Stimulus Money To Clean PGH Air

Three businesses and the Port Authority of Allegheny County will share $3.49 million in Recovery Act funding to retrofit or replace old diesel engines. The goal is to reduce pollution and lower fuel consumption. Allegheny County was on of more than 40 counties in the EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region to apply for the $16 million in stimulus funds. The Fed chose to fund 7 of those applications. “We are grateful to the EPA for recognizing the importance of these four projects in Allegheny County, which will result in a significant reduction in particle pollution in our region,” says Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.

EPA’s $3.49 million Recovery Act grant to the Allegheny County Health Department will support:

• PAT will use the funds to replace two 1996-model transit buses with 2010 diesel hybrid electric buses and repower nine 2003-model diesel buses with engines that meet the new, higher 2007 emission standards. The EPA says these transit projects will reduce particulate matter pollution by approximately 0.1 tons per year, carbon monoxide by 2.8 tons per year, and nitrogen oxides by 6.8 tons per year.

• Constructors Association of Western Pennsylvania will retrofit 23 diesel-powered construction vehicles. It’s estimated that the various upgrades will reduce particulate matter pollution by 1.8 tons per year, carbon monoxide by 14.6 tons per year, hydrocarbons by 2.09 tons per year, and nitrogen oxides by 9.73 tons per year.

• Diamond Head Trucking and MultiServ Corporation will install diesel particulate filters on 35 dump trucks operating in and around the U.S. Steel Corporation’s Mon Valley Works. The EPA says the dump trucks will be 90% less polluting than they are today. It is estimated that these diesel particulate filters will remove 0.22 tons of particulate matter per year, 0.74 tons of carbon monoxide per year, and 3.39 tons of hydrocarbons per year.

• CSX Transportation will replace one vintage diesel switcher locomotive having no emission controls with a two-engine configuration with the latest in emission control technology. This is expected to cut diesel particulate matter by approximately 0.5 tons per year, carbon dioxide by 172 tons per year, and nitrogen oxides by 16.6 tons per year. It will also save 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually.