The region's air quality agency is moving to place clean school buses on the road in the Southland through a combination of new funding for schools and a proposed rule.
"The South Coast Air Quality Management District has $22 million available this year for new alternative fuel school buses, plus several million dollars for installing alternative fueling stations," said Barry Wallerstein, AQMD's executive officer.
"One of our top priorities this year is to supplement existing funding programs to enable school districts, local governments and private firms to replace dirty diesel vehicles with less polluting models," he said.
AQMD has been particularly careful to structure its Proposed Rule 1195-Clean On-Road School Buses so that it does not divert school funds from the classroom, Wallerstein said. The rule would require school bus fleet operators to purchase alternative fuel models, generally powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), when acquiring new buses -- but only if outside funds are available to cover the cost of such vehicles.
AQMD's Governing Board will consider the rule on April 20.
"If funding from AQMD or other environmental agencies is not available to cover the additional costs of CNG buses and associated fueling facilities, schools would not have to buy them," Wallerstein said.
Since June 2000, AQMD's Governing Board has adopted six clean-fuel vehicle measures aimed at shifting the region's fleets of diesel transit buses, trash trucks, taxis and other vehicles to lower-emission and alternative fuel models.
Rule Aimed at Reducing Cancer Risk
AQMD adopted its fleet rules in response to the agency's landmark 1999 study, the Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study II, which concluded that diesel exhaust is responsible for about 71% of the total cancer risk posed by all air pollution. Diesel vehicles also emit a disproportionately large amount of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to ozone and particulate pollution.
CNG-powered buses emit very little particulates, even without any control device. While diesel buses equipped with particulate traps emit similar or lower levels of particulate, CNG buses emit at least 45% less nitrogen oxides than new diesel buses and at least 27% less than so-called "green diesel" buses.
"Young children, who are among those most sensitive to air pollution, are exposed on a daily basis to toxic diesel soot from the school buses they ride to school," Wallerstein said.
"Our proposal will reduce toxic and smog-forming pollution without taking away funds from school budgets and programs."
School Bus Proposal
Under Proposed Rule 1195, school districts and private school bus fleet operators with 15 or more school buses would be required to purchase an alternative fuel bus when adding to an existing fleet or forming a new one. Alternative fuels include CNG, liquefied natural gas, propane, electricity and other clean fuels.
The measure would apply to some 8,800 school buses in AQMD's jurisdiction, including about 3,700 operated by school districts, 4,900 operated by private firms and 200 by private schools.
The rule would take effect upon adoption, but would allow fleet operators with fewer than 50 buses to delay purchasing alternative fuel buses until:
Schools Exempt if Funding Not Available
The proposal contains several key exemptions including:
Under the proposal, if a school district couldn't purchase an alternative fuel bus, it would buy a lower-emission diesel-powered model with a state-approved emissions control device, if funding is available to cover any additional cost of such a bus.
The measure, like AQMD's other fleet rules, would be amended to allow schools to purchase diesel vehicles equipped with special emission control devices if they can be proven as clean as natural gas vehicles.
Funding Available
The total cost of the rule is estimated at $13.1 million annually -- $4.4 million for public and private schools and $8.7 million for school bus contractors. The estimates include the cost of purchasing and maintaining alternative fuel buses, installing fueling stations, training mechanics and making any needed modifications to repair shops.
Incentive programs are expected to pay the entire cost to public schools and a substantial portion of the cost to private schools and bus contractors. Specifically, planned funding sources this year include:
In addition, $6 million from the California Energy Commission is available statewide for alternative fueling stations. AQMD will continue to seek funding for future programs to help offset the costs of implementing the rule.
Alternative Fuels Making Inroads
In addition to hundreds of CNG-powered transit buses already on the road in the Southland, the region's school districts now operate more than 100 CNG school buses. There are currently close to 40 CNG fueling stations accessible to the public -- some of which are capable of fueling full-size school buses -- and more are expected to be available in the near future.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and the urban portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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AQMD Home Page
This page updated: August 19, 2004
URL: http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/School_Bus_RulePR.htm