Santa Babara County allocates $300,000 for organizations to replace landscape equipment

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District opened the application window Thursday for its Landscape Equipment Electrification Fund which provides money to organizations to replace their fossil fuel-powered landscaping equipment with electric-powered ones.

The press release below was issued by the air monitoring agency Thursday:

Voluntary Electric Landscape Equipment Program Launches Today

Trade-in program offers incentives for businesses, public schools, nonprofits, and public agencies

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. — Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) is excited to announce the relaunch of the Landscape Equipment Electrification Fund (LEEF) program. The program will allocate $300,000 to businesses, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and public schools to trade in gasoline or diesel landscape equipment and purchase electric-powered equipment.

The application window will open on July 11 and funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Eligible organizations can receive up to: $700 for chainsaws, trimmers, edgers, and brush cutters; $1,400 for leaf blowers and vacuums; $1,500 for walk-behind lawn mowers; and $15,000 for ride-on and stand/sit mowers.

To participate in this program, a piece of gasoline or diesel landscape equipment must be scrapped for each piece of electric-powered equipment purchased. Commercial landscape businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve Santa Barbara County — as well as public agencies, public schools, and non-landscaping businesses that perform their own landscape maintenance and are located within Santa Barbara County — are eligible for the program. Residential customers are not eligible to apply.

Gasoline- and diesel-powered landscape equipment is highly polluting and contributes to regional and neighborhood-level air quality impacts. Operating a commercial leaf blower for one hour emits as much smog-forming pollution as driving a new passenger car about 1,100 miles, or approximately the distance from Carpinteria to Seattle.

Oak Knolls Hardware will be hosting a free electric landscape equipment demonstration day on July 18th at the Orcutt Babe Ruth Baseball Fields from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Commercial-grade users are encouraged to attend to test electric equipment. APCD staff will be in attendance to provide applications and offer more information about the LEEF program.

“With limited funding, and ongoing community interest in this program, I encourage all interested parties to submit their application before funds run out,” said Aeron Arlin Genet, APCD Executive Director. “Participating in this program helps landscaping operations transition to cleaner technology at a reduced cost and helps maintain our progress toward cleaner air in Santa Barbara County.”

The LEEF program is funded by the Carl Moyer Program, a partnership between the California Air Resources Board and California’s 35 local air districts.

For details on the LEEF Program and links to application materials, visit www.OurAir.org/LEEFprogram/. For questions, email LEEFProgram@sbcapcd.org For information on the Demo Day contact Oak Knolls Hardware at 805-937-3536.