The Advocate. The East Baton Rouge (Louisiana) Parish Recreation and Park Commission is applying for a federal grant to buy eight new CNG vehicles, including five Honda GX Civics.

Currently, CNG is running about $1.40 per gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) in the area, compared to more than $2 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. Offsetting that, however, the factory-equipped Honda GX Civics costs about $4,500 each more than gasoline-powered ones.

Total cost of the eight vehicles, which include five cars, two trucks and a van, will be $179,350, with the federal grant covering $42,000.

The commission is also looking to the federal “Clean Cities” grant to pay 70% of the cost of installing a natural gas refueling station for its vehicles. The city-parish Department of Public Works is also applying for five CNG vehicles as part of the same grant.

The five-parish Baton Rouge area—East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston and Iberville—was classified as “severe“ for ozone in 2003. The parish is looking to CNG as one small means to help mitigate that.