S&D Lumber of Hallstead, Susquehanna County, will use funding received from the Small Business Pollution Prevention Assistance Account to install a new electronically controlled fuel injected diesel generator to provide power toits sawmill.

The new generator will replace three inefficient diesel engines which currently provide the power. The company projects annual savings of 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel as well as 294 gallons of motor oil.

Labor, downtime and maintenance costs will also be reduced as well as air emissions. Combined, these projects are expected to save the company approximately $9,512 annually. The business has projected payback period is 4.1 years.

The Small Business Pollution Prevention Assistance Account loan program was created in 1999 and received 101 loan applications totaling more than $4.5 million.

The loan program is available to any small business owner whose pollution prevention/energy efficiency project. The business must have 100 or fewer full-time employees.

The loan can be used to purchase or upgrade equipment, or to implement a process change, that reduces or reuses raw materials on-site, reduces the production of waste at the source or significantly reduces energy consumption.

Equipment and processes that focus on recycling or pollution control (scrubbers, filters, dust collectors, etc.) are ineligible for the loan.

The project must have a payback period less than or equal to the term of the loan and the expected benefits must extend beyond the term of the loan. The maximum loan amount is $100,000 with a 2 percent interest rate and a maximum term of10 years.

For more information, visit the Small Business Pollution Prevention Assistance Account webpage or contact Gene DelVecchio at 717 772-8951 or by e-mail at gdelvecchi@state.pa.us.

4/1/2005