US increases 2015 DERA funding to $30 million

24 February 2015

Three US Members of Congress—Grace Meng (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Doris Matsui (D-CA)—confirmed that they have secured $30 million for the 2015 Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grants, as announced earlier by the Diesel Technology Forum. This represents a 50% increase in the funding level from 2014.

The DERA program provides grants to upgrade the in-use diesel vehicle fleet to reduce emissions, such as by replacing older engines and vehicles with newer models, or by retrofitting them with emission controls. The money will be made available by the federal government and state and local governments.

Funding for the DERA grants was included in appropriations legislation signed into law by President Obama after Meng, Nadler and Matsui called for the money to be allocated. The three lawmakers—joined by 36 other Members of Congress—made the request in a letter they sent in April to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and related Agencies—the panel that determines funding levels for environmental programs. The DERA grant program has been supported by the American Lung Association, New York Public Interest Research Group and a broad coalition of manufacturers, said Congresswoman Meng.

The money prevented the program from being zeroed out as proposed in the President’s FY2015 Budget, and it’s $10 million more than the amount Meng, Nadler and Matsui secured last year.

Source: Grace Meng