EPA Funds to Help Sublette County Go Green

PINEDALE, WY - Sublette County expects to receive more than $1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), according to the Pinedale Roundup.

Two separate programs will be funded with the money, and both are part of the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, which received $156 million in competitive grant funding for the entire country.

The first program, totaling $1.34 million, is slated specifically for Sublette County and will target 77 pieces of non-road construction equipment, starting this fall. The federal mitigation offices of the Jonah Interagency Office (JIO) and the Pinedale Anticline Project Office (PAPO) are contributing an additional $250,000 each to the program, bringing the total funding to $1.84 million, the Roundup reported.

The qualifying equipment is owned by 11 different companies and used in the energy fields of the county.

The $1.84 million will be divided into three primary objectives: diesel particulate filters, diesel oxidation catalysts, and some engine repowers or upgrades on 77 pieces of equipment, with some getting both, reported the Roundup.

The oxidation catalysts, which will be added onto 50 engines, help reduce carbon monoxide by up to 85 percent, hydrocarbons up to 60 percent and particulate matter reduction up to 20 percent.

The particulate filters, which will be installed on 13 engines, help reduce particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons by more than 85 percent.

Over 25 additional engines will also be upgraded or re-powered by Caterpillar to reduce their emission output, according to the Roundup report.

The second program that will affect the area is a statewide effort, though Sublette County has been placed at the top of the priority list. This $1.73 million program will either replace or retrofit up to 500 diesel-powered school buses in the state's fleet, which currently totals 1,700.

The statewide program has two parts: diesel-electric hybrid school bus purchase to arrive in December and the reduction of diesel emissions in many of the current buses in the state's fleet by installing either catalytic converters or crankcase recirculating vents.

Sublette County's fleet of school buses will be at the top of the list. The process is still in the paperwork stage, but buses should start seeing upgrades by fall, reported the Roundup.