From the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus:
We decided not to apply for federal funds to pass through as sub-grants to municipalities based on several factors: 1. You all expressed a modest need – equally split between ‘not interested, interested and maybe’
2. The application was onerous and required details about every vehicle that would be retrofitted under the grant. That was not possible.
3. The program is highly competitive and the funds available are very small. ($1,000,000 for the Midwest)
4. Most advisors discouraged us from applying because of the complexity of the program and the limited eligibility of municipal fleets. However, I offer a number of alternative resources to those who are interested in assistance to reduce diesel emissions. 1. A non-profit organization in Wisconsin, Leonardo Academy, has DERA application and administration mastered. They invite Illinois applicants for next year’s program. If you would like to participate in the next cycle, contact Mary Reames at (608) 280-0255 or Mary@leonardoacademy.org
2. Apply directly to IEPA for diesel reduction assistance, though municipal fleets are not strong candidate for this funding (school buses and long-haul trucks are). http://www.illinoisgreenfleets.org/clean-diesel/index
3. Consider replacing diesel equipment with alternative fuel vehicles.
a. If you are not already familiar with the Clean Cities Coalition, sign up for their newsletter for the latest information about alternative fuel technology and resources. http://www.chicagocleancities.org/
b. Consider IEPA Green Fleets program for grants and green fleet recognition. http://www.illinoisgreenfleets.org/overview Applications are accepted on a rolling basis for rebates up to $4,000 for vehicle conversion to alternative fuels, the purchase alternative fuel vehicles and alternative fuel itself. Finally, you might be interested to know we have completed fundamental work to update our municipal environmental pledge, the Greenest Region Compact. To do this, we analyzed sustainability plans from 26 municipalities in Illinois. This allowed us to evaluate sustainability goals that are common to many municipalities. As you would expect, green fleets, emission reduction and fuel conservation is an expressed goal in many plans: 46% of all municipal sustainability plans have such a goal or goals. Green fleet-related goals make up 5% of the 763 municipal sustainability goals we reviewed. Similar goals are also present in GoTo 2040 and the US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. A report of these specific goals is attached, FYI.
The Caucus will work to support municipalities pursuit of these goals in the future. Contact Edith Makra with your thoughts at 312-201-4506 or emakra@mayorscaucus.org.
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