HEADLINES DERA, Industry Awaits Reauthorization As of this writing, Congress had yet to make a final decision
concerning the status of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA), which was initially authorized in the 2005 Energy Policy Act with funding first appropriated in 2008 at $49.2 million. Tat money source was scheduled to dry up if DERA is not reautho- rized by Sept. 30, 2011, the end of the fiscal year. “Over the history of the five years of clean diesel funding au-
thorized by Congress, 157 grants were awarded — totaling $31 million — to demonstrate pollution control techniques on school buses,” said EPA spokesperson Dave Ryan. “To protect these youngest riders from exposure to diesel exhaust, the Agen- cy supports clean diesel school bus projects.” But the EPA and the school bus industry are not the only sup-
porters of the program, which can also present challenges in terms of competition from other markets like trucking. At recent nation- al meetings of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of Counties and the U.S. Conference of May- ors, association members have called DERA a successful program that offers assistance to school bus operators at a time when there are very little grant opportunities for the industry. “Te fact that the three largest national organizations repre-
senting these officials support DERA is a tribute to its success over the past five years and the need to continue upgrading the existing 11 million older diesel engines,” stated Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum. Still, DERA offers one of the best federal funding sources for
school buses. Since the inception of the program, the industry has received funding for school bus after-treatment technologies, idle reduction equipment, new bus purchases, and repowered or repro- gramed diesel engines. Te benefits of these grants are also felt at the OEM level, helping school bus manufacturers during a time when bus sales are down across the board. Production numbers have de- clined by nearly 25 percent since the 2005-2006 school year. According to one industry expert, a coalition of clean die-
sel advocates, including vehicle and equipment manufacturers, diesel vehicle/equipment users, environmental and public health advocates and state and local air officials, has been work- ing with congressional interests to push for reauthorization at current authorized funding levels plus changes to improve the program. Te recommended changes are intended to help streamline and simplify the grant process and better target funding to priority projects. ■
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