AQCS secures $144,000 for Diesel Retrofits of Municipal Fleets

AQCS Environmental authored grants that were funded by the Palomor Energy Mitigation Program through the San Diego APCD. The money will be used to retrofit fourteen heavy-duty on-road diesel vehicles operated by the City of Oceanside and seven heavy-duty on-road diesel vehicles operated by the City of San Marcos. The retrofits will consist of filters designed to reduce particulate emissions (PM) by at least 85%. The $144,000 will be matched by monies from both cities.

Municipal fleets are among the first on-road fleets that must comply with California Air Resource Board regulations that require older dirtier engines to be replaced or retrofitted with particulate traps to reduce PM emissions. Soon, these new regulations, part of the "Diesel Risk Reduction Plan," will also affect private on-road and off-road fleets. The State of California has identified PM as the most significant toxic air contaminant in California; accounting for 70% of the ambient airborne cancer risk. The goal of the Diesel Risk Reduction Plan is to reduce PM emissions by from 28,000 tons/year in 1998 to 7,000 tons/year in 2020; a 75% reduction.

New Diesel Emission Retrofit Database

AQCS Environmental proudly announces the launch of the Diesel Emission Retrofit Database. This new feature of the AQCS website will allow owners and operators of diesel engines to easily determine what engine retrofits or Diesel Emission Control Systems (DECS) are verified for use on their equipment. California is currently implementing a very aggressive plan to reduce the particulate mater (PM) emitted from diesel engines statewide. Eventually, nearly all pre-2007 diesel engines will need to be replaced or retrofitted with systems that vastly reduce the PM emitted from the tailpipe. Previously, persons wishing to determine what system is verified for a particular engine needed to review dozens of documents listing thousands of EPA engine family numbers. The task was very time consuming and frankly, dreadfully boring. The new database simplifies the process and allows users to choose between looking up by EPA engine family number or conducting a search based on engine manufacturer and year. The engine family search is much more accurate and should be used if the EPA engine family is available. The model/year search gives all of the DECS verified for all engine families of the selected manufacturer for the selected year. However, this is an excellent solution if the engine family is not available or the engine predates EPA engine families.