be used for equipment, such as alternative fuel vehicles, that directly reduce the levels of air pollutants generated by motor vehicles or for projects that indirectly reduce mobile emissions, such as car-pooling, mass transit and educational initiatives.

More information about the mobile grants program and other air quality issues can be found at the DAQ Web site: www.ncair.org. A detailed list of grant winners from previous years also can be found at the Web site.

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