Council authorizes environmental department to apply for mobile-source air-quality grants

The Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 to authorize the Environmental Affairs Department to prepare and submit grant applications to the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC), the council heard, and to pursue grant-funded projects related to alternative-fuel and low-emission vehicles.

Gretchen Hardison of the Environmental Affairs Department briefed the council and answered questions about whether the grants would support leasing or purchasing of electric vehicles and other fleet options. Lisa Wonder of the department said a California Energy Commission rebate program offers an aggregate $9,000 rebate for electric vehicles over a three-year period (described at the hearing as up to $3,000 per year), and that the MSRC’s current solicitations focus on gasoline-electric hybrids and some natural-gas vehicles rather than a direct electric-vehicle buy-down.

Councilmembers asked about device- and fleet-specific opportunities, including particulate-trap retrofits and alternative-fuel sanitation trucks. Department staff said they planned an interagency meeting to assess departmental needs and to coordinate applications so the city does not duplicate efforts across departments. The staff also said some solicitations would address on- and off-road heavy-duty vehicles and particulate controls.

Councilmember Garcetti and others said they supported pursuing grants that would reduce emissions and asked staff to study whether city procurement and leasing rules could be changed to facilitate broader electric-vehicle leasing for municipal fleets.

The motion to authorize grant applications passed unanimously; the council did not commit specific matching funds at the meeting.