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Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
February 22, 2007
PMSA Sponsored Legislation - California - Assembly Bill 846
PMSA is sponsoring a bill in the 2007/2008 California legislative session, Assembly Bill 846. The bill provides a sales tax exemption for the purchase and consumption of residual fuel of 1.5% sulfur content or less and/or marine distillate fuel with sulfur content of 0.05% or less. For more information, contact Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, 250 Montgomery Street, Suite 700, San Francisco, CA 94104, (415) 352-0710.

Inside Bay Area
Dec. 5, 2006
Shipping Giant to Test New Fuel
The shipping industry's recent push to show California residents it's serious about reducing air pollution continued Monday as shipping giant APL announced changes to the way it burns fuel. Prompted by new state regulations that will mandate what fuel can be burned while traversing California waterways, the Oakland-based company said it now has low-sulfur fuel aboard all 23 of its ships that dock at state ports. But in hopes of jumping ahead of future regulations, and to show that the "industry needs to be responsible," the company also launched a pilot project to test three other technologies it says will reduce ship emissions.

Vida en el Valle
Nov. 22, 2006
Parents Push for Cleaner Air
Every time Margarita Guzmán sees a diesel truck speed on Highway 99 not far from her home, she begins to cringe. The mother of four worries that her children, including two who attend nearby Addams Elementary School, will develop asthma from all the toxic smog and soot left behind.

Port of Long Beach
May 31, 2006
Breakthrough Clean Air System to be Tested
Pilot dockside treatment technology could cut 100% of air pollutants from ships. The Port of Long Beach is reviewing an application by a terminal operator to conduct the first full-blown test of a dockside system that could treat air emissions from ships at berth, reducing a major source of pollutants by more than 95 percent.  Metropolitan Stevedoring Co., which operates the Pier G bulk cargo terminal in Long Beach, has partnered with Advanced Cleanup Technologies Inc. to develop a pilot project to test ACTI’s dockside emissions treatment system at one berth. They are seeking Port development permits to begin construction as early as this fall. The Port is currently preparing an environmental analysis of the project and the South Coast Air Quality Management District is evaluating the air quality benefits.

San Diego Union Tribune
March 23, 2006
Emissions Program Shifts to High Gear: County Installing Smog-Cutting Devices on Mexican Big Rigs
One truck at a time, San Diego County air pollution officials are trying to cut the smog-forming particles spewed by old Mexican big rigs that cross the international border. By installing pollution-control devices on these vehicles at no cost to the owners, the pilot program promises to reduce each truck's output of toxic air contaminants by up to 50 percent. Now, the work is at a crossroads.

WestStart
EPA Announces $3 million Collaborative Diesel Emissions Reductions RFP Due March 23
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the availability of $3 million in grant monies for projects aimed at reducing diesel emissions in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon or Washington. The grant program is part of the West Coast Collaborative which has awarded more than $2.6 million in grants for 28 projects since 2004. This year the agency expects to award up to 12 grants ranging from $50,000 to $500,000.

Bluewater Network
Thursday, September 15, 2005
New $100,000 Air Pollution Grant will Help Clear Bay Area Skies of Cruise Ship Smokestack Exhaust
San Francisco, CA – Burning cleaner marine fuels could become routine for cruise ships calling on the Port of San Francisco as a result of a $100,000 air pollution grant awarded today by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. The port will use the money to reduce docking fees on cruise ships that switch to cleaner-burning marine fuels while in the Bay. The one-year project will reduce harmful diesel exhaust emissions from cruise ship smokestacks by as much as 10 tons per cruise ship for the season.

Bulktransporter
Friday, August 25, 2005
EPA Grant to Help Curb Diesel Pollution
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant of $1.4 million to help curb diesel pollution has been awarded for the West Coast.

Energy Saving Trust
Thursday, August 24, 2005
EPA Launches Clean Diesel Grants
The Environmental Protection Agency in the US has announced grants totaling $1.4 million for projects to reduce diesel emissions in California, Oregon and Washington. Of that money, $211,000 will be awarded to Cleaire Advanced Emission Controls to develop a demonstration project that will lower emissions from heavy construction equipment.

Platinum Today
Thursday, August 24, 2005
EPA Launches Clean Diesel Grants
The Environmental Protection Agency in the US has announced grants totaling $1.4 million for projects to reduce diesel emissions in California, Oregon and Washington.

Finanzen.net
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Cleaire Division of Cummins West Awarded EPA Grant to Provide Emission-Reducing Technologies in California; Demonstration Project to Retrofit Heavy Construction Equipment; Evaluate Results
Cleaire Advanced Emission Controls, a division of Cummins West Inc., is part of a team that has received a $211,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for a demonstration project designed to lower emissions on heavy construction equipment in California.

WasteNews
Monday, August 22, 2005
EPA Awards $1.4 Million in Grants to Cut Diesel Emissions
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Aug. 22 that it would award $1.4 million in grants to reduce diesel emissions. The grants will help leverage more than $5.8 million in matching funds to curb diesel pollution in the western United States, according to the EPA.

