SCAG to Receive $50 Million for Cleaner Goods Movement

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) will receive $50 million for clean technology improvements as part of a nearly $500 million grant for Southern California within $4.3 billion in investments to reduce pollution across the nation announced today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). The funding award for California responds to a collaborative application headed up by South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) outlining a coordinated, large-scale regional effort for zero-emission vehicles and fueling infrastructure improvements to support the regional goods movement network.  

“SCAG is proud to be a committed partner with AQMD in implementing this transformational initiative, which aligns priorities at the local, regional and federal levels to support cleaner air in Southern California. This level of investment from the U.S. EPA is unprecedented and we expect it to have a significant impact scaling zero-emission technologies,” said SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise.   

“The strength of AQMD’s application speaks to the needs we have in Southern California to improve air quality and address climate change. Our transportation system supports the nation’s largest trade gateway – but we also have the worst air quality in the nation, and the burdens of that have fallen too often on historically disadvantaged communities,” Ajise said.  

SCAG’s Last Mile Freight Program is a partnership with the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) to transition last mile delivery vehicles to clean technologies and is commercially deploying $70 million in zero-emission medium and heavy-duty trucks. The Last Mile Freight Program will receive $50 million of the nearly $500 million U.S. EPA funding award to support deployment of nearly 300 zero-emission fueling stations and up to 740 medium- and heavy-duty trucks. 

The award comes from the U.S. EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Program, which is providing grants to invest in efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, improve air quality, create jobs and reduce energy costs, and benefit low-income and disadvantaged communities as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. In addition to SCAG, jurisdictions involved in AQMD’s application included counties of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino, which was submitted in April.