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newsrel -- More than $5.5 million awarded to clean up school bus fleet

Posted: 16 Dec 2008 16:01:30
The Air Resources Board announced today $5,500,000 in first-round
grant monies from the Lower-Emission School Bus Program to
schools within air districts for replacement and retrofit
projects. These grants will affect 123 buses in 41 school
districts throughout California, cutting toxic diesel particulate
matter and smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions. 

Release 08-104
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2008

Contact:	  	  	
Mary Fricke
(916) 322-2638
www.arb.ca.gov

More than $5.5 million awarded to clean up school bus fleet


SACRAMENTO -The Air Resources Board announced today $5.5 million
first-round grant monies from the Lower-Emission School Bus
Program to schools within air districts for replacement and
retrofit projects. These grants will affect 123 buses in 41
school districts throughout California, cutting toxic diesel
particulate matter and smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions.

“School bus emissions are a serious health concern for
children,” said ARB Chairman Mary Nichols. “These incentive funds
will quickly get the dirtiest buses off the road.”

To date, the program has received 172 applications totaling more
than $21 million in replacement projects, and 705 applications
totaling $13.3 million in retrofit projects. Overall, ARB has
received $35.8 million in applications to date.

ARB has also approved applications for the replacement of the
remaining pre-1977 buses in these air districts totaling
approximately $1.4 million.

Proposition 1B, approved by California voters in November 2006,
provided almost $200 million in funding for the ARB’s
Lower-Emission School Bus Program. These funds were allocated by
the ARB in March 2008, allowing air districts to replace or
retrofit some of the oldest, highest polluting diesel school
buses.

These current revisions to the program’s guidelines allowed the
local air districts to elect the ARB to implement the program in
16 local air districts.

Since the program was established in 2000, over $100 million has
been provided to replace 600 of the oldest school buses in the
state and retrofit an additional 3,800 buses. With the additional
Proposition 1B funds, it is anticipated that a 1,000 school buses
will be replaced with new, cleaner buses and 3,500 in-use school
buses will be retrofitted with diesel particulate filters,
thereby reducing children’s exposure to diesel exhaust
emissions.

Nitrogen oxides and diesel particulate matter are toxic,
associated with cancer and can also exacerbate cardiovascular and
respiratory ailments. Children living in communities with higher
concentrations of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter had
decreased lung development and may have permanent adverse effects
into adulthood.

For a detailed listing of the school districts and air districts
of the initial award, please refer to:
www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/schoolbus/2008lesbpgrants.htm

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and
protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through
effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air
pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain
health based air quality standards.

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