(The Center Square) – A for-profit moving company in Oregon that charges $65 an hour for one mover recently got millions of dollars from the state government.
All Service Moving got a $2,760,660.36 grant from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to replace nine medium-diesel moving trucks with nine medium-duty electric moving trucks, according to a press release from the department.
The business was one of seven to receive money from the Diesel Emissions Mitigation Grant Program, totaling over $8.5 million. The state reviewed 45 applications before awarding these seven grants.
All Service Moving charges $165 per hour for two movers and one truck, $230 an hour for three movers and one truck, $330 hourly for four movers and two trucks, plus $65 an hour for each additional mover, according to the company’s website. That means a full day of moving help would cost well over $1,000, if not over $2,000.
The Oregon DEQ said in its release that improving air quality can improve public health and clean the environment.
It said the changes made by these grant recipients will remove over 27 tons of pollution from Oregon’s air.
“Companies with many older and dirtier diesel trucks can face difficult economic and logistical challenges to decreasing their diesel emissions,” DEQ Air Quality Division Administrator Ali Mirzakhalil said. “It is encouraging to see previous Diesel Emissions Mitigation Grant awardees experience the benefits of low- and zero-emissions vehicles and want to continue transforming their large fleets using our grant. This is just one of DEQ’s many programs and incentives supporting our mission to reduce harmful air pollution and protect public health.”
The grant funding comes from the DEQ’s Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund. That money comes from an award Oregon got from Volkswagen after being caught cheating emissions standards.
In response, the state directed the agency to offer grants totaling about $8 million annually for five consecutive years.
The program started in 2021. It will conclude next year.