Did you hear? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $115 million in grant funding for projects that cut harmful pollution from the nation's existing fleet of older diesel engines - and GASP is encouraging local communities to apply for a cut of the money. Here’s the skinny: Under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant funding competition, EPA anticipates making four to 10 awards in each of EPA's 10 regions to eligible applicants. EPA is soliciting applications nationwide for projects “that significantly reduce diesel emissions and exposure, especially from fleets operating at goods movement facilities in areas designated as having poor air quality.” Applicants may request funding to upgrade or replace older diesel-powered buses, trucks, marine engines, locomotives, and nonroad equipment with newer, cleaner technologies. Priority for funding will also be given to projects that engage and benefit the health of local communities already overburdened by air pollution, protect grant-funded investments from severe weather events caused by climate change, and applicants that demonstrate their ability to promote and continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended. EPA is seeking cost-effective diesel emission reduction projects that maximize health benefits, reduce diesel exposure for those facing poor air quality, and/or employ community-based inclusive and collaborative approaches to reduce harmful emissions. By way of background: Diesel-powered engines move most of the nation's freight tonnage, and today nearly all highway freight trucks, locomotives, and commercial marine vessels are powered by diesel engines. Smog- and soot-forming diesel exhaust impair air quality, threatening the health of people in nearby communities. Exposure to this pollution can lead to disruptive and costly asthma attacks, illnesses, lost days of school and work, and emergency room visits. These adverse health effects have been shown to disproportionately impact children, older adults, those with heart or lung conditions, and low-income and minority communities. DERA enables EPA to offer funding to accelerate the upgrade and turnover of legacy diesel fleets. Funding opportunities for diesel reduction projects are provided through an annual appropriation by Congress to DERA. DERA prioritizes funding projects in areas facing the largest air quality issues. Many of these projects fund cleaner engines that operate in low socio-economic areas whose residents suffer from higher-than-average instances of asthma, heart, and lung diseases. More than 73,700 engines, vehicles, or other pieces of equipment were replaced or retrofitted to run cleaner with DERA funds during fiscal years 2008 to 2018, according to the DERA 5th Report to Congress . The grant funding opportunity is open until Friday, Dec. 1. For any questions on the application, applicants should email written questions to: dera@epa.gov . For any technical issues with grants.gov, please contact grants.gov for assistance at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov . More information, including applicant eligibility and regional funding breakdowns, can be found at the DERA website .

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected Allegheny County's Targeted Airshed Grant for funding, awarding money to directly address environmental and health inequities in the Mon Valley by replacing diesel buses with new ones zero-emission vehicles for Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT). In a press release Monday, officials said that the $10 million in additional funding from the EPA will allow Allegheny County to lower the emissions PRT buses produce in the Mon Valley. The grant will get the agency closer to the goal of a zero-emissions bus fleet by 2045. The $10 million grant will be utilized by PRT to replace four 40-foot diesel transit buses. These new buses will serve riders in the Mon Valley area. The grant will also support the purchase and installation of two electric chargers along with the necessary infrastructure in the garage to which the buses would be assigned. The new zero-emission buses are anticipated to be purchased and put into service in 2026. Zero-emission buses have been shown to contribute to healthier communities, especially communities that are classified as in high need by environmental justice indexes, like EJScreen or the environmental justice index developed by the Allegheny County Health Department. The Mon Valley is a major travel corridor. Pittsburgh Regional Transit operates 23 bus routes serving the Mon Valley carrying 52,400 riders on an average weekday. Seven routes operate on PRT's Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway, reducing trip times for riders traveling between Mon Valley communities, Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, and downtown. Based on data collected and analyzed by the ACHD, PM2.5 emissions from vehicles contribute about 25% of all air pollution in Allegheny County, according to the release. “This is great news,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “Our neighbors in the Mon Valley grapple with poor air quality more than most, so all efforts to help combat diesel and other emissions can only help improve quality of life for those folks.”

Calling all Westmoreland County residents: The time to weigh in on the long-awaited Title V operating permit for the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station is NOW.   But how we got here and what’s in that permit will take a little bit of explaining…   How We Got Here   A couple of years ago, we blogged  about testing issues at the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station in South Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County. For the uninitiated: Tenaska is a 940-megawatt, natural gas-fired power plant with two large turbines.    The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a Plan Approval to authorize the plant’s construction in April 2015, and the plant began operating under the terms of that Plan Approval in December 2018.     In the regular course, once a major source of air pollution like Tenaska begins normal operations, it conducts a round of performance tests to establish proper operating limits and then must apply to DEP for a Title V Operating Permit that will incorporate those limits.    However, in January 2019, during one of the final performance tests at Tenaska, a malfunction with the testing equipment caused an invalid reading that prevented the plant’s operator from applying for a Title V Operating Permit.    Investigating the cause of the malfunction took some time (months) and then the plant’s operator and DEP could not agree on a new testing protocol. In the meantime, Tenaska continued to operate under its Plan Approval.   About Tenaska’s Title V Operating Permit   We’re pleased to report that Tenaska and DEP seem to have resolved those issues: This past  July, Tenaska submitted its application for a Title V Operating Permit, and in the Oct. 5 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin, DEP announced that it has prepared a draft Title V Operating Permit for the plant.    That draft Title V Operating Permit, DEP’s Review Memo, and Tenaska’s Permit Application are available here , here , and here .   What Pollution Tenaska Will Be Permitted to Emit   Here’s the interesting part: In the years Tenaska has operated the facility under its Plan Approval, the regulations governing natural gas-fired power plants’ emissions have become more stringent.    Consequently, the  limitations on some pollutants - including ozone-forming oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - in the proposed Title V Operating Permit are significantly less than they were under the Plan Approval:   Pollutant Plan Approval Limit (Tons Per Year) Draft Title V Operating Permit Limit (Tons Per Year) Decrease (Tons Per Year) NO X 372 303 69 Carbon Monoxide (“CO”) 2309 657 1,652 VOCs 1251 222 1,029 Formaldehyde (“HCHO”) 8 8 0 All Hazardous Air Pollutants (“Total HAPs”) 22 22 0 Total Particulate Matter (“PM”) 92 95 (3) Coarse Particulate Matter (“PM 10 ”) 92 92 0 Fine Particulate Matter (“PM 2.5 ”) 89 89 0 Sulfur Dioxide (“SO 2 ”) 23 23 0 Sulfuric Acid (“H 2 SO 4 ”) 15 15 0 Ammonium (“NH 4 ”) 194 194 0 Greenhouse Gases (expressed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent) 3,827,574 3,827,574 0     The reductions in NO X , CO, and VOC emission limits are due to Best Available Control Technology, Reasonably Available Control Technology, and Lowest Available Emission Rate requirements imposed by the Clean Air Act becoming stricter since the Plan Approval was issued in 2015.    To satisfy those requirements today, the plant must meet lower emission limits for NO X  (that were imposed by regulation) and run an oxidation catalyst for CO and VOCs, whereas in 2015 (at least arguably) it did not need to.   What It Means & How to Submit a Public Comment “This shows how the Clean Air Act works in the background to drive improvements in air quality,” GASP Senior Attorney John Baillie explained. “When there is a lag like this between an initial Plan Approval and an initial operating permit, the improvements can seem sudden and significant.”   That draft is available for public comment through Nov. 3.  You can submit written comments to:    Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Southwest Regional Office 400 Waterfront Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Attn:  Nick Waryanka, P.E., Air Quality Engineer If you submit comments, they should reference permit number TV-65-00990.