Region 7 Clean School Bus Program
The goal of Clean School Bus USA is to reduce both children's exposure to diesel exhaust and the amount of air pollution created by diesel school buses.
Iowa Efforts
- (Clean School Bus grants) The School Administrators of Iowa office
has received a two-year $250,000 Clean School Bus Grant. It will be
used to retrofit school buses with pollution reduction equipment (oxidation
catalysts) and to help fuel the fleets of school buses in urban areas
and eastern Iowa with cleaner burning soy diesel fuel made in Iowa.
The grant will also fund clean engine replacements.
- (Testing and Maintenance) Iowa buses also undergo opacity testing for purposes of targeted maintenance. The tests help detect emissions resulting from combustion inefficiencies that otherwise can go unnoticed. Schools use scarce maintenance resources to target those buses that could generate the greatest air quality improvements and reap the most cost savings. For more information, contact: Brian Button, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, (515) 281-7832.
Kansas Efforts
- (Anti-Idling) Wyandotte County, Kansas, which is in the Kansas City ozone maintenance area, currently has an anti-idling law in effect for school buses.
Missouri Efforts
- (Anti-Idling) The City of St. Louis has an anti-idling law in effect
for all vehicles, including school buses.
- (Education) The St. Louis Clean Air Project, an ongoing project to
study and possibly reduce air toxics in the St. Louis area, has partnered
with Roosevelt High School to videotape a program about diesel emissions.
This video will be used for outreach and education in the Clean Air
Project domain.
- (Retrofit) Breathing near or aboard 666 St. Louis area school buses in 11 school districts could get easier. Funding is being provided as part of a settlement over air pollution complaints. The funds will support special pollution-reducing equipment called oxidation catalysts that will be added to diesel-powered school buses to reduce harmful emissions. The catalysts are like a muffler, and the school districts will install the equipment themselves.
Nebraska Efforts
- (Clean School Bus Grant) Lincoln Public Schools received a two-year $150,000 grant. With funds from EPA's Clean School Bus USA program, 117 school buses will be retrofitted with pollution-reducing diesel oxidation catalyst systems. The program also will distribute information on how this project improved local air quality.
Contact Information
Call toll-free at (800) 223-0425 for more regional information.