To aid industry in complying with the Idling Reduction Rule that went into effect last December, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently received a $300,000 federal grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The grant will provide funding assistance for two initiatives within the state’s Clean Diesel Program, aimed at reducing potentially harmful emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles.

Part of the grant will allow commercial truck drivers to apply for a rebate to purchase auxiliary power units—technology that reduces engine idling, resulting in reduced emissions. Another portion of the grant will be used to retrofit school buses in specified rural school districts in order to improve the emissions from those vehicles.

“The Idling Reduction Rule plays an important role in protecting Florida’s air quality,” said DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole. “Receipt of this grant reinforces that role by enabling us to help owners and operators of heavy-duty diesel trucks install technology that reduces harmful emissions, conserves resources and minimizes fuel costs.”

To help the trucking industry transition to alternative power technologies, the department is offering the Clean Diesel Rebate Program. Truck owners can apply for up to a $1,500 rebate to help install auxiliary power units.

Vehicles that install auxiliary power units on average use only 20 percent of the amount of diesel fuel that a truck would otherwise burn if idling. Auxiliary power units provide a less expensive, but dependable source of energy for equipment used by resting or parked truckers, and virtually eliminates the need for idling.

For more information on the rebate program or to download the rebate application, visit www.dep.state.fl.us/air/msc/mobile_sources.htm .

DEP will also use a portion of the grant to retrofit school buses in rural counties in the Florida Panhandle as part of the Clean School Bus Program. The grant is expected to allow up to 250 buses to be retrofitted with diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) – devices designed to reduce harmful pollutants in tailpipe emissions.

The retrofit project aims to upgrade 2003 or older buses that will remain in the fleet for at least five years. This improved emission-control technology will help reduce children’s exposure to diesel exhaust and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution created by diesel school buses.

"Diesel emissions can worsen symptoms of asthma," said Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros, State Surgeon General at the Department of Health. "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 4.8 million U.S. children have asthma. This figure includes the nearly 600,000 children in Florida diagnosed with the illness, and many of these children ride the bus to school. Reducing diesel emissions is good for our health and our environment."

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection adopted the Idling Reduction Rule to establish a five-minute limitation on idling for heavy-duty diesel vehicles weighing 8,500 pounds or more, in order to reduce diesel and greenhouse gas emissions.

Affected vehicles include commercial and government trucks, school buses, transit and excursion buses, all of which account for 16 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in Florida’s transportation sector.