DIAMOND BAR, CA – The Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) is offering funding to local governments for projects that will help improve air quality. The MSRC has a total of $1 million in Clean Transportation Funding available to qualified cities and counties within the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) through its Local Government Match Program. Projects eligible to receive this matching funding include alternative-fuel infrastructure construction or expansion and the purchase of heavy-duty alternative-fuel vehicles.

Cities and counties within the SCAQMD receive vehicle registration fee subvention funds that must be used for projects that reduce motor vehicle emissions. The MSRC, using its discretionary funds, will match these subvention funds “dollar-for-dollar” for qualifying projects.

A primary goal of the MSRC’s Local Government Match Program is to assist local governments in meeting their obligations under the SCAQMD’s fleet rules. The program is designed to encourage development of publicly accessible alternative-fuel refueling stations, offering alternative fuels such as CNG, LNG, or motor vehicle-grade liquefied petroleum gas. The program also encourages local jurisdictions to purchase low-emission, clean fuel, heavy-duty vehicles by providing them with funding assistance to make these purchases.

For more information about the Local Government Match Program and the application, visit www.cleantransportationfunding.org, or call the MSRC at 909-396-3269. The deadline to apply for this funding is Oct. 2, 2006.

The MSRC allocates Clean Transportation Funding from a $4 surcharge on vehicle license fees, specifically to be used for local projects designed to reduce air pollution from mobile sources such as cars, trucks, and buses. Thirty cents of every surcharge dollar goes into the MSRC fund. More than $200 million has been distributed for air pollution-reduction programs since the MSRC was established in 1990. Clean Transportation Funding is heavily leveraged with investments from government agencies, as well as private sources, with billions of additional dollars contributed to projects throughout the region.