The U.S Environmental Protection Agency today announced an $870,000 Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grant to the Maryland Environmental Services that will help replace older trucks used at the port of Baltimore and reduce toxic air emissions.

The grant will support replacing 25 drayage trucks with model year 2011 trucks or newer. This replacement project will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 9.5 tons. In addition, the upgrade will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 31.73 tons and particulate matter emissions by 1.09 tons.

“Cleaning up our air and ensuring people’s right to breathe healthy air is a priority for EPA,” said Shawn Garvin, mid-Atlantic regional administrator for EPA. “The benefits of replacing these trucks will help us combat climate change and improve air quality in the surrounding communities.”

The grant addresses emissions associated with the movement of goods through the port of Baltimore. Drayage trucks make trips between the port’s container terminals and local trucking company facilities that are all located in densely populated areas. The grant will help improve the air quality in communities near the marine terminals and along the transportation corridors.

This funding is part of EPA’s DERA fiscal year 2015 allocation which include engine replacements, idle reduction and retrofit technologies to clean up a variety of older diesel engines.

EPA has implemented standards that make diesel engines cleaner by more than 90 percent than in the past, but many older diesel vehicles and equipment remain in operation and emit large amounts of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These pollutants are linked to asthma, lung damage and other serious health problems.

Since 2008, the DERA program has awarded more than 700 grants across the country in 600 communities. These projects have reduced emissions from more than 60,000 engines.