The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced $2.4 million in Driving PA Forward grants to cleaner fuel transportation projects that will take 62 older diesel vehicles off the road.
DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said in a March 31 statement that the Driving PA Forward’s grants are key to reducing local air pollution.
The nine funded projects will replace older diesel vehicles with new cleaner diesel or compressed natural gas-powered vehicles, and are expected to reduce a variety of air pollutant emissions.
The following projects received grant funding in this round:
Allegheny County
- Allegheny Transportation Services: $174,375 to replace nine older diesel school buses with nine new cleaner diesel ones. Allegheny Transportation Services provides student transportation for five school districts in Allegheny County.
- Pennsylvania Coach Lines: $215,250 to replace 10 older diesel school buses with 10 new cleaner diesel ones. Pennsylvania Coach Lines provides daily transportation for more than 20,000 children in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Beaver County
- Valley Waste Service: $327,997 to replace four older diesel trash collection trucks with four new compressed natural gas-powered trash trucks and one older diesel wheel loader with a new clean diesel wheel loader.
Butler County
- Seneca Landfill: $374,556 to replace two older diesel off-road trucks with two new clean diesel off-road trucks and one older diesel bulldozer with a new electric-drive bulldozer.
- Vogel Disposal Service: $262,600 to replace four older diesel trash collection trucks with four new, compressed natural gas-powered trash trucks.
Cambria County
- McIlwain School Bus Lines: $200,000 to replace 10 older diesel school buses with 10 new clean diesel school buses. Based in Johnstown, McIlwain provides transportation for students in Cambria and Somerset counties.
Clearfield County
- Fullington School Bus: $219,887 to replace 10 older, diesel school buses with 10 new clean diesel school buses, operating in school districts in the county.
Delaware County
- Eastern Concrete Materials: $443,601 to replace eight older diesel cement mixer trucks with eight new clean diesel ones.
Mercer County
- Tri-County Industries: $192,702 to replace four older diesel trash collection trucks with four new compressed natural gas-powered ones.
Funding source
The grant funding comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Pennsylvania’s share of the national settlement with Volkswagen Group of America for cheating on EPA emissions tests.
Driving PA Forward launched in 2018 with the goal of permanently reducing nitrogen oxide air pollution in Pennsylvania 27,700 tons by supporting cleaner fuel transportation projects with funding from the commonwealth’s $118.5 million settlement with Volkswagen. Driving PA Forward includes eight programs that fund a range of new transportation projects to improve air quality and help slow climate change.
The clean diesel funding program has now awarded over $5.6 million in Driving PA Forward grants to replace 135 older diesel vehicles, including school buses, trash hauling trucks, trash compactor vehicles, dump trucks, cement mixers, street sweepers and bulldozers, with new clean diesel or alternative fuel vehicles. Grants have also helped install idle reduction technology on six train locomotives.
Other grants
Businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies in Pennsylvania can currently apply to the level 2 electric vehicle charging funding program. Applications for other types of clean transportation projects will be accepted in the coming months.
