DERA Reauthorization Likely

AGC has been working through a broad coalition effort in support of the reauthorization of the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA), which provides grants for retrofitting diesel equipment. DERA is scheduled to be approved by the Senate today and is expected to be approved by the House this week. The five year authorization provides $100 million in grant funding for diesel retrofits, which is a 50 percent reduction from the funding provided over the past five years. The bill makes two significant changes advocated by AGC that will make the grants more available to construction contractors. First the bill eliminates a requirement that 50 percent of the funds be made eligible only for public sector vehicles. The second change allows individual companies to apply directly for the grants rather than through a third party non-profit organization. Other changes in the program will streamline the application process and provide more transparency. For more information, contact Brian Deery at deeryb@agc.org.