DHS rolls out fleet of 9 compressed natural gas vehicles

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled Wednesday in Desert Hot Springs to mark the addition of nine compressed natural gas vehicles to the city’s fleet under a grant from the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The vehicles were purchased through a more than $1 million grant from the Sentinel Mitigation Fund, which is administered by the AQMD. The fund was created as part of an agreement to help offset the impact of emissions from the Sentinel Plant in north Palm Springs.

“We are very pleased to be able to participate in local efforts to keep our air clean,” Mayor Adam Sanchez said. “And very importantly, this grant allowed us to do so at no cost to the city.”

The various vehicles, 21 in total, will be used by the city, Mission Springs Water District, Family Services of the Desert, Food Now and St. Elizabeth’s Food Pantry.

“I have lived here for a long time and there is a difference in the air quality, you can see the smog sometimes because of how busy it’s been and I’m glad Desert Hot Springs is being conscious about how much waste we make and how bad we make everything for our kids,” said Sarah Byerhoff of Desert Hot Springs.

“I think anything we can get where we don’t put the pollutants in the air with the emissions from the trucks and vans. This is what we need for the whole valley,” said Bill Houston of Desert Hot Springs.

Some of the grant funds also paid for upgrades to a compressed natural gas station near the water district headquarters.

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