Iowa DOT: Diesel Emission Reduction Grant Applications Welcome
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Iowa Northern Railway was among Iowa’s 2017-18 DERA award winners. It received a grant of up to $140,000 to purchase and install idle-reduction technology for 20 locomotives. (Photograph/Screen-Capture Courtesy of Iowa Northern, via website video)
The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is accepting grant applications for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Fiscal Year 2022 Diesel Emission Reduction Program. The deadline is Sept. 9, 2022.
The objective of the program—under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA)—is to achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions among on-road or non-road vehicles and equipment, including locomotives; medium- and heavy-duty transit buses and trucks; marine engines; non-road engines, equipment, or vehicles; and school buses.
Iowa’s DERA funds total $884,780, which includes a base grant of $353,912 and an EPA incentive bonus of $176,956. The state is matching the base grant with funds from its Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund settlement. (According to DERA: “Two-thirds of the state/territory portion of funding is provided to participating states and territories, while the remaining third is used as an incentive to those states and territories that provide a voluntary match equal to the base funding. If the state/territory provides a voluntary match that equals or exceeds the base amount, a bonus of half the base amount will be added to the grant total by the EPA.”)
Iowa Northern Railway was among Iowa’s 2017-18 DERA award winners. It received a grant of up to $140,000 to purchase and install idle-reduction technology for 20 locomotives.
For more on program eligibility and the application process, visit https://iowadot.gov/dera/.
