Construction Fleets Initiatives

Clean Construction Contract Language
Diesel-powered “Construction and Mining Equipment” contributes approximately 23 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) per day in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) ozone nonattainment area, or approximately eight percent of all ozone-forming NOX in this area.
 
To help reduce emissions from this sector, North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) staff developed template Clean Construction Contract Language that could be incorporated into public works construction contracts as a strategy to improve air quality. The contract language is intended to increase the use of the cleanest available construction equipment and establish best operational practices.
 
The language was approved and included as Item 110, Air Quality Requirement for Equipment, in the final version of the Public Works Construction Standards North Central Texas, Fifth Edition, which was approved by the NCTCOG Executive Board in October 2017.
 
An excerpt of these construction standards is found here [PDF] and includes the template contract language and supporting forms. NCTCOG encourages local governments to include this language in construction contracts as an air quality measure.
 
A full copy of the Public Works Construction Standards North Central Texas, Fifth Edition is available for purchase at here.

• Sign up for email notices for grant programs and other incentives
• Funding Opportunities: NCTCOG occasionally offers grant funding to replace, repower, and/or retrofit construction equipment. For more details, click here.
• Federal Highway Administration’s Infrastructure Carbon Estimator: The tool can be used to compare strategies for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with existing or planned transportation infrastructure. For instance, it allows planners to estimate the relative impact that alternative fuels, alternative vegetation, used of recycled materials, preventative maintenance, etc. can play in reducing a project’s environmental footprint.  The tool is designed for use by planners and to help policymakers determine project priorities.
• The EPA Clean Construction Program is aimed at reducing emissions from diesel construction equipment. The effort provides best practices documents and funding, in the form of grants and rebates, to help remove old construction equipment from use.
• An excerpt of construction standards NCTCOG encourages local governments to include in construction contracts is found here [PDF], which also includes the template contract language and supporting forms.

NCTCOG Clean Construction Activities
In March 2010, the Regional Transportation Council approved a one-year Clean Construction Demonstration Project which evaluated the potential impacts of implementing the Clean Construction Specification, both for industry and local governments.  NCTCOG staff partnered with local governments across the region on a voluntary basis to incorporate the Clean Construction Specification into public works contracts and/or collect responses to the Contractor Questionnaire.
 
For more information, please contact Lori Clark at lclark@nctcog.org.