The Air Quality Division of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has awarded $937,854 in grants for projects to reduce air pollution from diesel-powered mobile sources. These projects will replace 11 vehicles with cleaner alternatives and reduce estimated lifetime nitrogen oxide emissions by 23.5 tons.

Mobile sources are all types of vehicles that can pollute the air, including cars, trucks, buses, locomotives, motorcycles, ATVs, construction equipment, and lawn mowers. After reviewing the proposals, in 2021 the department awarded grants to reduce emissions from mobile sources to 10 projects, including a grant to Caps Marine in Currituck County. The $18,250 grant will replace a Tier 1 skid steer loader with a Tier 4 track loader using new, clean technology. This project reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 0.15 tons.

The department awards grants through the Mobile Source Emissions Reduction program, which is funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program. The purpose of the program is to support projects to significantly reduce diesel emissions. EPA program funds are supplemented by funds from the North Carolina Volkswagen Mitigation Trust.

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