South Coast Air Quality Management District
South Coast Air Quality Management District
BOARD MEETING DATE: January 19, 2001 AGENDA NO. 6
Submit Applications to ARB and California Energy Commission, to Receive Funds for Implementation of Lower-Emission School Bus Retrofit and Replacement Program
SYNOPSIS:
Governor Gray Davis has allocated $50 million in the State’s FY 2000-01 Budget for the Lower-Emission School Bus Program. On December 7, 2000, ARB’s Governing Board approved the guidelines for implementation of this program. The AQMD must submit applications to the ARB and the CEC to receive funds for the retrofit and replacement programs respectively. AQMD will request $8 million from the ARB for the retrofit program, and $16.6 million from the CEC for the school bus replacement program. CEC requires ten percent in match funding from air districts that wish to implement the replacement program locally. AQMD will provide $1.66 million in match funding towards the school bus replacement program.
COMMITTEE:
Administrative, January 12, 2001, Recommended for Approval
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer
Background
Exhaust emissions from high emitting diesel-fueled school buses are harmful to children and are a key source of public exposure to toxic diesel particulate matter. There are thousands of older school buses on the road that have remained in service simply because school districts lack funds to replace them. To reduce emissions from these vehicles, Governor Gray Davis has allocated $50 million to the ARB in the 2000-01 fiscal year State Budget for the implementation of a Lower-Emission School Bus Program. As called for in the state budget, the program would provide grants to school districts to reduce pollutant emissions from school buses by retrofitting and replacing them. The retrofit program is designed to substantially reduce particulate matter (PM) emissions from in-use diesel school buses. The replacement program is designed to replace older, in-use, high-emitting school buses with lower-emission new buses.
Proposal
On December 7, 2000, the ARB’s Governing Board adopted the guidelines for the Lower-Emission School Bus Program, allocating $12.5 million for the retrofit and $37.5 million for the replacement programs. In the retrofit part of the program, it is anticipated that approximately 1900 in-use school buses statewide will be retrofitted with particulate traps having at least 85% reduction efficiency. Air districts would have to apply directly to the ARB for funds for the retrofit portion of the program by January 26, 2001. The funds will then be used to award grants to public school districts to pay for the full cost and installation of PM retrofit devices, and to provide $500 for each bus for the increased cost of low-sulfur fuel.
For the replacement component of the program, air districts wishing to administer the program locally would need to apply for funding to the California Energy Commission (CEC), and demonstrate the advantages of local administration. Such advantages include providing match funding to expand the scope of the program. The CEC will then determine which air districts are eligible to administer the program by February 15, 2001, and will recommend to the ARB to disburse funds in a single payment to the eligible air districts by March 30, 2001.
Staff recommends the Governing Board’s approval to submit applications to the ARB and the CEC for the local administration of the school bus retrofit and replacement programs respectively. The application to the ARB will be for receiving funds in the amount of $8 million to retrofit in-use school buses owned by public school districts and private contractors according to the ARB’s guidelines. The application to the CEC will be for receiving funds in the amount of $16.6 million to replace in-use older school buses owned by public school districts. According to the adopted guidelines, $11.1 million of the school bus replacement funds will be used to purchase alternative fuel buses, and the remaining $5.5 million will be used to purchase lower-emitting diesel buses operating on low-sulfur diesel fuel. The NOx and PM emissions will be 2.5 and 0.03 g/bhp-hr or lower respectively for the alternative fuel buses, and about 3.0 and 0.01 g/bhp-hr respectively for the low-emission diesel buses. As required by the CEC, a total of $1.66 million in match funding will be provided for the school bus replacement component of the program by the AQMD.
Benefits to AQMD
The proposed local match funding is included in the March 2000 update of the Technology Advancement Plan under Project 2000M1-2, "School Bus Implementation Assistance Program – Infrastructure Development and Facilities Modifications." The AQMP relies on the expedited implementation of advanced technologies and clean-burning fuels in Southern California to achieve air quality standards.
School buses operate in close proximity to students, teachers and neighbors. Many schools provide bus services in heavily populated areas. The successful implementation of the Lower-Emission School Bus Replacement and Retrofit Program will provide less polluting, and in many cases, safer school transportation for school children, and will reduce public exposure to toxic diesel particulate matter emissions.
Resource Impacts
The AQMD is expected to receive $16.6 million for the School Bus Replacement and will request $8 million but is expected to receive at least $5.5 million for the School Bus Retrofit Programs from the ARB. The AQMD is required to provide $1.66 million in local match for the school bus replacement component of the program.
Monies received from the ARB will be placed in a separate fund, only to be used for the replacement and retrofit of school buses in the South Coast Air Basin, according to the guidelines adopted by the ARB Governing Board on December 7, 2000.
Sufficient funds for the $1.66 million match are available from the Clean Fuels Fund, established as a special revenue fund resulting from the state-mandated Clean Fuels Program. The Clean Fuels Program, under Health and Safety Code 40448.5 and 40512 and Vehicle Code 9250.11, establishes mechanisms to collect revenues from mobile sources to support projects to increase the utilization of clean fuels, including the development of the necessary advanced enabling technologies. Funds collected from motor vehicles are restricted, by statute, to be used for projects and program activities related to mobile sources that support the objectives of the Clean Fuels Program.
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