2026 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act National Grant Program
EPA’s national DERA competition funds eligible organizations to reduce emissions from existing diesel engines, vehicles, and equipment through eligible retrofit or replacement projects.
2026 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act National Grant Program
At a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Program | EPA Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) National Grant Program |
| Funding type | Competitive grant |
| Expected funding | Approximately $180 million total; regional funding limits apply to each application |
| Project focus | Reduce emissions from existing diesel engines, vehicles, and equipment through eligible retrofit or replacement projects |
| Eligible applicants | Qualifying public agencies, port authorities, and certain nonprofit organizations; for-profit organizations are ineligible |
| Application route | Grants.gov |
| Questions deadline | November 24, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time |
| Application deadline | January 22, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time |
| Expected selections / awards | May 2027 / July 2027 |
| Official program page | EPA DERA National Grants |
What the grant funds
EPA’s 2026 national DERA competition supports projects that reduce pollution from existing diesel engines. Proposed work may upgrade or retire legacy engines through retrofits or replacements using technologies certified or verified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the California Air Resources Board. The opportunity is intended for applicants with a diesel fleet, a relationship to fleet owners or operators, or public authority relevant to transportation or air quality. It is a project grant, so an applicant should connect the proposed equipment and work plan to emissions reductions rather than treating the opportunity as general operating support. These program purposes and eligible technology approaches are described in EPA’s notice of funding opportunity.
The notice identifies potentially eligible buses, Class 5–8 heavy-duty highway vehicles, locomotives, marine engines, and eligible nonroad engines or equipment. These categories do not mean every vehicle or proposed change will qualify: applicants need to check the notice for the definitions, project conditions, eligible technology, and applicable regional limits before settling on a project design. EPA also states that projects cannot fund reductions required by federal law, emissions-testing equipment, or fueling infrastructure. An organization that is unsure whether a specific fleet asset or technology fits should use the notice and submit questions by the published question deadline.
Award scale and project expectations
EPA expects approximately $180 million to be available nationally and anticipates making 4–12 awards per EPA region. Those are program-level expectations, not a promise that any applicant will receive a particular amount or that each region will make a particular number of awards. The final awards depend on available funds, application quality, and agency priorities. Individual project budgets are subject to regional funding limits; the brief does not establish a single award amount that applicants can assume.
Projects are expected to run for two to four years. This is a planning horizon to use when mapping procurement, installation, implementation, and reporting activities in a proposed work plan. Applicants should verify the allowable project start and end dates and any more specific budget rules in the full notice. The supplied information does not confirm an applicant cost-share percentage or individual award ceiling. Check the notice’s region-specific funding and cost-share provisions before deciding how much to request or committing matching resources.
Who should consider applying
Eligible applicants include regional, state, local, or Tribal agencies and port authorities that have transportation or air-quality jurisdiction. EPA’s notice gives school districts, municipalities, metropolitan planning organizations, cities, and counties as examples that may qualify when they meet that definition. The organization’s name or public status alone should not be taken as proof of eligibility: it should be able to explain the relevant jurisdiction and how the proposed project fits its role.
Certain nonprofit organizations are eligible if they represent diesel fleet owners or operators, provide those owners or operators with pollution-reduction or educational services, or have promotion of transportation or air quality as their principal purpose. The opportunity also allows higher education institutions when they meet the stated eligibility definition. A college or university should therefore document the basis on which it qualifies instead of assuming that higher education status is sufficient. For-profit organizations are not eligible applicants under the facts supplied for this competition.
A fleet owner that is not itself an eligible applicant may need to work with an eligible public or nonprofit applicant. The brief confirms that partnership letters are required when applicable, but it does not spell out every permissible partnership structure. Applicants should consult the notice to confirm who can serve as applicant, which entities may participate, and what partner commitments need to be documented. A prospective partner’s participation does not, by itself, resolve the lead applicant’s eligibility.
How to apply
Submit the application electronically through Grants.gov. The competition opened September 24, 2026, and the application deadline is January 22, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The required package listed in the notice includes the following materials:
- SF-424 and SF-424A forms.
- EPA Form 5700-54, Key Contacts, and EPA Form 4700-4.
- A project narrative with a cover page and work plan.
- An applicant fleet description using the DERA Supplemental Application Template.
Use the versions and instructions identified in the current notice and application package. The supplied brief confirms these components but does not reproduce every field, format limit, or upload instruction. Follow the notice and Grants.gov package for those details, and check the final assembled submission against the package before transmitting it.
