Suozzi Receives Certificate of Achievement for Air Quality Improvement Initiatives
Mineola, NY – The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), today, presented Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi with a Certificate of Achievement for his leadership in reducing vehicle emissions and improving air quality in Nassau County. Nassau entered into the New York Metropolitan Air Quality Initiative with the EPA, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, New York City, New York State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to significantly reduce vehicle emissions to improve air quality in the metropolitan area. Nassau County is currently the only county to fulfill commitments made in October 2006. Improvement in air quality is one of the objectives of Suozzi’s Healthy Nassau program.
“Thanks to Nassau County’s leadership in using alternative sources of energy and cleaner fuels, today we can all breathe a little easier,” said Alan J. Steinberg, EPA Regional Administrator. “Diesel exhaust poses serious health risks. Together with our partners, we are working to reduce those risks and move toward a cleaner, healthier, more productive future. Through our National Clean Diesel Campaign, EPA will provide nearly $50 million this year, and in the spring a portion of this money will be given out to help fund diesel emission reduction projects throughout the northeast.”
“I am honored to be receiving this recognition by EPA and this Certificate of Achievement,” said Suozzi. “I think this is indicative of the positive impact Healthy Nassau and our participation in the New York Metropolitan Air Quality Initiative is making and I will continue to undertake initiatives to reduce harmful vehicle emissions and foster healthy living in Nassau County.”
Suozzi has led Nassau County in several programs to reduce diesel emissions, including signing into law the restriction of idling diesel vehicles to three minutes, creating programs encouraging County employees and residents to use mass transit and other multi-occupant modes of transport, and encouraging the use of clean alternative fuels.
Nassau County currently operates one of the largest alternative fuel vehicle programs in New York State, which is currently comprised of 90 compressed natural gas, electric hybrid, ethanol flex fuel and electric vehicles, along with the first E-85 ethanol fueling station on Long Island. The County also supplied 175,000 gallons of low sulfur B-20 bio-diesel to all of its non-emergency heavy duty vehicles in 2007. Plans include increasing the County’s alternative fuel fleet to over 220 vehicles by the end of 2008, and the use of bio-diesel to 230,000 gallons. Long Island Bus, which operates Nassau County’s bus fleet, is the largest compressed natural gas bus fleet outside California with 330 buses. In 2007, LI Bus carried over 30 million passengers.
In addition to its alternative fuel fleet, Nassau County will replace many of its older 230 non-emergency heavy duty vehicles with new clean burning diesel vehicles and retrofit the remaining vehicles with the best available technology that will meet the 2007 EPA standard for reducing particulate emissions.
Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership ranked Nassau County the 7th largest user of green power. Nassau County purchased10,000,000 kWh of wind power and produced 29,000,000kWh of electricity using bio-gas to power two sewage treatment plantsin 2007. Byusing green power instead ofelectricity from conventional sources, Nassau Countyhas reduced its carbon footprint by 23,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The County will increase the purchase of wind power to 25,000,000 kWh by 2010.
County Executive Suozzi and Nassau County are beginning to be widely recognized across the region for leadership in environmental achievements. This year, the League of Conservation Voters and Citizens Campaign for the Environment will also present County Executive with awards.
