SEPTA announced this morning that the Environmental Protection Agency is forwarding them $1.2 million to install new technology onto a 1950s-era locomotive that will reduce diesel emissions.

The EPA-funded project will help SEPTA repower the engine of a conventional diesel maintenance locomotive with two generator sets (“GenSet”), and a diesel particulate filter. The repower will drastically cut harmful diesel emissions.

“I commend SEPTA for voluntarily taking actions that will improve the environment and people’s health,” said [EPA Regional Administrator Shawn] Garvin. “This GenSet engine project is enabling SEPTA to help clean our air while also generating fuel savings for the Authority. It underscores what EPA has been saying all along – that environmental improvements create economic benefits as well.”

The GenSet technologies, according to SEPTA’s press release on the matter, will cut nitrous oxide and particulate matter emissions by 80 percent and carbon dioxide by 25 percent. The technology monitors engine idling and puts the motor into “sleep” mode after a certain period of inactivity. The project will be completed by mid-2012.

The announcement is one of many lately for SEPTA’s “going green” initiatives. Last year, it earned the EPA’s “Energy Star Building” label for the greening of its downtown headquarters and has put several environmental projects together on stations around the Philadelphia area.