Hmmmm, their heart seems to be in the right place, but what exactly do they expect the States to do? They don't produce the cars or the technologies that make diesels cleaner?
Just seems a strange place to spend the money. I would have guessed that some companies who can prove they have some new technologies could use these funds or even some tax credits for people buying clean diesel technologies.

I'm open to anything that works, but I'm not sure I understand the expectation of how this will help? Anyone got an idea?

@Dave: This program exists (originated by the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of a couple years ago) to provide grants and revolving loans to cover some of the incremental costs of retrofitting diesel engines with new pollution-control equipment, replacing engines/vehicles with ones certified to cleaner 2007/2010 emissions standards, adding auxiliary power units to reduce idling and replacing or retrofitting diesel vehicles with hybrid drive systems. It makes sense to administer it on a state level because there's a good infrastructure set up in each state to handle funding thousands of small projects.

Funding R&D is fine and is accomplished through other programs, but diesel vehicles have long life cycles: without some intervention directly with the vehicle owners like this program, millions of inefficient and dirty diesel engines will continue to be operated for decades despite the new emissions regs.

Sorry, but $295k would not appear to go far given the overheads of most State government.