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Purchases of new diesel school buses voted down
DIAMOND BAR — Southern California air quality officials voted Friday to require school bus operators to buy alternative-fuel vehicles rather than diesel buses, a move that some school district officials said will force them to take money from students.
“One of two things will happen: We’ll be forced to run old, dirty vehicles longer, or we’ll eliminate transportation altogether,” said Bill McKinney, director of transportation for the Temecula Valley Unified School District.
That would raise pollution overall, he said, because every school bus not on the road represents about 50 students who must be driven by car to school.
Environmentalists and public health advocates hailed the unanimous decision by the South Coast Air Quality Management District board, saying the language in the regulations ensures the money to pay for them won’t come out of school districts’ general funds.
“This is a huge step forward toward protecting the health of our kids,” said Gail Ruderman Feuer, senior attorney for the National Resources Defense Council.
The rule will require operators of fleets of more than 15 school buses to purchase only alternative-fuel school buses – most likely natural gas – when they replace vehicles.
Money to pay for natural gas buses, which are about 30 percent more expensive than their diesel equivalents, will come from several sources, including a $50 million a year state fund for cleaner school buses and possibly funds the district receives from power plant operators that pollute over their limits.
If funding falls short, school districts and private fleet operators will be able to buy cleaner burning diesel engines that rely on low-sulfur fuel and exhaust traps that catch much of the toxic soot and other pollution the engines create.
A motion by governing board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich to allow districts to choose between “green diesel” and natural gas failed 2-10.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District spans all or portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, a region of some 15 million people.
