Settlement money is fueling millions of dollars in grant funding meant to clean up Washington's diesel fleets.

Ambulances, fire trucks, tugboats and street sweepers often run on diesel engines, which add to air pollutants and can be bad for people's health.

“All of our grants focus on reducing these emissions through these scrapping or replace projects, and we've designed our project guidelines to prioritize communities that are highly impacted by air pollution.” That's Pete Siefer.

He leads the diesel reduction unit at the Washington State Department of Ecology.

The grant applications are open to both public and private organizations, and Ecology is taking applications through January.

The money's coming from a past settlement with Volkswagen after the company was sued for violating the Clean Air Act with illegal emissions.

As part of NWPBs commitment to reporting not just on problems but solutions to them in our communities, Senior Environmental Correspondent Courtney Flatt shows us how some people in the Tri-Cities area are embracing native plants with all their unique beauty and as a tool to combat drought.

Here's a small part of the recent solution story.

[Courtney] - At West Richlands annual Tapteal Native Plant sale, people bustle about gravel rows of multicolored bunched grasses and baby shrubs standing less than an inch tall.

Valerie Landon is looking at choke cherries and golden currants.

- What kind of environment does it like?

Full sun or part shade.

[Courtney] - For years, Landon has adorned her yard in Finley, Washington, with plants that feed local pollinators and birds.

[Valerie] - You need to buy into the idea of something that looks a little wild.

If you want something that's sort of traditional idea of gardens, everything lined up neat and tidy, you're probably not going to get that effect.

[Courtney] - People with native plants evangelized their gardens like seeds in the wind.

[Tracci] - Find Courtney's full feature piece online at NWPB.org.

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