The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District recently received over $30 million in additional U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding to augment its grant program to replace old agricultural tractors and low-dust harvesters.

The District will use $20,000,000 from this grant for its Tractor Replacement Program. The funding will support the replacement of approximately 526 older, high-polluting tractors with significantly cleaner Tier 4 tractors.

Additionally, $10,366,695 from this grant will be allocated for the District’s Low Dust Nut Harvester Replacement Program, helping fund the replacement of approximately 170 pieces of nut-harvesting equipment with new, low-dust harvesting equipment.

Though the District has not yet opened up the applications period for either programs, a complete listing of program requirements for both the Tractor Replacement Program and the Low Dust Nut Harvester Replacement Program can be found at www.valleyair.org/grants or by calling program staff at 559-230-5800. We will keep you apprised of when the application periods will commence.