The Secret of Successful Clean Diesel

National Clean Diesel Campaign

The National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) is a program by the Environmental Protection Agency that encourages the voluntary reduction of fuel emissions. Additionally, the NCDC has the power to implement regulatory control strategies to curve the production of diesel fuel emissions.

The NCDC is focused on fuel emissions reduction in five sectors: school buses, ports, construction, agriculture, and freight. Within each sector, the NCDC performs a potential four activities. Technological verification, providing technical and policy analysis, coalition and building outreach, and establishing projects through grant competitions are the primary focuses of the NCDC’s program activities.

Sector-Based Programs

Each of the five sectors has its own program specifically designed to meet the most pressing emissions demands of that sector.

•Biofuel is a major component of the agriculture program.

•Modernization is one of the primary goals of the bus program.

•Providing economic incentives for port authorities and terminal operators, the objective of the port program is to reduce emissions by improving operations methods.

•Reducing emissions in non-attainment areas is the primary objective of the construction program.

•The NCDC is focused on encouraging fleet upgrades in the freight sector.

Criteria for Awarding Grants

In order to encourage voluntary emissions reduction measures in each sector, the NCDC provides funding through grants. Private and corporate companies within each sector can apply for different types of grants.

The standards used to determine how many grants will be given out each year in a given sector are the sector’s level of emissions, actual emissions’ public health impact, the cost effectiveness of reduction strategies, the timeliness of a grant, and support from stakeholders and the public.

What EPA Will Fund

In each sector, there are a variety of grants that fund different projects and upgrades. There are essentially eight different grant types the EPA will fund:

1. Verified Exhaust Control Technologies these include particulate traps, catalytic converters, and SCR systems.

2. Verified Engine Upgrades and Certified Re-manufacture Systems.

3. Verified/Certified Cleaner Fuel Use.

4. Verified Idle Reduction Technologies.

  1. Verified On-Highway Idle Reduction Technologies.
  2. Verified Locomotive Idle Reduction Technologies.
  3. Marine Shore Connection Systems.

5. Verified Aerodynamic Technologies and Low Rolling Resistance Tires.

6. Certified Engine Replacement.

7. Certified Vehicle/Equipment Replacement.

8. Certified Clean Alternative Fuel Conversion.

Many of these grants will fund 100 percent of the costs of labor and equipment. For others, the ranges vary from 25 percent to 60 percent. For example, with respect to engine replacement, “EPA will fund up to 50 percent of the cost of replacing diesel engine with an engine certified to meet CARB’s Optional Low-NOx Standards.”

Amount of Grants

The amount of each grant varies from case to case and from sector to sector, but in total the amount the EPA granted for the fiscal year 2017 was $34 million.

How to Apply

The first step in the process is to fill out the online application. To do so, every company must register with Grants.gov and designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). In addition, “Please note that the registration process also requires that your organization have a DUNS number and a current registration with the System for Award Management (www.SAM.gov) and the process of obtaining both could take a month or more.”

Registering on the Grants.gov, SAM.gov and obtaining a DUNS number are all free.

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