LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded more than $6 million in Diesel Emission Reduction Act funds in the Pacific Southwest.

The total of $6,329,500 goes to public and private partners in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and American Samoa. The funds will be used to retrofit and replace old diesel vehicles and equipment, including school buses, trucks, agriculture and port equipment, and generators.

The Diesel Emission Reduction Act program is administered by the EPA's West Coast Collaborative, a clean air partnership in EPA’s Pacific Southwest and Pacific Northwest regions that leverages public and private funds to reduce emissions from the most polluting diesel sources in impacted communities.

"By promoting clean diesel technologies, we can improve air quality and human health while supporting green jobs in disadvantaged communities," said Alexis Strauss, EPA acting regional administrator. "Public-private partnerships like the West Coast Collaborative are leading the way on reducing harmful diesel emissions and advancing domestic economic development."

One of the projects funded by the grants involves school buses. The California Air Resources Board was awarded a $539,412 grant, to be combined with $371,168 in state funding, to retrofit 41 heavy-duty diesel school buses operating throughout the state. For more details on that project, go here.