ArcelorMittal has been awarded a $164,032 grant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to re-power three diesel engine front-end loaders at its Indiana Harbor facility.

The Northwest Indiana Forum (NIF) facilitated the grant and ArcelorMittal matched it, according to a statement released by NIF on Wednesday.

“Re-powering the engines will not only reduce air emissions from the facility but will also reduce fuel consumption and the facility’s overall carbon footprint,” the statement said.

“ArcelorMittal is a proactive organization with a history of working to reduce emissions,” said Kay Nelson, director of environmental affairs at NIF. “Re-powering the engines is not mandatory. ArcelorMittal stepped up their efforts to create a better environment.”

ArcelorMittal and NIF, with the help of URS Corporation, originally applied for funding of 13 engines, the statement noted, but due to the popularity of the EPA Clean Diesel grant program, EPA was only able to award funds sufficient to re-power three of the 13. Re-application for funding the remaining 10 engines will occur in the next grant cycle.

“Indiana Harbor is honored to be among the recipients of this grant,” said Mike Heaney, senior division manager at Indiana Harbor. “This project is another step toward achieving our goal to make a positive impact on the air quality in our community.”

NIF through its Foundation acted as grant manager and fiduciary, the statement said. “In this case the Foundation plays a vital role in regional education for industrial, governmental, and environmental stakeholders relating to pollution prevention and general environmental issues.”