NEW ORLEANS – The Port of New Orleans received a United States Environmental Protection Agency grant for $1.24 million for the Port’s Clean Truck Replacement Incentive Program, which gives truck and fleet owners who serve Port NOLA an opportunity to voluntarily replace older, inefficient drayage trucks with cleaner models.
Since 2016, Port NOLA has received approximately $1.6 million in grant funding for its Clean TRIP initiative. This new grant award brings total Clean TRIP program grant funding to $2.8 million. This program was launched and implemented with funding from the EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
To date, Port NOLA said 58 short-haul drayage trucks have been replaced with cleaner burning engines, reducing fine particulate emissions from these trucks by more than 96%, the equivalent of taking 73,000 cars off the road. These replacements also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 542 tons per year.
The Port will begin accepting applications for new replacements in the spring of 2021 and expect to replace at a minimum 34 additional trucks, with a goal of 42 truck replacements.
“Truck drivers play a vital role in the Port NOLA freight gateway, and we’re proud of the positive impact the Clean TRIP program has had on the environment as well as on the Port’s trucking community,” said Brandy D. Christian, president and CEO of Port NOLA and CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad. “These competitive grants continue to provide truck replacement rebates supporting our local Port trucking industry, helping reduce local air emissions and increasing reliability and efficiency of the movement of goods on our roadways.”
For more information on the Clean TRIP program visit: https://www.portnola.com/community/sustainable-development/clean-trip
