Edgecombe County unveiled its fleet of five compressed natural gas-powered Honda Civics on Thursday, with around 70 people attending the event.

Edgecombe County Commissioners Viola Harris, the Rev. Wayne Hines and Board Chairman Charlie Harrell attended, as did representatives from American Honda, Piedmont Natural Gas, the N.C. Solar Center and the state Department of Transportation.

Edgecombe bought the vehicles with a $115,000 Clean Fuel Advanced Technology grant through the Solar Center at N.C. State University.

But the grant is only available to 29 counties, said the Solar Center's Alternative Fuels Program Manager Ann Tazewell. Those are the counties the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified as having the dirtiest air in the state.

Harrell said the Civics are a "great first step" toward the county government using less energy and causing less pollution, while offering "tremendous" savings at the same time.

Along with costing less to operate than gasoline-powered cars, Harrell said a $4,000 federal tax credit is given for each of the Civics. And with the CNG refueling station in operation, he added that the county can look to buy more CNG vehicles in the future, as well as save more money "for years to come."

Along with the $4,000 credit, there is also a $1,000 federal tax credit for installation of compressed natural gas fueling stations. If residents use natural gas for their home's heating, they can install a CNG vehicle-fueling station at their home and receive the tax credit.

Hines said he thought the CNG Honda Civics are the "best thing going right now" for the county. He said they will help because they will replace five of the county government's used vehicles. After the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office uses vehicles for 100,000 miles, they are then reassigned to other county departments.

Department of Social Services Director Marva Scott said that two of the Civics have been assigned to the department's child welfare agents. Social Services administration personnel also will use the vehicles from time to time, she said.

Health Department Director Karen Lachapelle said that two Home Health nurses also will use two Civics. She called the CNG vehicles "fabulous" because they replace two of the department's vehicles that go through constant repairs and maintenance.

The Sheriff's Office will use the fifth CNG Civic.

Now that the county has the vehicles, County Manager Lorenzo Carmon said one of Edgecombe's current priorities is to identify other CNG fueling stations in the state. That's so the county government can enter into mutual agreements with other counties and cities, so it can refuel its CNG vehicles in other parts of North Carolina.

Mark Smith, an alternative fuels vehicle consultant to American Honda Motor Co., said that because of the county's purchase of the CNG Civics, it will help the automaker implement even more advanced technology for motor vehicles, like hydrogen-powered cars.

He said that the CNG Civics release 76 percent less pollution-causing emissions than the regular model Civic, which already has the cleanest internal combustion engine on the market according to the EPA.

John Monaghan with Piedmont Natural Gas, said when other county governments see the positive results from the Edgecombe CNG vehicle fleet, they "will be here in Tarboro wondering how you did it and what you did."