The Division for Air Quality (DAQ) announced today that independent truck owner-operators Paul and Lynne Fouts have been awarded $45,436 toward the purchase of a cleaner burning long-haul diesel tractor-trailer. The grant award was made available by the air quality division through the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Diesel Emission Reduction Act.
The Fouts applied for the grant through the state agency and contributed a 75 percent match towards the truck purchase. The 2010 heavy-duty diesel truck meets the EPA’s newest emission standards and will be retrofitted with an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) to reduce the need for idling during resting periods. The new truck will reduce emissions of particulate matter, a pollutant linked to the increased risk of heart attack and stroke, along with reducing emissions of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and toxic air pollutants.
The installation of an APU is also a key component of this project. DAQ Director John Lyons said: “The adoption of idle reduction technology will be essential in reducing future fleet emissions from long-haul trucks. For example, rest areas are often hot spots for air pollution due to the emissions from idling, especially overnight idling.”
Drivers tend to idle their vehicles for comfort heating and cooling during their mandatory 10-hour rest periods, generally burning a gallon of fuel per idle hour. The APU uses a much smaller generator to power heating and cooling and other essential needs, significantly reducing emissions during resting periods. In addition to reducing pollution, APUs can also reduce business fuel costs. Drivers also note that they sleep more restfully when not utilizing their truck’s engine for comfort heating and cooling, increasing safety on the roads.
The project removes a 1999 tractor-trailer from the road and replaces it with cleaner-burning technology. Greening the long-haul trucking industry will be key to reducing statewide levels of air pollution. Mobile sources generate roughly 30 percent of air emissions in Kentucky. More stringent federal air quality standards on the horizon mean that an unprecedented number of counties will be facing violation of those standards.
DAQ encourages all long-haul fleet owners and independent owner-operators to begin considering how they might address emissions from their diesel fleets. Fleet owners can begin taking steps now to reduce air pollution from their fleets. Retrofits, re-powers, refueling with alternative fuels such as bio-diesel, and implementing idle reduction technologies or policies are all ways of reducing emissions from fleet vehicles.
Contact for more information:
Ricki Gardenhire, CPM
Information Officer Energy & Environment/Labor/Public Protection Cabinets
Office of Communications and Public Outreach
5th Floor, Capital Plaza Tower
Frankfort, KY USA 40601
www.eec.ky.gov
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