President Barack Obama last week signed into law Congress' reauthorization of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2010. The act, known as DERA, is a much welcomed and needed gift for states, communities and businesses that have been investing in clean diesel jobs and technology. DERA was created in 2005 to reduce emissions from the estimated 15 million-plus diesel engines in use today. Over the last five years, this program has provided funds to every state to clean up toxic diesel pollution.

The president and Congress provided $500 million in grants and loans over a five-year period for a variety of diesel cleanup options, including retrofits and retirements of thousands of diesel engines nationwide. This is especially significant because of the decades-long lives of diesel engines. DERA had to be reauthorized because its most recent allotment of funds released to the EPA — $300 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — was oversubscribed at a rate of six times. More than 650 applications requesting more than $2 billion and providing $2 billion in matching funds went mainly unfulfilled.

In Maryland, the new funds will translate into a large number of new or retrofitted diesel engines, a corresponding increase in new, green jobs and a major reduction in deadly black carbon pollution. Since DERA's inception, Maryland counties and municipalities have been able to retrofit buses with diesel emissions filters to protect children's health as they wait for and travel to school. But there are many more old buses that require this clean air technology.

In Baltimore, the Maryland Port Administration has been able to retrofit some diesel-powered dredging equipment with particulate filters that will cut emissions by more 90 percent. Also in Baltimore, CSX Transportation has retrofitted an older diesel train with a low-emission, fuel-conserving engine to do the heavy work of pulling and pushing trains around CSX rail yard in Curtis Bay.

Congress recognized that reauthorizing DERA was a simple yet highly effective way to protect our public health, improve air and water quality, improve technology and create jobs. Research shows that for every $1 spent on this technology, society receives $13 in public health benefits. In addition to helping create and retain healthy jobs, clean diesel projects will help Maryland reach its goals required in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act and the Watershed Implementation Plan to save the Chesapeake Bay. Diesel emissions release black carbon, the largest contributor to global warming and 2,000 times more potent than CO2.

DERA funding to improve public health has a great track record. However, there is still a need for more improvement. It is estimated that diesel "soot" pollution in Maryland leads each year to 409 premature deaths, 454 near-fatal heart attacks, 8,418 asthma attacks and 50,275 lost work days. It sends our children to emergency rooms with an estimated 424 asthma attacks, 635 acute bronchitis incidents, 7,324 lower respiratory symptoms and 5,864 upper respiratory symptoms. The financial cost of these health impacts will be $2.3 billion. Reauthorizing DERA will now help retrofit and retire the vehicles and heavy industrial machines that are at the root cause of this cost.

Republicans, Democrats and independents in Congress have shown the American people that they can work together to get something done. We all recognize that DERA benefits our nation's public health, economy and environment. In today's divided political world, reauthorizing DERA helped bring this country a little closer together.

Andy Galli is Maryland program coordinator for Clean Water Action. His e-mail is agalli@cleanwater.org.