National Grants: Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA)

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2022-2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Closed

EPA is authorized under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act  to offer funding assistance to accelerate the upgrade, retrofit, and turnover of the legacy diesel fleet.

EPA anticipates awarding a total of approximately $115 million under this NOFO: $58 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 funding and $57 million in FY 2023 funding, subject to the availability of funds, the quantity and quality of applications received, and other considerations.

All application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov no later than Friday, December 1, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (ET) to be considered for funding.

Important Dates

Activity Date
2022-2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Closed

Wednesday, August 2, 2023
2022-2023 DERA National Overview Webinars

2022-2023 DERA National Overview Webinar Slides (pdf) (971.64 KB, August 23, 2023)

  • Held on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 @ 3PM EST

  • Held on Wednesday, August 30, 2023 @ 2PM EST

  • Held on Thursday, September 14, 2023 @ 6PM EST
Deadline for Submitting Questions Friday, November 10, 2023, 11:59PM EST
NOFO Closes - Application Deadline Friday, December 1, 2023, 11:59PM EST
Anticipated Notification of Selection March 2024
Anticipated Awards June 2024 to August 2024
Email Updates

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Application Documents

Please refer to the FY22-FY23 DERA National NOFO for information on how to prepare and submit an application package. The application package must be received by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday, December 1, 2023. Please refer to Appendix D in the NOFO for an Application Submission Checklist to ensure that all required materials have been included in your application package.

If you are having trouble opening a PDF, please save or download the file and then open it with Adobe Acrobat.

Questions and Answers

The deadline for submitting questions regarding the FY22-FY23 DERA National Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was Friday, November 10th, 2023 at 11:59 PM (ET). All questions and answers, including those from all webinar information sessions were added to the 2022-2023 DERA National Questions and Answers (pdf) (522.26 KB, November 20, 2023)

Eligible Applicants

In accordance with Assistance Listing 66.039, and EPA’s Policy for Competition of Assistance Agreements (EPA Order § 5700.5A1), the following entities are eligible to apply:

  1. A regional, state (including the District of Columbia), or local agency, Tribal government (or intertribal consortium) or Alaska Native Village, or port authority, which has jurisdiction over transportation or air quality. School districts, municipalities, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), cities, and counties are all generally eligible entities under this assistance agreement program to the extent that they fall within this definition.
  2. A nonprofit organization or institution that:
  • a. represents or provides pollution reduction or educational services to persons or organizations that own or operate diesel fleets; or
  • b. has, as its principal purpose, the promotion of transportation or air quality.

Please refer to the FY22-FY23 DERA National NOFO for specific information about this competition.

Eligible Activities

Eligible activities include the retrofit or replacement of existing diesel engines, vehicles and equipment with EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) certified engine configurations and verified retrofit and idle reduction technologies.

Eligible diesel vehicles, engines and equipment include:

  • School buses
  • Class 5 – Class 8 heavy-duty highway vehicles
  • Locomotive engines
  • Marine engines
  • Nonroad engines, equipment or vehicles used in construction, handling of cargo (including at ports or airports), agriculture, mining or energy production (including stationary generators and pumps).

Grant funds may be used for diesel emission reduction projects including:

Funds awarded under this program cannot be used to fund emission reductions mandated by federal law. Equipment for testing emissions or fueling infrastructure is not eligible for funding.

Please refer to the FY22-FY23 DERA National NOFO for specific information about this competition.

Application Process

Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov by the deadline to be considered for funding. Specifically, the Grants.gov registration process requires that your organization have a Unique Entity Identifier (previously known as the DUNS number) and a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov); the process of obtaining both could take a month or more for new registrants.

Potential applicants without a Grants.gov account are encouraged to initiate the Grants.gov registration process well ahead of the deadline for funding since the registration process can take a month or more.

Organizations applying to this funding opportunity must have an active the System for Award Management registration. If you have never done business with the Federal Government, you will need to register your organization in SAM.gov. If you do not have a SAM.gov account, then you will create an account using the government sign in service (login.gov) to complete your System for Award Management registration. The registration is FREE. The process for entity registrations includes obtaining Unique Entity ID (UEI), a 12-character alphanumeric ID assigned an entity by SAM.gov, and requires assertions, representations and certifications, and other information about your organization. Please review the Entity Registration Checklist for details on this process. It is recommended to begin the System for Award Management registration process prior to applying to this grant competition; registration may take more than a month to complete.

Applicants with existing Grants.gov accounts are encouraged to check the status of your System for Award Management account and address any account issues in advance of applying.

Please note that System for Award Management registrations do expire, and inactive accounts must re-register to be able to submit an application. If you have done business with the Federal Government previously, you can check your entity status using your government issued UEI to determine if your registration is active. The System for Award Management requires you renew your registration every 365 days to keep it active. Applicants must ensure that all registration requirements are met in order to apply for this opportunity through Grants.gov and should ensure that all such requirements have been met well in advance of the application submission deadline.

All applications must now be submitted through Grants.gov using the “Workspace” feature. Information on the Workspace feature can be found at the Grants.gov Workspace Overview Page. For more information on the registration requirements that must be completed in order to submit an application through Grants.gov, click on “Applicants” on the top of the page, and then click the “Get Registered” link on the page. Contact the Federal Service Desk for help with your System for Award Management account, to resolve technical issues or chat with a help desk agent: (866) 606-8220. The Federal Service desk hours of operation are Monday – Friday 8am – 8pm ET.

Tools and Resources for Applicants

  • EPA Grants Management Training for Applicants and Recipients provides an online training course that is designed to introduce EPA grant applicants and recipients to key aspects of the entire grant life cycle, from preparation of an application through grant closeout.
  • Tips for a Successful Diesel Retrofit Project (pdf) (500 KB, April 2013, EPA-420-B-13-025) provides tips to help you get started and avoid common mistakes.
  • Technology Tips: Diesel Emissions Reduction Program (DERA): Technologies, Fleets and Projects Information (pdf) (1.3 MB, October 2011, EPA-420-P-11-001) provides information about retrofit technologies and what to look for.
  • Shore Power Calculator Tool is available online at Shore Power Technology Assessment at U.S. Ports. In 2022, EPA updated the shore power technology assessment titled “Shore Power Port Assessment at US Ports 2022 Update Report” which describes the availability of shore power at ports throughout the U.S., and characterizes the technical and operational aspects of shore power systems at U.S. ports. The updated assessment includes information on California Air Resources Board (CARB) shore power regulations, information on vessel readiness and real-world costs and practical operational lessons from different ports. The shore power calculator tool can be used to estimate how diesel emissions can be reduced through the use of shore power systems.
  • To better estimate potential emission reductions for projects including plug-in TRU systems, EPA developed a 2023 TRU Emissions spreadsheet calculator which facilitates estimating emission reductions and potential fuel savings available at Refrigerated Trailers and Transport Refrigeration Units (TRUs). TRUs are integral to transporting freight that requires climate-controlled conditions. Additional information on TRU systems and eligible DERA funding is available on the

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Last updated on October 21, 2024