New environmental target: outdated lawn mowers

HARTFORD Conn. — Forget diesel trucks and smoke-spewing sedans: Connecticut's newest anti-pollution initiative is aimed at some of the smallest engines on the market.

The state is offering cash incentives to municipalities this fall for scrapping their older, high-pollution lawn mowers, leaf blowers and chain saws.

The idea is similar to a "Cash for Clunkers" program for landscaping equipment, except the only eligible beneficiaries are local governments and school systems.

Also, the incentives are far higher: Connecticut will pay 80 cents on the dollar when municipalities buy new, low-pollution replacements.

"It's a win-win-win. It's not using tax money, the municipalities save money and it's helping the environment," said Paul Farrell, assistant director of air planning at the Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP will pay towns, cities and schools from a $500,000 judgment that Connecticut won in 2003 from Ohio Edison, a Midwestern power generator that created air pollution in the Northeast.

Communities will compete for the money, and the DEP will choose the applications that show the best environmental gains — in most cases, that will mean communities with the most outdated lawn gear.

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