LANSING – With the creation of a task force in Michigan, all of the states under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region V are now involved in the Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative.
The first meeting of the Michigan task force is scheduled for February 6.
The five other states in the region began their task forces last year, but Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson Robert McCann said Michigan was delayed by funding shortages in the department.
He said the task force was launched in the last month after the department was able to free up a person and some funds for coordinating the project. “We had told EPA in the past that we wanted to do this but we didn’t have the staff resources or the financial resources to do it,” McCann said.
Several manufacturers are also participating in the process, he said.
The Michigan task force will largely follow the pattern set by the groups in the other Midwest states, McCann said.
The goal of the initiative is to cut emissions from diesel engines in the states by 2010 on top of what has been done through the conversion to low-sulfur diesel fuel.
Officials who had the location for the meeting were not available Wednesday.
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
a>>
