South Coast Air Quality Management District

Issue Program Announcement & Application for FY 2000-01 Lower-Emission School Bus Replacement and Retrofit Program Funding

SYNOPSIS:

The State’s FY 2000-01 Budget contains $50 million for the Lower-Emission School Bus Program. The AQMD expects to receive $16.6 million for the replacement and at least $5.5 million for the retrofit components of the program allocated for the South Coast Air Basin. In addition, at its January 19, 2001 meeting, the Board allocated $1.66 million from the Clean Fuels Fund to provide for the school bus replacement program. The proposed program announcement and application will provide funding up to a total of $23.76 million to replace older school buses with alternative fuels and lower-emitting diesel buses and to retrofit in-use school buses with particulate traps.

COMMITTEE:

Technology, January 26, 2001, Recommended for Approval

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Approve issuance of Program Announcement & Application #PA2001-02, in an amount not to exceed $23.76 million, for implementation of the Lower-Emission School Bus Replacement and Retrofit Program in the South Coast Air Basin.

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 and smog forming pollutants. 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 Fiscal Year 2000-01 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 exhaust emissions from school buses by retrofitting and replacing them. Through this combined approach, the program will reduce emissions of both particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). The retrofit program is designed to substantially reduce PM emissions from in-use diesel school buses, and the replacement program is designed to reduce PM and NOx emissions by replacing older, in-use, high-emitting school buses with lower-emitting new buses.

Proposal

On December 7, 2000, the ARB’s Governing Board adopted the guidelines of the Lower-Emission School bus Program, allocating $12.5 million for the retrofit and $37.5 million for the replacement components of the program. The AQMD will be receiving funds in the amounts of $5.5 million for the retrofit, and $16.6 million for the replacement and infrastructure parts of the program from the ARB. 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. In addition, at its January 19, 2001 meeting, the Governing Board allocated $1.66 million from the Clean Fuels Fund for the school bus replacement part of the program. This fund will be used to increase the total amount of available funds for the purchase of alternative fuel buses and infrastructure to $12.76 million.

Staff proposes to release the attached Program Announcement & Application, for the implementation of the Lower-Emission School Bus Replacement and Retrofit Program in the South Coast Air Basin.

Outreach

In accordance with the AQMD’s consulting and contracting policies, a public notice advertising the Program Announcement & Application and inviting applications will be published in the following publications:

1.	Antelope Valley Press	10.	La Opinion	19.	Precinct Reporter
2.	Black Voice News	11.	La Voz	20.	Rafu Shimpo
3.	Chinese Daily News	12.	Los Angeles Daily News	21.	Riverside Press Enterprise
4.	Eastern Group Publications	13.	Los Angeles Sentinel	22.	San Bernardino Sun
5.	El Chicano	14.	Los Angeles Times	23.	Santa Clarita Signal
6.	Excelsior, The	15.	M/W/DVBE Source	24.	State of California Contracts
7.	Inland Empire Hispanic News	16.	Orange County Register		Register
8.	Inland Valley Daily Bulletin	17.	Palm Springs Desert Sun
9.	Korea Central Daily	18.	Philippine News

Additionally, potential applicants will be notified utilizing the Los Angeles County MTA and Cal Trans Directories of Certified Minority, Women, Disadvantaged and Disabled Veterans Business Enterprises; the Inland Area Opportunity Pages Ethnic/Women Business & Professional Directory; AQMD’s own electronic listing of certified minority vendors; and AQMD Purchasing’s mailing list. Notice of the Program Announcement & Application was mailed to the Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses and various minority chambers of commerce and business associations; and placed on the Internet at AQMD’s Web site [http://www.aqmd.gov, "Business and Job Opportunities" icon] and AQMD’s bidder’s 24-hour telephone message line (909) 396-2724.

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 at least $5.5 million for the School Bus Retrofit Programs from the ARB. In addition, the Governing Board, at its January 19, 2001 meeting approved the allocation of $1.66 million from the Clean Fuels Fund 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 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.

Attachment

Program Announcement & Application No. PA2001-02 – Lower-Emission School Bus Replacement & Retrofit Program.

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