March 1, 2002
Other Board
Action
To Reduce Toxic Risk to School Children
The Southland’s clean air agency awarded $6.8 million today to help school
districts purchase 59 clean-fueled and lower-emission diesel school buses.
"Diesel exhaust from school buses is harmful to children’s health," said
Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management
District. The agency’s Governing Board unanimously approved the funding today.
"Hundreds of older, highly polluting diesel buses remain on the road simply
because school districts can’t afford to replace them," Wallerstein said. This
program will remove dozens of dirty diesel buses and the cancer-causing
pollution they create."
Under a new state law authored by state Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh (D-East
Los Angeles), at least half of the funds will go to low-income areas with
relatively high levels of air pollution. AQMD’s Governing Board adopted the
following criteria last year to determine areas of high pollution and low
income:
- School districts that are among areas with the 15 percent highest
concentration of particulate matter in the region, and where at least 10
percent of the population is below the federal poverty level; or
- Areas with the highest 15 percent of toxic air pollution exposure.
The remaining funding is dispersed according to a formula adopted by AQMD’s
Governing Board, which also places a high priority on areas with low income,
high levels of air pollution or both.
Funds will go towards the purchase of 39 natural gas-powered buses and
construction of several natural gas fueling stations, as well as 20
lower-emission diesel buses equipped with traps to reduce particulate emissions.
(See following list) This year’s funding comes from
the state’s Lower-Emission School Bus Replacement Fund, AQMD’s Clean Fuels Fund
and an AQMD air pollution penalty settlement.
In other action, AQMD’s Governing Board:
- Allocated $2.6 million from the State
Emissions Mitigation Fund to help purchase electric forklifts and install
newer, cleaner diesel engines in tugboats, barges, other boats and
construction equipment;
- Awarded $50,000 to the University of California, Riverside to assist in a
study characterizing particulate pollution in the Mira Loma area;
- Received the annual
RECLAIM (Regional CLean Air
Incentives Market) audit for the 2000 compliance year;
- Adopted the 2002 Technology Advancement Plan,
outlining AQMD’s proposals for research and development of clean air
technologies, and approved the Technology Advancement Office’s 2001 annual
report;
- Received a status report on the agency’s
Mobile
Source Pilot Credit Generation Rules, noting that the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency last month approved AQMD’s pilot credit generation rules
1612.1, 1631, 1632, 1633 and 2507; and
- Awarded a proclamation honoring the late Dr. Robert M. Zweig, a former
alternate member of AQMD’s Hearing Board and founder of the environmental
groups Clean Air Now and the Clean Air Institute.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions
of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
-#-
CNG School Bus & Infrastructure
Awards
|
School District |
No. of buses |
School match |
AQMD contribution |
AQMD contrib. for infrastructure |
|
Montebello |
3 |
$75,000 |
$349,524 |
Not Requested |
|
LAUSD |
12 |
$300,000 |
$1,403,844 |
$140,384 |
|
West Covina |
6 |
$90,000 |
$761,922 |
$76,192 |
|
Arcadia |
3 |
$45,000 |
$380,961 |
$38,096 |
|
Garden Grove |
7 |
$175,000 |
$814,359 |
$81,436 |
|
Colton Joint |
2 |
$50,000 |
$232,674 |
$23,267 |
|
Chino Valley |
2 |
$50,000 |
$232,674 |
$23,267 |
|
Banning |
4 |
$100,000 |
$463,444 |
$46,344 |
Lower-Emitting Diesel School Bus Awards
|
School District |
No. of buses |
School match |
AQMD contribution |
|
LAUSD |
6 |
$150,000 |
$519,180 |
|
Bassett |
1 |
$25,000 |
$90,146 |
|
Downey |
2 |
$50,000 |
$173,060 |
|
Rowland |
2 |
$50,000 |
$165,538 |
|
Bonita |
1 |
$15,000 |
$92,769 |
|
Anaheim Union |
4 |
$100,000 |
$329,100 |
|
Cucamonga |
1 |
$25,000 |
$89,619 |
|
Redlands |
1 |
$25,000 |
$86,020 |
|
Coachella Valley |
2 |
$50,000 |
$172,040 |
|
