Technology Briefs — Nov. 28 - Dec. 4

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The Latest Headlines:

• Delaware Offering Anti-Idling Grants
• Residents Oppose Kansas Ethanol Plant
• Pipelines Could Help Nevada’s Fuel Supply

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Delaware Offering Anti-Idling Grants

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Small Business Anti-Idling Initiative is offering up to $3,000 for small trucking companies and independent truckers based in Delaware to spend on anti-idling units, the Delaware News-Journal reported.

he state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control recently began issuing fines to drivers who allow their engines to idle for extended periods under some circumstances, the paper reported.

Companies with fewer than 50 trucks and owners holding Delaware commercial drivers license are eligible. The program includes an obligation to results from the systems's usage after six months and one year, the News-Journal said.

Applications must be received between Dec. 1 and Jan. 15. Details and applications are available at www.dieselmidatlantic.org , or contact Alex Hense at alex.hense@state.de.us. Transport Topics

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Residents Oppose Kansas Ethanol Plant

Backers of a proposed $185 million ethanol plant in southwest Kansas said it will add jobs and boost the economy, the Associated Press reported.

But opponents are circulating a petition seeking to stall the 110-million-gallon-per-year plant, which they claim will increase truck traffic, hurt property values and sap water from an already overused underground aquifer, AP said.

One farmer opposed to the facility said as many as 90% of people in the area are against building the plant on farmland near Wright, about 10 miles east of Dodge City, Kan.

Area residents said the area is a “water-deficit area” and worry the plant will speed up depletion of the underground aquifer. The plant would use an estimated 540 million gallons of water each year, AP said. Transport Topics

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Pipelines Could Help Nevada’s Fuel Supply

New petroleum pipelines from California and Arizona could shore up Southern Nevada’s precarious fuel supply within a few years, if someone builds them, said the head of a Southern Nevada fuel supply task force, the Associated Press reported.

An official with Clark County’s blue-ribbon fuel commission told the county commission that calling for more fuel supplies and keeping pressure on pipeline builders will be the key to preventing a fuel crisis, AP said.

The fuel study panel was created in October 2005 to consider ways to increase and diversify fuel supplies for a region now served by parallel pipelines from Colton, Calif., AP reported. Transport Topics

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