Drury receives $88K sustainability grant

Drury University's Ozarks Center for Sustainable Solutions has been awarded an $88,235 grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to conduct diesel emission reduction projects in 15 southwest Missouri counties.

The DNR received grant funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - made available through the Diesel Emission Reduction Act - for the projects and funneled a portion of the money to Drury, according to a Drury news release.

The university's sustainability center will oversee projects in Greene, Cedar, Polk, Dallas, Barton, Dade, Webster, Christian, Jasper, Newton, McDonald, Lawrence, Barry, Stone and Taney counties.

The grant funding will be split into two separate funds, to which eligible public and private diesel fleet owners will be able to apply.

The first fund, available to both public and private fleets, will be dedicated to vehicle replacements. It will pay up to 25 percent of the cost of a new vehicle purchase that uses an EPA-certified engine configuration. The new vehicle must replace an older, more polluting vehicle, the release said.

The second fund would champion a variety of projects, including EPA or California Air Resources Board-verified emission control retrofits, EPA-verified idle reduction retrofits, aerodynamic technology, low rolling resistance tires, engine repowers utilizing an EPA-certified engine configuration and the use of EPA-approved alternative fuels.

Public fleets would undergo the projects with 100 percent of the cost of the project paid by the Ozarks Center for Sustainable Solutions, except for engine repowers, which will require a 25 percent funding match.

For private fleets, the center would fund 75 percent of the cost of the project, except for EPA-approved alternative fuel projects, which will receive 100 percent funding, the release said.

The Ozarks Center for Sustainable Solutions will use a lottery process for each funding pool to determine which applicants receive funding.

Applications, which can be found here, are due by Feb. 1.

Drury University's Ozarks Centers for Sustainable Solutions was created in 2008 through the use of a $52,000 DNR grant, according to past coverage.
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