YubaNet.com
Monday, August 22, 2005
$1.4 Million Awarded to Help Reduce Diesel Pollution on West Coast Announcement Includes $211,000 for Sacramento Metropolitan Air
$1.4 Million Awarded to Help Reduce Diesel Pollution on West Announcement in includes $211,000 for Sacramento Metropolitan Air By: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today announced $1.4 million in diesel grants. The EPA grants will help leverage over $5.8 million in matching funds to curb diesel pollution as part of the West Coast Collaborative.

Los Angeles Times – Burbank Leader
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Plugged in to Air Pollution
After spending some time studying the air quality around Horace Mann Elementary School in Glendale, Jerome Rizalado, 10, hopes that the adults around him will develop the same convictions he has about pollution. After learning about deforestation and the shrinking of animal habitats, Jerome has adopted a new philosophy. "Now I pick up trash. Before, when I was in a hurry, I sometimes threw it on the floor, but now I pick it up," Jerome declared Thursday. "I want to conserve. I want to be a good man—or, a good boy." Jerome was one of dozens of Mann Elementary School fourth- and fifth-grade students present when Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, along with representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, announced the launch of a new project aimed at reducing pollution along the Golden State (5) Freeway emitted by idling big-rig trucks.

The Monterey (CA) Herald
Thursday, September 30, 2004
News Briefs
Air quality officials are spending $200,000 for 20 electrical hookups at Southern California truck stops so truckers won't have to idle pollution-spewing diesel big-rigs during breaks. It's part of a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program designed to get West Coast industries to cut unhealthy diesel pollution. The EPA and South Coast Air Quality Management District are sharing the cost of the plug-ins. "We have a tremendous amount of diesel traffic and a tremendous amount of older equipment. The goal is to replace older engines with newer engines," regional EPA administrator Wayne Nastri said.

South Coast Air Quality Management District
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Press Release: AQMD, EPA Announce Project to Cut Truck Idling, Emissions
Southland and federal air quality officials today announced the region’s first project to reduce toxic diesel emissions from idling big-rig trucks by providing “plug-in” power at a truck stop along Interstate 5. “Long-haul truckers often idle their rigs for up to eight hours at a time to power their cabs while they rest -- wasting fuel and producing unnecessary toxic diesel emissions,” said Michael D. Antonovich, a Los Angeles County Supervisor and member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board.

Bluewater Network
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Press Release – New Federal Air Pollution Initiative Will Help Reduce Ferry Exhaust on San Francisco Bay
New funding program could help advance clean ferry projects – Clean ferries could become the standard for San Francisco Bay and the West Coast with help from a new federal air pollution initiative announced today by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. The goal is to secure $100 million per year beginning in 2006 to help replace or retrofit dirty diesel engines on vessels, trains and trucks. “The ferry fleet can leverage this money to build the cleanest ferries ever,” said Teri Shore of Bluewater Network, which advocates for clean vessels, cars and trucks. “The grants should go toward best available technology and alternative-fueled vessels to get the best bang for the buck.” 

The San Jose Mercury News
Thursday, September 30, 2004
U.S. Unveils Effort to Cut Diesel Soot
EPA Seeks $500 million to reduce air pollutant on West Coast. Seeking quicker reductions of the type of smog most harmful to public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced a partnership between 400 government agencies, environmental organizations and private business groups to cut diesel soot in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. EPA officials in San Francisco unveiled $6 million in grants and loans. They said they hope the West Coast Diesel Collaborative will secure $100 million a year in federal funding over the next five years, reducing by 8,000 tons a year diesel particles spewing into West Coast air. ``Diesel engines are very long-lived,'' said Wayne Nastri, regional EPA administrator in San Francisco. ``The question is, how do we accelerate the turnover to cleaner engines?''

Press-Enterprise (Inland Southern California)
Thursday, September 30, 2004
EPA Plans New Effort on Diesel Pollution
It will team with Canada, Mexico and other agencies to target the dirtiest engines. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials announced Wednesday that they hope to corral $100 million a year in federal money to spur voluntary efforts to cut diesel pollution along the West Coast. The EPA will work with Mexico, Canada, state governments and local air pollution agencies to cut emissions from diesel-powered trucks, boats, locomotives and farm machinery, said Wayne Nastri, the EPA's administrator for the Pacific Southwest Region.

San Diego Union Tribune
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
EPA Launches Partnership to Clean up West Coast Diesel Emissions
Environmental officials launched a partnership with industry Wednesday to curb cancer-causing diesel emissions spewing into the West Coast's skies. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $6 million worth of voluntary projects in California, Oregon and Washington, with most of the money coming from the federal government. The EPA said it hoped to ultimately secure $100 million over five years for future projects. "The goal is to replace the older engines with newer equipment, newer fuels and get that done as soon as possible," said Wayne Nastri, EPA's administrator for the Pacific region. "It benefits all of us, those at the border and up and down the state."

North County Times (San Diego CA)
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Air Pollution District Gets $150K Grant
The San Diego County Air Pollution Control District was awarded a $150,000 grant Wednesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to participate in the start of a diesel emissions reduction program. The money will enable officials to investigate the costs and effectiveness of diesel retrofit technologies on heavy-duty vehicles that operate in the San Diego and Tijuana region. The goal of the program is to reduce diesel emissions from trucks, ships, locomotives and other sources along the West Coast from Mexico to Alaska, and to accomplish the goal faster than is federally mandated.