WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-NJ) today applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on awarding a clean diesel grant of $548,876 to the New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition to repower seven marine vessels to make them safer and cleaner.

“I commend the EPA for investing in this clean energy project right here in New Jersey,” said Sen. Menendez. “I have always supported the DERA program because we need to invest in cleaner equipment to improve our air quality and protect the health of New Jerseyans, especially in ways that simultaneously improve the economy in our local communities.”

“EPA’s grant program is vital to our regional and national effort to make long-term investments in clean energy,” said Sen. Booker. “As the top ranking Democrat on the Senate subcommittee supporting maritime commerce, I am committed to advocating for programs that protect our marine ecosystem and strengthen our state’s economy while allowing us to improve New Jersey’s environmental health."

The EPA's Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program funds projects such as upgrading marine propulsion and agriculture engines, retrofitting older school buses to improve air quality for children riding to school, and replacing long haul truck engines. Each project improves air quality and supports economic growth in local communities. The EPA estimates that every $1 in DERA funding generates up to $13 in health care savings.

Sens. Menendez and Booker both signed a letter to the leaders on the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting strong funding levels for the DERA program in fiscal year 2015.

The $548,876.00 to the New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition will specifically be used to replace the old engines on five cruise and excursion marine vessels and two tugboats that operate out of New York harbor with new and cleaner EPA-certified engines. The project is expected to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 55.4 tons and particulate matter by 2.85 tons per year, in addition to conserving over 184,000 gallons of fuel annually.

As a designated Coalition within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program, the NJ Clean Cities Coalition is one of approximately 90 similar entities across the U.S., and the only one in New Jersey. Clean Cities strives to advance the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that contribute to the reduction of petroleum consumption. (Source: http://www.njcleancities.org/)

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