TOP STORY
School Officials Holding their Breath When it Comes to Natural Gas Subsidies for Buses
By Art Gissendaner School districts in California, already
reeling from transportation cuts in an un- forgiving economy, are holding onto their bottom lines waiting to see if air quality officials provide the financial assistance to keep their more expensive low-emission buses on the road. Some transportation directors fear
that if a transfusion of funds is not forth- coming, many school districts will begin hemorrhaging compressed natural gas and propane all along the West Coast and be forced to stop transporting students. Tis would mean thousands of layoffs and
children walking several miles to school. Some relief could be found in the reau-
thorization of the federal Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, which is set to expire in 2011. Tis summer, the National Conference of State Legislatures joined the National Association of Counties and the U.S. Con- ference of Mayors in endorsing new DERA legislation crafted by Sens. Tomas Carper (D-DE) and George Voinovich (R-OH) as a key way to help municipalities reduce ve- hicle emissions by up to 90 percent through engine replacements and retrofits. Te DERA reauthorization also ranks high on the agenda of the National School Trans- portation Association and the American School Bus Council. But when and if the reauthorization makes its way through Congress remains in doubt, especially amid the current partisan legislative gridlock and pending mid- term elections. And, at press time,
the House was expected to return from its Au- gust recess to vote on the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Ac- countability Act
of
2010, which the Sen- ate passed on Aug. 5. An amendment intro- duced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) included up to $3.8 billion in rebates to buyers of natural gas vehicles, including school buses,
a provision lauded by natural gas advocate NGVAmerica.
Meanwhile, air quality officials and edu-
cators across the country are watching to see how these issues are resolved. Many consider California a bellwether in aggres- sively addressing air quality conditions that are among the most severe in the nation. Since 2001, the California Air Resources
Board’s (CARB) Lower Emission School Bus Program (LESBP) set the pace for the nation by channeling more than $100 mil- lion to school districts through the state’s 35 Air Quality Districts, replacing 600 pol- luting school buses with CNG buses and retrofitting 3,800 diesel fuel buses with pollution-control equipment. In June, 1,100 replacements and 3,500 retrofits were included in another $200 million appropriation. California is without peer in its monetary commitment to air qual- ity issues or the severity of its problem. States dedicate funds and initiate correc- tive strategies to address their air quality
“We’re in a bleak situation,
and we don’t know what the cuts in education will be this year. California does not require school districts to transport students, and some districts may be forced to stop completely.” – Ralph Knight
Napa Valley Unified School District
18 School Transportation News Magazine September 2010
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