Airborne Particulate Matter (PM) Research Centers

In May 1998, EPA's STAR Program issued a request for applications (RFA) for research grant proposals to establish five PM Centers following the recommendations from the National Research Council report, Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter: 1) Immediate Priorities and Long-Range Research Portfolio, and direction from Congress in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) 1998 appropriation. The five centers established in June 1999, were selected from 22 applicants after a merit review by a panel of external scientific experts. These centers will advance the understanding of PM health effects, how they occur, and improve understanding of populations who are susceptible to health effects from exposure.

The PM Research Centers are a central component of EPA's on-going integrated research program for PM which also includes ORD's intramural research program, interagency research and other STAR Program RFAs for individual research grants.

• EPA Harvard Center for Ambient Particle Health Effects
• EPA NYU PM Center: Health Risks of PM Components
• Rochester PM Center
• Southern California Particle Center and Supersite
• Northwest Research Center for Particulate Air Pollution and Health

National Clean Diesel Campaign
Building on the successes of EPA’s regulatory and voluntary efforts to reduce emissions from diesel engines, EPA created the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) to work aggressively to reduce the pollution emitted from diesel engines across the country through the implementation of varied control strategies and the aggressive involvement of national, state, and local partners.

Clean School Bus USA
An EPA effort that reduces both children's exposure to diesel exhaust and the amount of air pollution created by diesel school buses

Smartway Transport
A voluntary program between EPA and the freight industry that will increase the energy efficiency while significantly reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases.

U.S. EPA’s Voluntary Diesel Retrofit Program
Works to reduce pollution from existing diesel vehicles and equipment by encouraging cleaner burning fuel and pollution-reducing devices.

EPA's Retrofit Verification Program
The objective of the Voluntary Diesel Retrofit Program Verification Process is to introduce verified technologies to the market as cost effectively as possible, while providing customers with confidence that verified technologies will provide emission reductions as advertised.

Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) Clean Diesel Working Group

Diesel Fuel Analysis Program
EPA program that quantifies air pollution emission effects of diesel fuel parameters on various nonroad and heavy-duty (large) diesel engines.

Diesel Additives
List of diesel additives registered by companies / manufacturers in accordance with the regulations at Title 40 of Code of Federal Register, Part 79. Fuel additives are chemicals added to gasoline or diesel fuel for various reasons, including octane or cetane enhancement, and inhibiting corrosion.

Truck and Bus Engines Emission Standards
Guidance, regulations, and general information on emission standards for heavy-duty highway diesel engines and vehicles.

Nonroad Engine Emission Standards
General information, reports, and proposals for nonroad engine emission standards (e.g., marine diesel engines).

Tier 2/Gasoline Sulfur Home Page
Information on more protective tailpipe emissions standards for all passenger vehicles. Also information on standards for lower sulfur in gasoline.

Fuels Home Page
Information on EPA's fuels programs and standards including reformulated gasoline, fuel additives, gasoline detergents, oxygenated gasoline, alternative / clean fuels, etc.

Fuels Reporting Forms
(including company and facility registration forms) The registration forms are for reformulated gasoline and conventional gasoline (anti-dumping), but are also used for diesel refiner registration under the diesel sulfur rule (40 CFR 80 Subpart I).

Vehicle Emission Standards
Provides links to emission and certification standards for automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, and buses.

Department of Energy

Clean Cities
A U.S. Department of Energy program that supports the idea of adopting practices that contribute to reduced petroleum consumption in the transportation sector.

National Idling Reduction Network News New
The National Idling Reduction Network brings together trucking and transit companies, railroads, equipment manufacturers, local, state and federal government agencies (including regulators), and national research laboratories to identify consistent, workable solutions to heavy vehicle idling for the entire United States.

Department of Transportation

U.S, Department of Transportation's Congestion Mitigation Air Quality CMAQ funds
These funds are available to improve air quality and reduce congestion.

Arkansas

• Arkansas Smart Way Program
  The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality is providing low interest loans to small trucking fleets to purchase fuel-saving technology packages that can include idle reduction devices, single wide tires, trailer aerodynamics and emission control devices. They partnered with EPA’s SmartWay Transport program and were originally funded by a $3.5 million appropriation from state legislature, but now, the program now pays for itself.

