EPA Awards $1.2 million to Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision for Clean Diesel Projects
DETROIT (December 10, 2020) –Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $1.2 million award to Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision (SDEV) for clean diesel projects in Southeast Michigan.
“These grants will improve air quality throughout the Detroit area, which is especially important for children and other sensitive populations,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Kurt Thiede. “By investing in clean energy technology and reducing diesel emissions, this Administration is helping to ensure a healthier environment and a stronger economy for future generations.”
“Southwest Detroit is intertwined with industry. If you take a drive around the neighborhood, you will see trucks and industrial buildings. We are so close to the Ambassador Bridge with more than 10,000 corporate trucks a day traveling in and through Southwest,” said SDEV’s Executive Director, Raquel Garcia. “In District 6 specifically, 76,000 residents were under 18 (2010 Census). A project like CIDER-TiME puts cleaner trucks on our roads that pollute less and that means less chemicals in developing lungs.”
EPA has awarded $1.2 million to SDEV to support its efforts to reduce diesel emissions and exposure in Detroit and Southeast Michigan. These Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funds will go towards the replacement of 28 diesel trucks (five Class 8 short-haul tractors, one Class 6/7 short haul tractor, and 22 long haul tractors) with new diesel trucks meeting current EPA emissions standards. As a result, Detroit and Southeast Michigan will reduce emissions of diesel particulate matter and other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
Air quality in Southeast Michigan is impacted by industrial sources, energy production, and highway/port activities, which creates serious environmental justice concerns for local residents. Over the last 10 years, SDEV and their project partners have used EPA clean diesel grants totaling over $6.5 million to reduce diesel emissions by more than 2,000 tons per year.
DERA funded projects typically include retrofitting or replacing legacy school buses, transit buses, heavy-duty diesel trucks, marine engines, locomotives, and other heavy-duty equipment with new, cleaner technologies.
For more information, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dera.