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Neither state nor federal laws are requiring cleaner exhaust systems for construction equipment, but many contractors would nevertheless like to reduce their carbon emissions.

That’s easier said than done in most cases. The cost to retrofit or repower only a single vehicle’s engine can run tens of thousands of dollars. Contractors still facing uncertainty lingering from the economic downturn say they don’t have that kind of money readily available.

At least one local developer and its subcontractors have found a way around the problem.

Vancouver, Wash.-based C.E. John Co. plans to use a $132,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to pay for exhaust system upgrades on the cranes, trucks and earthmovers that will be used to build the Slabtown Marketplace on two acres in Northwest Portland.

Construction of the project’s first phase, including a 30,000-square-foot New Seasons Market store and a 113-unit, six-story apartment building, will start by late January or early February, and be completed by April 2015, said Tom DiChiara, vice president of development for C.E. John.

Completion of later phases of development at the 16-acre Con-way Inc. trucking site, which sits between the Pearl District and Northwest 23rd Avenue, could require five to 10 years, he said.

John Residential Construction Group, the project’s general contractor, along with many project subcontractors, will have their vehicles retrofitted to meet higher standards of emissions, DiChiara said.

“To my knowledge, this is the first company in the Northwest to voluntarily agree to use clean diesel construction equipment for a private construction project,” said Kevin Downing, the DEQ‘s air quality planner. “All other similar projects have been publicly funded and are subject to local or federal regulations.”

The exhaust controls cost between $16,000 and $18,000 per engine and reduce emissions by up to 90 percent, according to Downing.

The grant is the DEQ’s effort to spark retrofitting and repowering of diesel engines to higher standards, which currently are not required under state law, he said.

For other contractors seeking to upgrade their diesel exhaust systems, Downing pointed to a $2 million federal grant program; it has a Jan. 15 application deadline. The program is available to contractors working with public agencies in six Oregon counties, he said.

The grant money, which will be awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency through a lottery system, is available for public agencies and private contractors doing business with government agencies in Clackamas, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Multnomah and/or Washington counties, Downing said.

“These are counties that have had historic air quality problems in Oregon,” he said.

Companies or government agencies will be eligible for retrofitting or repowering up to five pieces of equipment and/or a $120,000 grant under the EPA program, Downing said.

Many contractors are looking to replace aging equipment with green technologies that are available, said John Kalkhoven, chairman of the National Utility Contractors Association‘s Oregon-Southwest Washington chapter, based in Portland.

Kalkhoven estimated that the cost of upgrading his fleet’s 10 pieces – including loaders, backhoes and bulldozers, would be between $120,000 and $200,000, he said.

“Asking the average contractor in today’s improving, but still challenged economic times to willingly go out there and spend that type of money on every type of gear you’ve got – that’s pretty hard,” said Kalkhoven, owner of Beaverton-based Titan Utilities LLC. “The dollars start adding up. We definitely are in support of it, but we would like to see more public funding.”

Of NUCA’s 200 members, which often contract with public agencies to perform sewer, water and street jobs, Kalkhoven estimated between 20 and 40 would apply for the EPA grant.

“The national push is to start making cleaner engines, but we’re not going to be out there buying new gear,” he said. “For many members to apply for a grant to do a retrofit – that would be a really big plus.”

For Eugene-based Jensen Drilling Co., the move to upgrade vehicles has already begun.

The company, which contracts on drilling projects in Montana, Arizona, California and Oregon, bought three motors for horizontal drill rigs for $30,000 to $40,000 each, said Randy Coryell, purchasing manager.

“We can’t wait for the (EPA’s) lottery,” he said. “We’ve got to get these machines in working order.”

Jensen, which recently completed slope stabilization as part of the U.S. Route 20 bypass project near Eddyville, wouldn’t be able to use grant money to upgrade the drill rigs, but could use the dollars on vehicles it plans to add, Coryell said.

The company performs work in California, where standards already are higher. Coryell expects Oregon to toughen its standards in the next couple of years.

“There’s going to be restrictions down the road,” Downing said. “It’s going to happen everywhere.”

The DEQ is offering assistance to contractors who would like to complete the one-page grant application before the Jan. 15 deadline, he said.

For more information on the EPA program, call 503-229-6549 or visit: .