During a press conference on Thursday, February 27, Waste Management announced that it will be converting their  Baton Rouge area fleet of 40 diesel garbage trucks to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)!            

Through this conversion to CNG, a clean-burning alternative fuel, Waste Management’s manager of public sector solutions, Warren Guidry, aims to keep Baton Rouge as an ozone-attainment area. The conversion of 40 trucks will eliminate 328,000 gallons of diesel consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Baton Rouge area by approximately 880 metric tons. The Baton Rouge conversion is part of Waste Management’s corporate plans to have 20,000 vehicles converted by 2020.

As an added bonus to reducing air pollution to the Baton Rouge area, the trucks will be quieter during service.

Matt Sutherland, LCF’s Board President, assured attendees at the press conference that "Louisiana Clean Fuels is dedicated to encouraging companies and other organizations to take advantage of the cleaner burning fuels that are available."

Part of our mission is to help local and statewide companies convert their fleets to save money and promote better air quality. We are excited to see the first CNG Waste Management trucks. Congratulations, Waste Management!

U.S. Rep. Samuel Graves-Missouri, along with co-sponsor Rep. Lee Terry-Nebraska, introduced three bills into the House of Representatives, that are intended for supporting the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel in the trucking sector.

The first bill, H.R.3937, would construct a task force to explore how the U.S.' long-haul fleet could be altered from diesel fuel to natural gas.

The second bill, H.R.3938, would direct the secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to designate natural gas fueling corridors for long-haul truck traffic.

The third bill, H.R.3940 - the Natural Gas Long Haul Truck Competitiveness Act of 2014, would create an interstate weight-limit exemption for natural gas vehicles to account for the heavier weight of CNG) and LNG storage vessels.

In other CNG and LNG news-the NGV industry is asking natural gas companies, fuel retailers, state advocates, fleets and customers to contact state weights and measures officials and other state officials to urge them to support the adoption of a national diesel gallon equivalent standard for CNG and LNG.  This standard would allow CNG and LNG to be sold in a way that allows for ready comparison with diesel fuel at retail stations.  All of the retail pumps used today in the U.S. use the GGE unit for dispensing CNG and all retail stations price CNG in GGE units.

From the purchaser’s perspective, the pump display and readings would show the number of DGE units dispensed and information would be provided on the pump to show how natural gas is converted to DGE units.  However, many key state weights and measure officials, support a proposal to require that natural gas be sold in kilograms instead.

The NCWM’s NGV Steering Committee needs to develop a proposal by the end of February in order for this issue to be available for voting later this summer at the NCWM Annual Meeting.

To "weigh in" on this issue, write to or contact your state weights and measure official(s) https://www.ncwm.net/resource/state-directors-all  to let them know if you support adoption of a DGE standard for CNG and LNG.

Sources: NGV America and NGT News

Each year we ask our stakeholders to report on their alternative fuel vehicles and equipment as well as their petroleum reduction activities. The information requested gives the Louisiana Clean Fuels (LCF) staff insight into the current state of the industry and allows us to obtain a better understanding of Louisiana’s alternative fuel needs. In light of our new expansion, many fleets will be reporting to LCF for the first time, and we are happy to help answer any of their questions or concerns.

We are excited to announce the first annual LCF Clean Fuel Leader Awards, which will be recognized in local press and presented during the Louisiana Alternative Fuels Conference and Expo on May 16, 2013 at the LSU Lod Cook Alumni Center. All responses to the 2013 Annual Report are automatically entered into the LCF Clean Fuels Leader Awards for the titles of LCF Clean Fuels Stakeholder of the Year and LCF Innovative Project of the year. Deadline for entry is March 10 at 3pm CST.

Fleets across the state will receive an email invitation to participate in the 2013 Annual Report and Clean Fuel Leader Awards. If you have one or more alternative fuel vehicle(s) in your company fleet, have instituted idle reduction practices or have opened a fueling station for CNG, LNG, LPG or EV and wish to participate, please email or call us today.

Louisiana Clean Fuels
225-342-7972 
info@louisianacleanfuel.org

If you would like further information on the data is used or details on the awards guidelines, please email info@louisianacleanfuels.org with your request. 

A Clean Air Action Report for the Baton Rouge area has been prepared as a joint effort by the Baton Rouge Clean Air Coalition (BRCAC), the Capital Region Planning Commission (CRPC), and Louisiana Clean Fuels (LCF).  These three organizations have been formally recognized by EPA as representatives for the Baton Rouge area in the EPA’s Advance Program, which is a collaborative effort between EPA, states, tribes, and local governments.  The program encourages expeditious emission reductions in ozone and fine particle (PM_2.5) attainment areas to help these areas continue to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

The objectives of this report are:

1. To characterize the Baton Rouge area with respect to its air quality
2. To document the progress the Baton Rouge area has made in air quality improvements and the many efforts that have been made to realize those improvements, and
3. To present a plan for future efforts to further improve Baton Rouge area air quality in order to meet EPA’s requirement for a “Path Forward” plan within its Advance Program.

To learn more, visit the Baton Rouge Clean Air Coalition's website at:  http://www.brcleanair.com
Article:  Baton Rouge Meets Federal Ozone Standard - Again (2/10/14)