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9A Page 6 including Long Beach, Whittier, Downey, Norwalk. Cerritos and Lakewood. The smaller council of government covers about 2 million people in a larger region of 20 million. GCCOG launched its clean air program in 2002 after staff examined a South Coast Air Quality Management District study which found high concentrations of diesel particulates along the freeway corridors in its region. Jack Joseph. GCCOG deputy director says staff was concerned because these particulates are related with higher instances of cancer, asthma and other respiratory diseases. Wanting to improve local air quality. the GCCOG applied for federal funding to start a pilot program in 2002 to provide grants to diesel truck owners who would turn in their older model truck cabs to purchase newer vehicles. The program wrapped up on Oct. 1, 2008. GCCOG initially received $1.2 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ultimately, the project secured a total of approximately $30 million in six years from a number of agencies including the Califomia Air Resources Board, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles. When the program first launched earlier this decade, a variety of trucks qualified such as trucks working out of the ports as well as cement and asphalt haulers. However, as the two local ports became more involved and provided more funding, the focus shifted to trucks transporting goods out of the ports. The age of the trucks replaced ranged from the late 1960s to mid 19905. Unlike a vehicle that runs on gasoline, diesel engines can run upwards of a million miles and because they are extremely costly to replace, a diesel truck can remain on the road for decades-the older the model the more it pollutes. According to Joseph. a newer used cab costs approximately $60,000 and a brand new one can run between $100,000 and $120,000. Under the program, diesel truck owners-trucks that typically pull 40 foot containers of goods out of the ports-<;Ouldapply for a grant that would cover about two-thirds of the cost of a newer, less polluting "cab: The grant amount was determined by how much air quality would improve with the newer model based on the age of the scrapped cab and the miles it was driven annually. Program participants entered into an agreement with GCCOG stating that they would stay in the trucking profession for five years and would drive 85 percent of their miles in the region. "The reason we required partidpants to pledge to remain in the program for five years is because we wanted to keep the benefits In the region," said Joseph who continued "We hope that they stay in the profession and area beyond five years so there are even longer term benefits." In six years. the pilot took 650 older diesel trucks off the road replacing them with newer models. GCCOG's staff estimates that for every older truck scrapped in the program, one ton less of nitrous oxide (NOX) is released over a five year period. NOX is one of the components responsible for smog formation. Additionally, each newer model on the road reduces particulate emissions by six-tenths of a ton over the same period. Although the pilot project ended last month. it had tremendous impact beyond the 650 trucks replaced. The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are taking it to the next level. "It was a pilot program that worked and when pilot programs work, it moves on to a larger and more permanent program. That's exactly what happened in this situation and we feel good about it," said Joseph. The two ports are now expanding the program dramatically and have a goal to take 16,000 older diesel trucks off the road. It has been estimated that 45 percent of cargo coming into the U.S. comes into either the Port of Long Beach or Los Angeles so improving the efficiency of vehicles transporting these goods goes a long way to improving the air quality in southern California. GCCOG is now moving onto new air quality improvement projects in its region. including a plan to improve the 710 freeway, which is the major route to move cargo out of the ports and into the region. Additional information about GCCOG can be found on its Web site at www.qatewavcoQ.org. 6