U.S. House approves Diesel Emissions Reduction Act

The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act needs President Barack Obama’s signature for the bipartisan legislation to be reauthorized for five more years, as the U.S. House of Representatives already approved the legislation.

The U.S. Senate unanimously approved DERA on Dec. 16. President Obama is expected to sign the reauthorization into law.

DERA (H.R. 5809) is a five-year reauthorization of the program created in 2005 to establish voluntary national and state-level grant and loan programs to reduce diesel emissions by upgrading and modernizing older diesel engines and equipment.

DERA funds are used to clean up the nation’s older diesels by retrofitting or replacing them with new technologies that significantly reduce the soot and emissions. The EPA estimates there to be an estimated 11 million older diesel trucks, buses and equipment in use today.