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Recovery.gov is the U.S. government's official website that provides easy access to data
related to Recovery Act spending and allows for the reporting of potential fraud, waste, and abuse.

Agency Reporting


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Program Plan
Environmental Protection Agency - Diesel Emissions Reduction Program (DERA) Recovery Plan
Updated 05/15/2009
Objectives
Program Purpose

Diesel engines emit large amounts of nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), and air toxics, which contribute to serious public health problems, including asthma, lung cancer and various other cardiac and respiratory diseases. The program’s goal is to accelerate emission reductions from older diesel engines to provide more immediate air quality benefits and improve public health while using Recovery Act funding to maximize job preservation and/or creation and economic recovery.


Public Benefits

Public health benefits are immediate when emissions control strategies are applied to older diesel engines. Diesel retrofit technologies reduce pollution from the existing diesel engine fleet by up to 90% for PM, up to 50% for NOx, and up to 90% for volatile organic compounds. In 2008, DERA’s first year of operation, the nearly $50 million funding translated into a significant public health benefit of approximately $580 million to $1.4 billion in quantifiable PM-related health benefits.


Measures
The measures have been revised to enrich the performance metrics for Recovery targets. In some instances, targets will not be available until additional baseline data has been collected.

MeasureTarget/Actual
2009201020112012
[-] Total mass of NOx emissions avoided
-0/0--

Measure Information
Frequency : Long-term
Direction : Increasing
Type : Outcome
Explanation : Reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions from ARRA DERA projects, calculated by summing the mass of NOx emissions avoided over the lifetime of the engines after implementing a variety of emissions reduction strategies, including switching to cleaner fuels, retrofitting, repowering and/or replacing eligible vehicles and equipment, and idle reduction strategies.
Unit : tons
[-] Total mass of PM emissions avoided
-0/0--

Measure Information
Frequency : Long-term
Direction : Increasing
Type : Outcome
Explanation : Reduction of particulate matter emissions from ARRA DERA projects, calculated by summing the mass of PM emissions avoided over the lifetime of the engines after implementing a variety of emissions reduction strategies, including switching to cleaner fuels, retrofitting, repowering and/or replacing eligible vehicles and equipment, and idle reduction strategies.
Unit : tons
[-] Total mass of HC emissions avoided
-0/0--

Measure Information
Frequency : Long-term
Direction : Increasing
Type : Outcome
Explanation : Reduction of hydrocarbon emissions from ARRA DERA projects, calculated by summing the mass of HC emissions avoided over the lifetime of the engines after implementing a variety of emissions reduction strategies, including switching to cleaner fuels, retrofitting, repowering and/or replacing eligible vehicles and equipment, and idle reduction strategies.
Unit : tons
[-] Total mass of CO emissions avoided
-0/0--

Measure Information
Frequency : Long-term
Direction : Increasing
Type : Outcome
Explanation : Reduction of carbon monoxide emissions from ARRA DERA projects, calculated by summing the mass of CO emissions avoided over the lifetime of the engines after implementing a variety of emissions reduction strategies, including switching to cleaner fuels, retrofitting, repowering and/or replacing eligible vehicles and equipment, and idle reduction strategies.
Unit : tons
[-] Total mass of CO2-equivalent emissions avoided
-0/0--

Measure Information
Frequency : Long-term
Direction : Increasing
Type : Outcome
Explanation : Reduction of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from ARRA DERA projects, calculated by summing the mass of CO2 equivalent emissions avoided over the lifetime of the engines after implementing a variety of emissions reduction strategies, including switching to cleaner fuels, retrofitting, repowering and/or replacing eligible vehicles and equipment, and idle reduction strategies.
Unit : tons
[-] Number of projects implemented that promote diesel emissions reductions
-0/0--

Measure Information
Frequency : Long-term
Direction : Increasing
Type : Output
Explanation : a "project" is defined as a single grant or cooperative agreement
Unit : No Data Available
[-] Number of existing heavy duty diesel engines (including school bus engines) that have been retrofitted, replaced, or retired
-0/0--

Measure Information
Frequency : Long-term
Direction : Increasing
Type : Output
Explanation : No Data Available
Unit : No Data Available

Schedule and Milestones

State Program Grants:
Award: April 2009
Wrap-up and Close-out: October 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010

National Competitions (consisting of 3 sub-categories):
Last Request for Applications closes May 5, 2009
Award: June 2009
Wrap-up and Close-out: October 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010


Milestones
Milestone Completion Date
Award State Program Grants 01/03/2009
Award National Competition Grants 06/30/2009
Wrap-up and Close-out of all DERA Recovery Act Grants 12/31/2010

Projects and Activities

EPA will award grants to address the emissions of in-use diesel engines by promoting a variety of cost-effective emission reduction strategies, including switching to cleaner fuels, retrofitting, repowering and/or replacing eligible vehicles and equipment, and idle reduction strategies. Grants will be awarded through a National competition (consisting of three separate subcategories) and a State allocation program.


Review Process

EPA will adhere to the Agency’s Stewardship plan. EPA will be using a combination of quarterly reporting from grantees and on-site and off-site monitoring by EPA Project Officers and auditors to evaluate the progress of each Recovery Act DERA grant. To measure progress, the EPA Project Officers will compare the grant work plan to the grantees’ quarterly reports to make sure the project’s milestones and activities are being completed on time.


Cost and Performance Plan

Grantees are required to report, on a quarterly basis, progress on activities such as number of contracts awarded, number of engines retrofitted or replaced, the technology used for the retrofit and amount of EPA funds expended. EPA will track the implementation of these projects in the NCDC Database and on the recovery.gov website.

EPA evaluates diesel emission reduction technologies through its Verified Technology Program. The purpose of this program is to evaluate the emission reduction capabilities of a given technology and publicize those findings to fleet managers and other stakeholders. Through this process, EPA helps to instill confidence in our stakeholder community that the verified emission reductions will be achieved. The verification process includes a thorough technical review of the technology as well as tightly controlled testing to quantify emission reductions. EPA also evaluates technologies in the field through its Technology In-Use Testing Program.

EPA will ensure that the expenditure and monitoring of Recovery Act funds is transparent and that appropriate, qualified and trained staff are overseeing the Recovery Act resources. Working within established Agency and Recovery Act guidelines, EPA will ensure that it monitors and reports its resource utilization and project progress in an effective and timely manner. EPA senior managers will have timely and regular meetings to assess progress of implementation and resolution of any issues related to Recovery Act funded projects.

Should an awardee misspend their award, the project officer will notify the Grants Management Office Awarding Official who will then coordinate with the Office of General Counsel to determine the appropriate steps to remedy the situation using the following options:
• Imposing special conditions on the award
• Issue stop work orders
• Withhold payment of funds
• Terminate award
• Initiate an investigation to determine if further action is necessary


Energy Efficiency Spending Plans

The Agency has provided information on Best Environmental Practices on its website: http://www.epa.gov/recovery/resources.html.

Included on this site is information on alternative vehicles and fleets. Additionally, the program will be quantifying emissions reduced from Recovery Act DERA projects. Emission reductions will be quantified for the following pollutants: NOx, PM, hydrocarbons, Carbon monoxide, and Carbon-dioxide-equivalents.


Program Plan Award Types
No Data Available