Diesel Schoolbuses Get Pollution Controls

Diesel Schoolbuses Get Pollution Controls



Feb 2007 - Eight 
organizations in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New 
Jersey, New York and Vermont received a total of $3.8 million 
today from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce 
pollution from diesel vehicles. 
The funds are part of the Northeast Diesel Collaborative, a 
partnership of public and private entities in eight 
Northeastern states. 
EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson announced the funding today 
at a ceremony in New Haven. He said the government is 
committed to "making that black puff of diesel smoke something 
you only read about in history books." 
Much of the funding will be used to retrofit diesel-fueled 
school buses with advanced pollution control technology. 
Communities will also be able to use funds to offset the cost 
of switching to a blend of biodiesel fuel. 
Local Governments for Sustainability will retrofit up to 100 
school buses in five communities in four states, including, 
Syracuse, New York; Brattleboro, Vermont; Cambridge and 
Springfield, Massachusetts; and Hamden, Connecticut. 
In New York, Erie County’s Department of Environment and 
Planning will retrofit up to 128 school buses. The New York 
State Energy and Research Development Authority, NYSERDA, will 
retrofit more than 1,000 school buses. 
President and CEO of NYSERDA Peter Smith said, “Each day, 
school children ride on buses that emit harmful greenhouse 
gases, pollute our air, and pose health risks. The grant 
announced today will provide NYSERDA with additional resources 
to assist school districts in their efforts to make buses 
cleaner and help reduce dependency on fossil fuels." 
The rail transport industry will share in this round of 
grants. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey received 
$125,000 to retrofit five New Jersey diesel locomotive utility 
track vehicles with idle reduction technologies to reduce 
diesel pollution. It also plans to add diesel oxidation 
catalysts to two or more of these same locomotive engines. 
Diesel exhaust particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and 
pose serious health risks, including aggravating the symptoms 
of asthma and other respiratory problems in healthy 
individuals. 
The Northeast has some of the highest asthma rates in the 
nation, including a childhood asthma rate above 10 percent in 
all six New England states and rates near 15 percent in areas 
of New York City.

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