ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has awarded more than $1.1 million in grants for projects designed to cut air pollution from diesel-powered vehicles and equipment.
The Division of Air Quality announced $1.14 million in Mobile Source Emissions Reduction grants this week, including funding for one Buncombe County business and three in Swain County.
The program supports projects that replace or retrofit older diesel-powered vehicles with cleaner technology. This year’s awards will fund purchases ranging from electric utility vehicles and natural gas-powered trucks to new construction equipment that meets modern emissions standards. More than $270,000 of the funding will go toward new electric vehicles, according to DEQ.
The largest award — $289,380 to Cumberland County — will replace a box truck and two bulldozers with newer, more efficient models. Other recipients include Delta Air Lines, which received $268,248 to swap out six diesel belt loaders at Raleigh-Durham International Airport for electric models, and Waste Management of Carolinas in Buncombe County, which was awarded $120,000 to replace four diesel vehicles with near-zero emission compressed natural gas trucks.
Swain County companies receiving grants include Espinoza Hauling and Trucking Co. ($185,991), Fortner Contracting Inc. ($62,039) and HMC Paving and Construction Co. ($19,913).
The grants are funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program, which targets pollution from diesel engines, a source of fine particulate matter and other pollutants linked to asthma, heart disease and environmental damage.
In 2023, the state program funded the replacement of 18 vehicles and cut more than 43 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions and 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the lifetime of the equipment.
More details on the grant program are available here.