Program awards 4 diesel emission reduction grants.

Four organizations have received grants totaling more than $285,000 from an S.C. Department of Health and Environmental program designed to reduce diesel emissions.

DHEC's State Diesel Emissions Reduction Act receives funding each year from the Environmental Protection Agency to fund between 25% to 100% of the cost of projects which reduce diesel emissions through engine repowers, equipment and exhaust retrofits or equipment replacements.

"We're looking forward to partnering with several local organizations through these 2020 state DERA grants," Rhonda Thompson, DHEC chief of the Bureau of Air Quality, said in a news release. "For the last 12 years, DHEC has utilized DERA grant funds to reduce air pollution produced by aging diesel engines and equipment while simultaneously supporting local businesses and governments throughout South Carolina."

The organizations receiving grants for the 2020 program are:

Palmetto Propane, Fuels and Ice Inc. (Batesburg, Lexington County): $66,104 to help replace two diesel tanker trucks with...