Nov. 5, 2004
Continuing its effort to establish the largest clean school bus fleet in
the state, if not the nation, the Southland’s air quality agency today
approved more than $13 million to replace and retrofit dirty diesel buses in
the four-county region.
“Thanks to the AQMD Board’s long-standing commitment to clean up
diesel-powered school buses, Southern California now has the largest fleet
of clean school buses in the state,” said Barry Wallerstein, executive
officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
“Diesel particulate pollution from school buses has serious health
impacts, especially for children,” he said.
AQMD’s Governing Board today awarded funding for 70 new compressed
natural gas (CNG) school buses and 830 emission reduction devices that will
reduce particulate emissions from existing diesel school buses. Funding was
also provided for related CNG fueling infrastructure.
Since 2000 and including today’s action, AQMD has provided more than $55
million for 271 new CNG buses, 86 new lower-emitting diesel buses, 2,102
particulate retrofit traps and 49 diesel oxidation catalysts.
Particulate traps reduce about 85 percent of particulate emissions, but
are only available for use on post-1994 model year buses. Diesel oxidation
catalysts are available for use on 1991-1993 model year buses and can reduce
hydrocarbon emissions and approximately 25 percent of particulate emissions.
Funding for AQMD’s school bus replacement program comes from the state’s
Lower-Emission School Bus Program; Proposition 40, passed by voters in 2002;
the AQMD Chairman’s School Bus Initiative; and U.S. EPA grant money.
Diesel particulate has the potential to cause cancer in humans and can
aggravate chronic respiratory problems such as asthma. The AQMD’s Multiple
Air Toxics Exposure Study (MATES II), completed in 2000, showed that
approximately 70 percent of the cancer risk from air toxics in the South
Coast Air Basin is due to diesel particulate.
In other action today, the Board:
- Released for 60-day public review a concept paper for Proposed Rule
1401.1 - Requirements for New and Relocated Facilities near Schools. The
concept paper presents a proposal for a new rule that would require more
stringent risk requirements for new or relocated businesses that are
locating near schools; and
- Set a public hearing for Dec. 3 to adopt Rule 312 – Permitting and
Associated Fees for Agricultural Operations – to reduce permit fees for
existing large agricultural sources and amend several rules necessary to
implement the requirements of Senate Bill 700 (Florez) that requires,
among other provisions, permits for large agricultural sources previously
exempt from air district permits.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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