South Shore Clean Cities In, a nonprofit organization sponsored through a US Department of Energy program, announced the initial grant awards for a program aimed at improving air quality in Perry and Spencer Counties.
Five awardees in Perry and Spencer County received funds totaling just over 239-thousand dollars toward the implementation of a variety of diesel emission projects valued at more than 990-thousand dollars.
Grants were recently announced in Spencer County at the annual meeting of the Lincolnland Economic Development corporation and are part of what are called Rockport Spencer County Cleaner Air through Diesel Emission Reductions.
The initial round of grant funding is expected to reduce diesel emissions in the region by more than 1,200 pounds per year for the next five to seven years totaling more than 14,000 pounds.
In addition, South Shore Cities, the administrator of the grant program assisted two of the awardees in securing additional grant funds totaling just under 69-thousand dollars through The Indiana office of Energy Development’s Propane School Bus program and the Indiana Department of environmental Management’s DieselWise program.
The grant program is the result of a settlement agreement between American Electric Power and a Citizens Oversight Committee, which includes the Citizens Action Coalition, Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club and Environmental Law and Policy Center.
