EPA supports cleaning up diesel emissions in Puget Sound

The Port of Seattle

JANUARY 4, 2018—While new tugs and workboats are beginning to incorporate new clean-burning, EPA-compliant Tier 3 and Tier 4 engine technologies, the majority of existing tugs still operate with less-efficient, legacy diesel engines.

With support from grants and rebates funded through the Diesel Engine Reduction Act (DERA), the National Clean Diesel Program, tug and workboat operators can replace those legacy engines with modern, clean-burning diesel technology.

The EPA recently provided $650,000 to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) to reduce harmful diesel emissions from engines on up to eight vessels operating in the Puget Sound region near Seattle.

“Clean diesel technologies not only improve air quality, but advance innovation and support jobs,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “These projects will significantly reduce harmful emissions and directly benefit the health of residents.”

The PSCAA project will provide vessel owners with incentives to replace 12- to 19-year-old “Tier 0” engines with newer, more-efficient, and lower-emission “Tier 3” engines on six to eight harbor vessels operating in Puget Sound, Lake Union, and Lake Washington.

Combined with the mandatory match of $891,000, the total project cost is $1,541,000.

The PSCAA’s Puget Sound Harbor Vessel Engine Replacement Program provides long-lasting emission reductions and public health benefits to a region whose air quality is significantly impacted by the large heavy diesel vessel fleet.

The project will reduce lifetime emissions of:

• NOx by 54 tons;
• PM2.5 by 3.3 tons;
• Hydrocarbons by 1.7 tons; and
• Carbon Monoxide by 7.5 tons

Part of the National Clean Diesel Campaign, the West Coast Collaborative is a partnership among federal, state, and local governments, the private sector, and environmental groups committed to reducing diesel emissions along the West Coast. Partners come from all over Western North America, including California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.