EPA grant to help reduce emissions in Rock Hill, South Carolina

EPA’s Southeast Diesel Collaborative today recognized York Technical College and its partners, including the City of Rock Hill, during a demonstration installing equipment to retrofit publicly-owned, non-road vehicles with technology that will significantly reduce their emissions. Under a National Clean Diesel Campaign grant of $95,040 awarded by EPA, retrofit devices are successfully being installed to reduce diesel engine emissions.

"EPA is proud to recognize the efforts of the York Technical College Energy Resource Center and the City of Rock Hill for their efforts to improve air quality and protect public health,” said Jimmy Palmer, EPA Regional Administrator in Atlanta. “Emissions from diesel engines are a serious public health threat and environmental challenge, as well as a priority for EPA.”

The project will install diesel oxidation catalysts on 50 vehicles—including backhoes, bulldozers, motor graders and others—from the fleets of the City of Rock Hill, the South Carolina Department of Transportation, and Chester County. The reduction in emissions and other important data from the retrofitted equipment will then be carefully documented over the next year. The project, led by the Energy Resource Center at York Technical College, will serve to introduce and demonstrate the effectiveness of retrofit technologies, which help reduce harmful pollutants such as fine particulate matter generated by diesel engines.

The Energy Resource Center at York Technical College, under the direction of Rod Trump, is a leader in the field of renewable energy resources, energy conservation and efficiency, as well as alternative fuel vehicle technology. The Center provides educational opportunities for individuals, industry, and government agencies and serves as an information resource to promote awareness of new and emerging energy technologies.

“Clean air and the availability of affordable energy are everyone’s concern,” said Trump. “By providing the stepping stone to bringing these new technologies to fruition, everyone in our region will benefit.”

The Southeast Diesel Collaborative is a partnership composed of leaders from federal, state and local government, the private sector and other stakeholders in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The goal of the collaborative is to improve air quality by encouraging the use of clean, renewable energy and by reducing diesel emissions from existing engines and equipment from the agriculture, heavy construction and on-road sectors.