Mayor Secures $500 Million EPA Grant to Reduce Goods Movement Pollution in L.A

More than 60 ships sit idle outside the Port of Los Angeles. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala, 2021.

LOS ANGELES – The Office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass worked to help secure $500 million in grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA to reduce pollution related to goods movement, which was announced the week of July 22. The mayor’s office contributed to the successful grant application as a member of the climate pollution reduction grant program regional steering committee. Los Angeles received the largest award out of more than 25 grant recipients.

Administered by the Southern California Air Quality Management District, the half-billion dollars in funding will go toward:

Installing over 1,000 medium and heavy-duty vehicle chargers and deploying 800 medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles and 18 electric locomotives.

Establishing a partnership with IBEW local 11 to support workforce training

Reducing air pollutants from diesel emissions in low-income and disadvantaged communities.

Creating hundreds of new high-quality jobs

Educating communities about electric vehicles to accelerate their deployment.

Building resilience in goods movement and supply chain by modernizing vehicles and developing a skilled workforce to be better prepared for the future

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach also pledged $5 million from the clean truck fund rate to support charging infrastructure projects funded with this new grant money. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been secured by collaborating with the state and federal governments, including more than $77 million recently awarded to electrify Metro’s bus fleet.

Earlier this year, EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited the Port of L.A. to highlight sustainability progress and upcoming federal investments in zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure, air quality planning projects and enhanced efforts to protect the health of communities near U.S ports. During her 2024 State of the City address, Mayor Bass announced the creation of a new climate cabinet to bring forward accountability for city departments in order to reach Los Angeles’ climate goals, including reaching 100% clean energy by 2035.

Details: See Mayor Bass’ investments on climate.