DIAMOND BAR, CA - The South Coast Air Quality Management District's application deadline for its annual program offering financial incentives for purchasing lower-emission heavy-duty engines is 1 p.m. on May 7. 

This is the 12^th year of the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program. A total of $20 million is available for fiscal year 2009-2010 for project awards within the South Coast AQMD's four-county jurisdiction. If more funds become available by the time of awards approval, more projects will be awarded up to the total amount of funds available. 

Since 1998, the program has provided funding to encourage the owners of diesel engines to go beyond regulatory requirements by retrofitting, re-powering or replacing their engines with newer and cleaner ones. 

"While regulations continue to be the primary means to reduce air pollution emissions, the Carl Moyer program plays a complementary role to California's regulatory program reducing NOx and PM by funding emission reductions that are surplus, i.e., early and/or in excess of what is required by regulation," the South Coast Air Quality Management District said. 

To learn more about how to apply to the program, you can attend a workshop held by South Coast AQMD. General workshops are scheduled for March 9 and April 6 in Diamond Bar, and for March 24 in Riverside. Construction equipment workshops are scheduled for March 17 in West Covina and March 25 in Downey. 

The Carl Moyer Program grants are open to projects that go beyond regulations in order to reduce NOx and/or PM emissions from heavy-duty on- and off-road mobile equipment. This includes on-road trucks over 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight and off-road equipment such as construction and farm equipment, marine vessels, locomotives, forklifts, airport ground support equipment and auxiliary power units. 

Projects must operate at least 75 percent of the time in the AQMD boundaries. 

The Carl Moyer Program grants are based on the cost-effectiveness and the emission benefits of the project. For example, instead of rebuilding a 1987 300 hp uncontrolled engine of a scraper that operates for 1,500 hours per year, a company may choose to re-power a 2009 Tier 3 engine with similar horsepower. If the new engine cost is $80,000, a grant for up to $68,000 (85 percent) may be available through the Carl Moyer Program if it meets the cost-effectiveness threshold of $16,000 per ton and if the project is surplus to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) In-Use Off-Road Regulation.