14 DAY TRIAL // The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States has announced that it will offer $4 million (€2.9 million) in grant funding to projects aimed at improving local air quality in port communities.
More precisely, EPA says that the money will serve to roll out and implement projects intended to reduce diesel emissions in and around marine and inland water ports.
On its website, the Agency details that, presently, the majority of the busiest ports in the United States are located fairly close to large metropolitan areas.
Hence, whatever diesel emissions are produced in these ports threaten the wellbeing of people living in nearby urban areas.
The EPA expects that its investments in reducing diesel emissions coming from marine and inland water ports will also benefit public health.
“Older diesel engines can emit large amounts of air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOX) and particulate matter (PM). These pollutants are linked to a range of serious health problems including asthma, lung and heart disease, other respiratory ailments, and even premature death,” the Agency writes on its website.
“Clean diesel projects at ports, employing readily available technology, will make immediate emissions reductions and provide health benefits,” it further details.
The $4 million that the US EPA has decided to spend on improving air quality in port communities are made available under the Diesel Emission Reduction Act program, whose goal is to improve on the ecological footprint of diesel engines manufactured before present-day environmental standards were implemented.
The competition is the first to only focus on diesel emissions coming from the country's marine and inland ports.
The Agency expects that it will award somewhere between two and five assistance agreements to port authorities. Those wishing to receive part of the funds have until February 13, 2014 to submit their proposals.
Commenting on the importance of this initiative, Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiatio, said that, “Ports are essential to the nation’s economy and transportation infrastructure, but they also are home to some of the nation’s toughest environmental challenges.”
“These grants will help port authorities to provide immediate emissions reductions that will benefit those who work and live in port-side communities,” she added.