EPA is awarding $9m in Recovery Act funds to support the SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program in the Houston-Galveston area. The Recovery Act grant will spur innovative clean diesel projects that protect air quality and create and retain jobs through an innovative financing program that will promote the purchase of new, cleaner or retrofitted vehicles and equipment at the Port of Houston. The Recovery Act funds will work to reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year.
“Recovery Act dollars will help the Port better protect air quality and the health of nearby communities,” said Gina McCarthy, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. “Investing in clean diesel puts people to work and keeps them working, which helps our economy and our environment.”
Overall, the Recovery Act allotted $300m for the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC). President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) on February 17, 2009 and directed that the Recovery Act funds be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability.
For information on EPA’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit: http://www.epa.gov/recovery