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Congressional Research Service


0


                                                                                           Updated January 7, 2021

The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program


Emissions from diesel engines-especially particulate
matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NO.), sulfur oxides, and air
toxics-have  been shown to contribute to air pollution that
adversely impacts public health and welfare in the United
States. Since 1970, the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §7401 et
seq.) has required the federal government to limit these
emissions, among others, from new stationary (industrial)
sources and new mobile sources. In the decades since, the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
promulgated emission standards for a variety of source
categories, including new heavy duty highway and nonroad
diesel engines.
EPA's  most recent set of emission standards for newly
manufactured heavy duty highway and nonroad diesel
engines took effect in 2007 and 2008, respectively. At the
time, the standards required a 90% and 95% reduction in
emission levels for PM and NO., respectively, over the
previous standards. However, because of the long
operational lives of diesel engines, millions of pre-2007
engines remain in use. According to EPA's estimates in
2016, 10 million pre-2007 diesel engines remain in use in
the United States, and 1 million of those engines could still
be in use in 2030. The Clean Air Act does not provide EPA
the authority to set new emission standards on existing, or
legacy, diesel engines. To address concerns over legacy
diesel engines, EPA began a Voluntary Diesel Retrofit
Program in 2000 and a Clean School Bus Initiative in 2003,
among  other programs.
Congress enacted the Diesel Emissions Reduction
program in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005,
P.L. 109-58, Title VII, Subtitle G §§791-797; 42 U.S.C.
§§16131-16137). It authorized EPA to administer a national
and state-level grant and loan program to promote
emissions reductions from legacy diesel engines. Through
the Diesel Emissions Reduction program (as amended),
EPA  has provided loans, grants, and rebates to projects that
use certified engine configurations and verified
technologies, or that develop and commercialize emerging
technologies, in order to replace legacy diesel engines.
Energy Policy Act of 2005
EPAct  2005 authorized $200.0 million annually for
FY2007-FY2011   for the Diesel Emissions Reduction
program. Of the funds appropriated, 70% were to be used
for national competitive grants and low-cost loans
administered by EPA, and 30% were to support loan and
grant programs administered by states. Of the funds
administered by EPA, the majority was to be provided for
the benefit of public fleets, with not less than 90% going to
projects using a certified engine configuration or verified
technology and not more than 10% for the development and
commercialization of emerging technologies. Of the funds
administered by the states, a portion was to be allocated in
equal shares to each state if all 50 states qualified. If fewer
than 50 states qualified, the remaining funds were to be


allocated among the qualifying states proportionally based
on their population.
Under EPAct  2005, EPA  was to prioritize projects that (1)
maximize  public health benefits; (2) are cost-effective; (3)
serve areas with the highest population density and the poorest
air quality; (4) include a certified engine configuration,
verified technology, or emerging technology that has a long
expected useful life; (5) maximize the engine's expected
useful life; (6) conserve diesel fuel; and (7) use diesel fuel
with a sulfur content of 15 parts per million or less.

Diesel   Emissions Reduction Act of 2010
The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA)  of 2010 (P.L.
111-364) amended  EPAct 2005  to authorize $100.0 million
annually through FY2016 and modify provisions related to
the program. DERA  2010 defined state to include the District
of Columbia and the U.S. territories. The act authorized EPA
to offer rebates in addition to grants and loans to eligible
entities, including any private individual or entity that owns a
diesel vehicle or fleet. The distribution of funds was revised
to provide not less than 95% of funds to projects using a
certified engine configuration or verified technology and not
more than 5% of funds for development and
commercialization of emerging technologies. Under the act,
EPA  was to develop a simplified application process to
expedite provision of funds, taking into consideration special
circumstances affecting small fleet owners. The act expanded
the priority given to applications that serve areas receiving a
disproportionate quantity of air pollution from diesel fleets to
include construction sites and schools in addition to truck
stops, ports, rail yards, terminals, and distribution centers.
DERA     Program      Implementation
EPA's  National Clean Diesel Campaign within the Office
of Transportation and Air Quality administers the DERA
program. In its DERA Fourth Report to Congress (July
2019), EPA reports that it awarded more than $629.0
million between FY2008  and FY2016 to retrofit or replace
67,300 engines in vehicles, vessels, locomotives, and other
equipment. EPA  estimates that the program has resulted in
the reduction of emissions of NOx by 474,700 tons, PM by
15,490 tons, and hydrocarbons by 17,700 tons over the
lifetime of the affected engines. Further, EPA estimates the
total present value of monetized health benefits over the
lifetime of the affected engines as $19.0 billion, including
up to 2,300 fewer premature deaths. EPA reports that since
the inception of the program, DERA funding requests have
exceeded availability by as much as 35:1 for the rebate
program and 7:1 for the national grant competition.

DERA Appropriations
Table 1 presents requested and enacted EPA appropriations
for the DERA program-adjusted   and not adjusted for
inflation (FY2019$)-for FY2007-FY2021.   Funding for


ittps://Crsreports.congress.gt

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