¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ

Those 120 trucks are more than six years old and need the retrofitting equipment to bring emissions up to air quality standards. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association awarded the agency a $250,000 grant to install emission-reducing equipment on trucks across the state.

That equipment should reduce emissions on those trucks by up to 50 percent, state officials said. The retrofitting should also reduce nitrogen oxide, which contributes to smog.

"Reducing diesel fuel emissions is clearly a step in the right direction in the larger struggle to improve air quality," said Shawn M. Garvin, EPA's mid-Atlantic regional administrator. "Equipping dump trucks with filters, reducing engine idling time for maintenance equipment and establishing meadows along roadsides shows Maryland is a leader in its commitment to a greener highway system."

SHA officials are also applying for grants to install emissions-reducing equipment on dump trucks.

District 2 includes Talbot, Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne's and Cecil counties.