Grants aim to reduce air pollution in Placer County

Auburn, Calif.- The Placer County Air Pollution Control District recently announced that it is awarding $1 million in 2011 Clean Air Grant funds to 15 projects that will reduce air pollution in Placer County.

‘The Clean Air Grant program directly supports our primary goal of improving Placer County’s air quality,’ said Tom Christofk, Placer County Air Pollution Control Officer. ‘It’s important that we support proactive approaches to reduce harmful emissions in the County. By funding the approved grant projects this year, an estimated 78 tons of emissions will be reduced within the county over the next several years.’

In all, the District received 24 project applications seeking more than $2.7 million in grant funding.

The 2011 grant awards were approved by the Placer County Air Pollution Control District Board of Directors at its April 14, 2011, board meeting. Types of projects that received grant awards were: 1) upgrades of heavy duty on and off road equipment; 2) congestion mitigation and outreach projects; 3) and forest waste (biomass) to energy conversion projects.

The Clean Air Grant program is an annual program that has been implemented since 2001. It is designed to reduce criteria air pollutants primarily from mobile sources which are not already regulated by air quality laws. Over the past decade, a total of $12.5 million in funds has been awarded through the grant program and an estimated 919 tons of criteria pollutant emissions have been reduced within the County.