Public Workshops

Summary of Arizona Workshops: Moving Down the Road to Cleaner Air

Arizona was recently introduced to the Collaborative at two diesel emissions reductions workshops held in Tucson on June 29, 2005 and Phoenix on June 30, 2005. The “Moving Down the Road to Cleaner Air” workshop goals are to raise awareness of the health effects of diesel emissions, highlight current technologies and strategies to reduce diesel exhaust and diesel particular matter (PM) in our cities, to showcase local and state projects and to highlight funding opportunities. The workshops included several panels which provided information on diesel engines, new rules and standards, idle reduction strategies; pre- and post-combustion retrofit technologies, as well as innovative projects that are being implemented at the local level. Many of the Collaborative partners shared their knowledge with workshop participants. Tom Badgett (IdleAire Technologies), Jeff Kim (Shurepower), Kevin Brown (Lubrizol), Steve Hurd (Caterpillar), Dave Vargas and Guy Remenap (Cummins Rocky Mountain) were among the many panelists featured at the workshops.

Similarly, the workshop heard from several local fleet managers describing their voluntary idle reduction efforts and engine retrofit projects. Fleet managers shared their successes and the many challenges they face in implementing diesel reduction strategies. The Tucson workshop included an inspirational panel with two students from Mexico working to bring biodiesel to the Nogales region, making use of waste oil and grease that would otherwise be slated for landfill disposal.

Several new/expanded projects were identified in Tucson and Phoenix including expanding the use of recycled oil for biodiesel production, school bus idle reduction outreach and education, bringing in alternative fuels for school districts, and creating a ‘green corridor’ along major Arizona highways that support electrification of truck stops and infrastructure for alternative fuels.

The Arizona workshops represent the first in a series of regional informational/funding forums to be organized in Region 9 and Region 10.

For more information, please contact Sue McDowell at 415-947-4188, or [email protected].

Workshop Materials

Tucson

Phoenix