$2 million awarded by Air Pollution Control District

Auburn, Calif.- The Placer County Air Pollution Control District Board of Directors awarded over $2.17 million in 2007 Clean Air Grants April 12, 2007 for projects that will reduce air pollution in Placer County.

The District received applications seeking more than $5.8 million to fund 112 individual projects for this year’s grant program.

District staff is pleased to have recommended either full or partial funding for 54 of these projects. The selected projects include: heavy-duty vehicle and school bus modernization, exhaust retrofits, new electric and hybrid vehicle purchases, alternative transit programs, an educational program, a freeway services program, fire prevention assistance, video teleconferencing, and air quality research.

It is estimated that there will be a reduction of 61.18 tons of NOx (nitrogen oxides), 6.01 tons of ROG (reactive organic gasses) and 4.25 tons of PM (particulate matter) over the lifetimes of these projects, with a combined total of 10.5 tons being reduced annually.

The purpose of these grants is to assist in obtaining air pollutant reductions from primarily mobile sources that are not already regulated by air quality laws and to ultimately improve the heath of our community.

The funding for these grants is provided by Department of Motor Vehicles registration fees, Air Quality Mitigation Funds, Union Pacific Railroad grant funds, and Low Emission School Bus Funds.

For the 2008 grant cycle, applications will be accepted from January through March. The board will determine the amount of funding available for 2008 through the District’s 2007-08 budget.