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VENTURA — Nearly $2 million in grant funding is available to help replace heavy-duty diesel trucks based in Ventura County with equivalent battery-electric models and install charging stations.
The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District was awarded $1.97 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) Program to help fund replacement projects. Recipients need to cover at least half of the project costs.
Launched in 2005, the DERA Program accelerates the transition to cleaner engines to protect public health. The combustion of fuel in diesel engines emits a complex mixture of air pollutants including large amounts of nitrogen oxides, or NOx, and fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, that are dangerous to human health.
NOx is a primary precursor to ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog, which causes respiratory and other health problems. Ventura County exceeds the health-based state and federal standards for ozone and is designated a serious nonattainment area for the federal eight-hour ozone standard.
PM2.5 can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing respiratory problems and increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Children, older adults and people who are pregnant or have existing lung or heart conditions are most impacted.
Diesel particulate matter consists largely of black carbon, also called soot, and contains many toxic compounds including more than 40 known cancer-causing chemicals, according to the California Air Resources Board.
The 2021 Ventura County Freight Corridors Study identified all of the county’s highways and the roads leading to the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County as major freight corridors.
The study recommended a transition to zero-emissions vehicles to protect public health. While all communities in Ventura County are impacted, about 6% of the population lives within 500 feet of a roadway that carries more than 1,000 trucks per day, according to the study. The areas with the highest proportion of students attending schools located near a roadway with 500 or more trucks per day are Camarillo, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Somis and Ventura.
For more information on applying for funds, visit vcapcd.org/diesel-emissions-reduction-act or contact Holly Galbreath at holly@vcapcd.orgor 805-303-3666.