PEORIA --- Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Renee Cipriano today presented a check to Dr. Magie Roberts, Superintendent of Abingdon Community School District, to fund the purchase of non-idling equipment and implementation of clean diesel technologies within the school district’s fleet. 

 

Abingdon Community Unit School District 217 applied for funding from the Illinois EPA as part of Governor Blagojevich’s Illinois Clean School Bus Program.  The District’s proposal included the purchase and installation of non-idling equipment on nine school buses in its fleet.  The total proposal will cost $28,850, and is being funded through the Illinois Clean School Bus Program. 

 

“The Abingdon School District’s proposal was the first in the State to incorporate non-idling technology,” said Director Cipriano.  “We feel the non-idling component of the program is essential in reducing emissions from school buses.  Adingdon’s leadership in this area is very encouraging, and we are pleased to assist the District in their goal of providing a cleaner environment for the students and residents of Abingdon.”

 

The Governor’s Clean School Bus Program, announced in the fall of 2003, is designed to reduce potentially harmful emissions from diesel-powered school buses.  Through the program, the Illinois EPA works with Illinois school districts in replacing older school buses with cleaner models, retrofitting existing buses with advanced emission control technologies and implementing cleaner fuels.

 

“We are pleased to be a part of the Clean School Bus Program by installing non-idling equipment and catalysts on our buses,” said Dr. Roberts.  “We are very willing to help our children’s health with this program.”

 

The Abingdon School District is made up of three schools, Pre-K through High School, and serves approximately 800 students.  The funding received by the District will not only be used for non-idling equipment, but will also allow for the installation of diesel  oxidation catalysts on four of the District's buses.                 

 

 An oxidation catalyst is an advanced catalytic converter for diesel vehicles.  The retrofits will result in reduced emissions of particulate matter by 20-30 percent, hydrocarbons by 50 percent and carbon monoxide by 40 percent.

 

The Illinois Clean School Bus Program allows school districts to apply for grants to incorporate one or more clean diesel options in their bus fleets.  Options include installing after-market retrofits such as oxidation catalysts, particulate filters or non-idling equipment; replacing buses with those that meet more stringent diesel emission standards; and replacing diesel fuel with cleaner burning fuels such as biodiesel, ultra-low sulfur diesel, propane or natural gas.

 

In addition to providing clean diesel options to Illinois school districts, the program also incorporates an anti-idling component to educate school district personnel on ways to eliminate unnecessary idling from school buses. 

 

The Governor’s Clean School Bus Program is funded, in part, by a supplemental environmental project, which was the result of an Illinois EPA enforcement case.  Additional funding is available through federal grants received by the Illinois EPA and corporate contributions through the Agency’s Adopt a Bus Program.

 

Additional information on the Illinois Clean School Bus Program is available on the Illinois EPA’s website at www.epa.state.il.us/air/cleanbus or by calling 217/524-4947. 

 

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Press Contact: Kim Kuntzman/217-785-8911