California

• Carl Moyer Program: The California Air Resources Board and local air pollution control districts provide grants for the entire incremental costs of voluntarily reducing emissions from heavy duty engines. Eligible projects include incremental cost of emission reduction retrofits, idle reduction retrofits, engine replacement (repower) and purchase of new cleaner vehicle. Originally funded by the Governor in 1995 with $25 million, this program now receives almost $155 million per year.
• Lower Emissions School Bus Program: Assembly Bill 425 directs that 20 percent of the Proposition 40 funds made available to the ARB shall be allocated for the acquisition of "clean, safe, school buses for use in California's public schools.

Connecticut

• Diesel Reduction Initiatives
• Department of Environment—Diesel Plan
• Department of Environment—Diesel Retrofits
• Department of Environment—Diesel Retrofits Grants and Funding
• Department of Environment—Diesel Risk Reduction Strategies
• Clean School Bus Program
• New Haven School Bus Retrofit Program
• Bridgeport School Bus Retrofit Program

Delaware

• DNREC Makes Progress in Reducing School Bus Pollution

Maine

• Clean School Bus Program

Maryland

• Diesel Retrofits Help Clean Regions' Air
• Diesel Emissions Program

Massachusetts

• Massachusetts State Revolving Fund—Diesel Retrofit Program
• The Big Dig
• Massport’s Conley Container Facility Retrofit Project

Minnesota

• Minnesota Small Business Environmental Improvement Loan Program
  The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency offers low interest loan to small trucking fleets for purchase of idle reduction devices, single-wide tires, trailer aerodynamics and emission control devices.  They are partnered with EPA’s SmartWay Transport Program.

New Hampshire

• Clean School Bus Initiative
• New Hampshire Clean School Bus Retrofit Technology Project

New Jersey

• Fact Sheet on Diesel Law
• Stop the Soot

New York

• Clean Air School Bus Program
• New York State Clean Air School Bus Program
• Webster Central School District
• Long Beach City School District
• Cleaner Bus Fleets in New York City
• Local Law 77—Manual

Oregon

• Cascade Sierra Solutions
  A non-profit organization dedicated to saving fuel and reducing emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines.
• In Oregon, the state provides tax credits to assist in the prevention and control of pollution from diesel engines.
• Oregon Clean Diesel Retrofit Tax Credit
• Oregon Truck Engine Tax Credit
• Oregon Clean Diesel Initiative
  The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is working to promote voluntary retrofit of diesel engines, in both on and off highway situations.
• Oregon Environmental Council
  A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with more than 2000 members throughout the state coming together for a healthy environment.
• Climate Trust
  The State of Oregon took action to address the serious threat of climate change in 1997 when the Legislature enacted the first law in the U.S. aimed at reducing greenhouse gas levels. This law (the Oregon Standard) requires new power plants built in Oregon to offset part of their emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most abundant greenhouse gas. The Oregon Standard allows power plants to comply by paying mitigation funds to a non-profit organization that meets certain qualifications. In turn, the qualified organization must use the funds to carry out projects that avoid, sequester, or displace the carbon dioxide the plant will emit in excess of the required standard. The Climate Trust was chartered as such a qualified organization in 1997.
• The Oregon Biofuels Network
  The Oregon Biofuels Network supports the use and production of biofuels in Oregon. The network serves as a clearinghouse of information on biofuels-related topics as they pertain to our state.
• The "Everybody Wins" Program
  In Lane County, Oregon, the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) continues to sponsor an innovative program that is designed to help truckers reduce their idling time through the use of auxiliary power units (APUs). With funding from the Oregon Department of Energy, LRAPA is providing low cost lease-to-own arrangements on the APUs for truckers in Oregon who spend a majority of their idling time on the I-5 corridor.
  APUs were installed on 100 trucks in Phase 1 of the program, which helped to develop the installation and service infrastructure to support APU technology on the I-5 corridor in Oregon. Phase 2 of the program is now underway, with the goal of another 250 APUs installed in the coming year. Many of the APU models also include optional “shore power” connections that enable the drivers to plug in to electrified truckstops when available, which allows them to shut down the main engine and the APU.
  
  LRAPA has also received an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay Transport Partnership grant for this phase, which includes a “Truck Idle Reduction Technology Demonstration Program.” This program will entail using passive GPS data loggers on board 100 of the 250 trucks to track the usage of APUs by a variety of metrics. The conclusion of the project will include a case study report to the EPA after the collection of a year of data on the APU use, a report that will then be showcased to demonstrate the effectiveness of the idle reduction technology to the trucking industry.

