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Texas Organization Will Receive $700,000 for Cleaner-Running School Buses

Release Date: 10/22/2003
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

      The Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) will receive a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean School Bus USA program to reduce pollution from school buses in Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston, EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene announced today.
 
      Clean School Bus USA is a public-private environmental partnership that seeks to reduce children's exposure to air pollution from diesel school buses.  The program emphasizes three ways to reduce emissions: eliminate unnecessary school bus idling, retrofit buses with better emission control equipment or use cleaner fuels, and replace the oldest school buses with less polluting new buses.

      Greene said, "School buses are often replaced on a 15-year cycle. The Clean School Bus USA program is helping to speed up this process so that the current generation of school children can benefit from technology available today."

      SECO is building on the successful partnerships established in the Adopt-A-School Bus program with the Education Foundation of Harris County (Houston), the North Central Texas Council of Governments (Dallas/Fort Worth) and the Clean Air Force of Central Texas (Austin).  Each of these partners will use a portion of the grant to the area's benefit.

      Austin will use $150,000 to retrofit 18 buses and to help purchase Texas Low Emission Diesel (TxLED) fuel. Austin will use TxLED in all of its diesel buses.

      Dallas/Fort Worth will use $250,000 to install particulate traps on 33 buses and to help purchase 8,000 gallons of TxLED.  

      Houston will use $300,000 to install particulate traps on 22 buses and modify 135 of its diesel-powered buses to take full advantage of the TxLED fuel.

      Children are vulnerable to the effects of diesel emissions, which can cause respiratory disease and exacerbate long-term conditions such as asthma.  Asthma alone accounts for 14 million missed school days each year. Today, one out of every 13 school-age children has asthma.

      EPA awarded $5 million in Clean School Bus USA grants today. More information on the Clean School Bus USA program and a complete list of grantees is available at www.epa.gov/CleanSchoolBus.