Some supporting materials depend on the project. Partnership letters and a justification for mandated measures are required when applicable. A negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, maps, and resumes are listed as optional attachments on the EPA program page. Optional status means they are not part of the mandatory package as summarized here; it does not establish whether a particular attachment is useful or needed to explain a specific proposal. Applicants should follow any relevant instructions in the notice and avoid presenting an optional attachment as universally required.
Applicants need active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity Identifier, as well as an active Grants.gov account. EPA cautions that SAM.gov registration can take several weeks, so applicants that are new to these systems should begin early. Confirm that organizational registration and account access are active well ahead of the deadline. The brief does not specify the time required to resolve an individual registration problem, so do not wait until the final days to discover one.
Timeline and deadlines
The competition opened on September 24, 2026. Applicants may submit questions through November 24, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Applications are due January 22, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Both times are Eastern, so an applicant working in another time zone should convert the deadline and leave time to complete Grants.gov submission. The official page is the place to verify the current question process and deadline details.
EPA anticipates notifying applicants of selections in May 2027 and issuing awards in July 2027. These are anticipated milestones, not guaranteed dates. Organizations should avoid treating a selection notice as the same event as a completed award; the supplied facts distinguish the expected notification and award months. Confirm current timing with EPA’s official page and notice if a schedule change would affect procurement, staffing, or project commitments.
Preparation and common mistakes
The following are practical preparation steps, not additional published eligibility requirements. Start by matching each proposed engine, vehicle, or equipment item to the notice’s eligible categories and checking the specified retrofit or replacement approach. Record the fleet details needed for the DERA Supplemental Application Template, then build the work plan around the actual assets, planned activities, and a feasible two-to-four-year project period. This helps keep the narrative, fleet description, budget, and project schedule consistent.
Next, establish the applicant’s eligibility basis in plain terms. A public applicant can identify its transportation or air-quality jurisdiction; an eligible nonprofit can describe the qualifying services or principal purpose; a higher education applicant can identify which stated definition it meets. If another organization owns or operates the fleet, clarify roles early and check the notice’s partnership instructions so any required letter can be prepared in time.
Before finalizing the request, verify the relevant EPA region’s funding limit and the notice’s cost-share requirements. The available brief does not provide a universal request amount or matching percentage. Avoid assuming that the national expected total is an amount available to one project, or that an expected award count predicts the outcome of a particular application. Also screen out activities the program says it cannot fund, including federally mandated emission reductions, emissions-testing equipment, and fueling infrastructure.
A common preventable problem is late registration. EPA says SAM.gov registration can take several weeks, and both SAM.gov and Grants.gov accounts must be active. Another is treating an item marked “required when applicable” as either always required or safely ignorable: determine whether the condition applies to the proposed project. Finally, optional resumes, maps, or an indirect cost rate agreement should not distract from a complete mandatory package. Use the notice’s instructions to decide whether an optional file supports the application.
Frequently asked questions
Can a for-profit fleet company apply directly?
No. The supplied eligibility information says for-profit organizations are ineligible. A fleet company may explore working with an eligible applicant, but it should verify the permitted partnership arrangement and responsibilities in the notice. Do not assume a partnership makes the company itself an eligible applicant.
Does a school district or university qualify automatically?
No automatic qualification is established. School districts may qualify as local agencies when they meet the transportation or air-quality jurisdiction definition. Higher education institutions may apply when they meet the stated eligibility definition. Each organization should confirm and document its basis against the notice.
How much can an applicant request?
The brief reports approximately $180 million expected for the national competition and says regional limits apply to each application. It does not give a single individual award amount or a universal cap. Consult the notice’s EPA regional funding limits and cost-share provisions before setting a request.
What engines and equipment are in scope?
The listed eligible categories include buses, Class 5–8 heavy-duty highway vehicles, locomotives, marine engines, and eligible nonroad engines or equipment. The notice governs the detailed conditions. Projects cannot fund reductions mandated by federal law, emissions-testing equipment, or fueling infrastructure.
What if the applicant is new to federal grants?
Begin SAM.gov registration and Grants.gov account setup early. EPA warns that SAM.gov registration can take several weeks. Then use the notice’s mandatory package list, the DERA fleet template, and Grants.gov instructions to assemble and submit the application.
What remains unconfirmed?
The supplied program information does not establish individual award amounts, each region’s exact funding limit, cost-share percentages, or whether a particular proposed fleet asset will qualify. It also does not confirm final selection or award dates beyond EPA’s anticipated May and July 2027 milestones. Applicants should verify these points in the current notice and official EPA page, and use the November 24 question deadline to raise unresolved program questions.
Official sources
- EPA DERA National Grant Program page — program information, timeline, and listed optional attachments.
- 2026 DERA National Grant Program notice of funding opportunity (PDF) — eligibility definitions, project scope, application package, registration requirements, and funding conditions.