DNR to recognize Kansas City project, reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality

WHO: Missouri Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser, Mid-America Regional Council, and Kansas City Southern Railway Company. 

WHAT: Media event to recognize diesel emissions reduction projects completed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s State-Allocated, Diesel Emission Reduction Grant.

WHEN: Tuesday, August 24, 10:30 to 11 a.m.

WHERE: GE Transportation Systems Locomotive Maintenance Facility adjacent to the Kansas City Southern Railway Company’s Knoche Yard, 3201 Front Street in Kansas City, Mo. (across the street from Sears). Enter through Gate 8.

WHY: The Department of Natural Resources received approximately $1.73 million in grant funds for the State Allocated Diesel Emission Reduction Act, or DERA, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

The department issued a sub-grant to the Mid-America Regional Council to administer the clean diesel grant program in the Kansas City area. Kansas City Southern Railway Company received a $43,084 grant to purchase and install automatic engine shutdown/startup devices on five locomotives. This technology reduces the amount of times the locomotives spend idling, thus both conserving diesel fuel and reducing diesel emissions. 

This project will also improve air quality and protect public health in the Kansas City area.