Local officials present ceremonial donation to New York distributor General Manager Ed Fitzmaurice (right).
New York WOD Receives $150,000 Grant for Clean Diesel Project
The company-owned distributor in New York City will soon operate from a state-of-the art building in Hunts Point in the Bronx that will include several environmental features. However, the New York WOD is currently developing a three-part environmental transportation strategy for reducing diesel emissions. This program includes using biodiesel and compressed natural gas for its entire Hunts Point fleet.
In a recent press event with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Anheuser-Busch announced receiving a $150,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The distributor will install closed crankcase filtration systems on 15 delivery trucks, which is about 20 percent of the local fleet. This innovative pollution reducing equipment has the potential to eliminate 100 percent of crankcase emissions from entering the atmosphere and is estimated to reduce particulate matter emissions by 70 to 80 percent. Special decals will be applied to trucks using alternative fuels and technologies.
In addition, the clean diesel project received praise at the event from Sustainable South Bronx, a nonprofit environmental justice advocate. This retrofit project will help cut diesel pollution in an area that, according to the U.S. EPA, has one of the highest asthma rates in the country.