EVERETT, WA — Snohomish County, Washington, has recently won several grant awards aimed at protecting and improving air quality and fish and wildlife habitat in Snohomish County. One $39,000 grant, from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to Snohomish County Public Works, allowed the county’s fleet operations to install 24 oxidation catalyst mufflers on 18 solid waste long-haul tractors and six road maintenance sweepers. Another grant application for about $200,000 was recently submitted to the Washington State Department of Ecology by the county’s fleet operations to continue the retrofit work that has already been begun. The grant would retrofit 81 more county vehicles with diesel oxidation catalysts. The diesel vehicles include a variety of many different types and sizes of cars and trucks. The cost to retrofit the individual vehicles will vary on type and size, but is expected to range from $800 to $5,000 per vehicle. No legal requirement currently exists for Snohomish County Public Works to retrofit its diesel fleet to reduce emissions, but diesel vehicles built after first quarter 2007 will be required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to include a combination of oxidation catalysts, particulate traps, and the use of ultra low-sulfur fuel to reduce emissions to under 15 parts per million.