Pennsylvania

• Diesel Retrofit Information
• Philadelphia Diesel Difference
• Philadelphia’s Voluntary Retrofit Program for Diesels
• Wissahickon School District Diesel Retrofit Initiative
• Pennsylvania Small Business Advantage Grant Program
  The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has a grant program that provides small business up to $7,500 but no more than 50% of the cost of an APU. They have awarded $700,000 to 150 recipients since July 2004.  Funds to support program come from redirecting funds from an underutilized program and landfill tipping fees.
  

Rhode Island

• Rhode Island Officials and EPA Celebrate Clean School Bus Efforts 9

Texas

• Texas Emission Reduction Incentive Grants
  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is providing grants for incremental costs associated with reducing oxides of nitrogen in poor air quality areas.  Eligible diesels include on-road heavy duty vehicles, off-road equipment, marine vessels, locomotives and stationary equipment.  Eligible activities include replacement, repower, emission reduction retrofit, idling reduction retrofit, idling reduction infrastructure, refueling infrastructure, alternative fuels and demonstration of new technology.

Vermont

• Diesel Exhaust from School Buses in Vermont

Virginia

• Fairfax County School Bus Diesel Retrofit Project
• Richmond and Hopewell School Bus Diesel Retrofit Project
• The Virginia Small Business Environmental Compliance Assistance Fund
  The Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality is offering low interest revolving loan program to small businesses for pollution prevention purchases including emission control devices and APU’s.

Washington

• Diesel Solutions
  A voluntary public-private program led by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to begin making diesel vehicles in the region up to 90 percent cleaner.
• Clean School Bus Program
  Under this program, 5,000 diesel school buses, will be retrofitted between now and 2008 to make them cleaner for the children who ride them and at the same time make the air cleaner for everyone.
• Washington Idle Reduction Program: A program designed to motivate parents and others to turn off their engines rather than idling vehicles at schools.

Wisconsin

• Wisconsin Diesel Truck Idling Grant Program
  Wisconsin legislature created a grant program that will pay for to 70% of truck idle reduction retrofits. There will be $1 million available per year for five years. This program begins in July, 2006 and is supported by inspection fees on petroleum products coming into the state. 

Blue Skyways
The Blue Skyways Collaborative was created to encourage voluntary air emissions reduction in North America’s heartland. Conceived on a cocktail napkin at a business meeting in Bandera, Texas, in 2004, the collaborative has since grown into a full-fledged program with the help of CenSARA and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Participants of the collaborative celebrated a kick-off meeting in February of 2006 and the organization has been attracting new members ever since.

The Federal Network for Sustainability
This network promotes cost-effective, energy- and resource-efficient operations across all branches of government.

Northwest Biodiesel Network
The Northwest Biodiesel Network promotes the use of biodiesel in the Northwest as an immediate and effective way to advance environmental health, economic strength, and social and political well-being in our communities, our nation, and the world.

The Northwest Collaborative Air Priorities Partnership
One of the most important air quality efforts ever in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. NW CAPP sets the stage for a dramatic transformation in the way air quality is protected in the region. This momentous initiative seeks to reduce risk by mobilizing precious resources to work on five air quality priorities over the next five to 10 years.

Northeast Diesel Collaborative
U.S. EPA Regions 1 and 2, Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), and the Northeast states are proud to announce the establishment of the Northeast Diesel Collaborative, a new regional effort to reduce emissions from diesel vehicles. This Collaborative is a partnership between leaders from federal, state, and local government, the private sector, and environmental groups in the Northeast states, and is part of an overall national campaign to reduce diesel emissions. Click here to see the Northeast Collaborative Overview presentation.

Rocky Mountain Clean Diesel Collaborative
The Rocky Mountain Clean Diesel Collaborative (RMCDC) is a partnership between EPA Region 8, Denver Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC), Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE), and Denver Department of Environmental Health.

Southeast Diesel Collaborative
The Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC) is a partnership involving leaders from federal, state and local government, the private sector and other stakeholders in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The goal of this partnership is to improve air quality and public health by encouraging the use of clean, renewable energy and technology and by reducing diesel emissions from existing engines and equipment from the agriculture, heavy construction and on-road sectors.

West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative
In September 2003, the Governors of Washington, Oregon and California committed to a regional greenhouse gas reduction initiative. The Governors concluded that global warming will have serious adverse consequences on the economy, health and environment of the west coast states and that the states must act individually and regionally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to achieve a variety of economic benefits from lower dependence on fossil fuels. As an initial step, the Governors directed their staffs to develop joint policy recommendations on reduction strategies that require regional cooperation and action.