TAHOLAH — The Quinault Indian Nation has received a $171,407 grant to replace engines on a tribal fishing vessel with low-emission diesel engines, federal officials announced.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant will be used for new engines on a fishing vessel used throughout the year for chinook and coho salmon trolling, as well as halibut, sablefish, lingcod, rockfish, sardines and Dungeness crab fishing.
The tribe will provide a $52,136 match for the $223,543 project.
The grant was part of a nationwide campaign to protect air quality and reduce diesel emissions.
The EPA announced last Thursday $5.6 million in grants for diesel pollution reduction projects in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
The EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act grant program helps tribes, states and local communities reduce diesel soot and smoke, protecting air quality and reducing health risks, officials said.
“The benefits of investing in clean diesel technology are undeniable,” Chris Hladick, EPA’s regional administrator in Seattle, said in a news release.
“By helping fund diesel smoke reduction projects, we can improve air quality, provide solid leveraging opportunities and create good, family-wage jobs.”
Newer diesel engines operate more cleanly than in the past, and many older diesel engines that emit far more air pollution are still on the road, EPA officials said.
Diesel emissions contain numerous pollutants, including soot, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, that adversely affect cardiovascular and respiratory health, according to the announcement.
The Quinault Indian Nation is in north Grays Harbor County and southwest Jefferson County.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
