Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott recognizes Ball-Chatham for installing anti-idling equipment on school buses

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Doug Scott today visited Glenwood Intermediate School and commended the Ball-Chatham School District for doing their part to improve our environment.  As part of the Governor's Clean School Bus Program, the district has received over $200,000 in grants to add anti-idling equipment and to convert buses to biofuels, both of which significantly reduce exposure to potentially harmful emissions. 

 

Today's visit was noteworthy not only to recognize the District for their recent efforts, but also because the Ball-Chatham District was one of the first school districts to receive funds from the Governor's Clean School Bus Program.

 

"Illinois EPA has provided grants to several school districts in central Illinois so that buses could be equipped with anti-idling equipment," said Director Scott.  "This equipment is very popular with the fleet managers and the drivers, since they allow the bus engines to stay warm during cold weather without having to leave the bus running while parked." 

  

Illinois EPA provided this District the first of the grants in the amount of $88,564 to retrofit 24 school buses with catalysts, as well as to enable them to use of biodiesel fuel containing a blend of soybean oil.  Together, this will reduce the amount of particulate matter, or "sooty emissions" coming out of the bus tailpipe, by 30 to 40 percent and reduce potentially harmful air pollutants.

More recently, the Ball-Chatham district took another step to reduce pollution from its bus fleet.  Several months ago, the district installed anti-idling equipment on 30 of its buses, and received an additional $120,000 grant from the Illinois EPA for their cost.

 

The Illinois EPA has issued more than $3 million in grants to 68 school districts in 33 counties of the state to clean up 2,595 school buses.  These grants helped to install oxidation catalysts, particulate filters, and idling equipment, or helped pay for biodiesel fuel.  Over 10 tons of pollutants per year that would otherwise be emitted from school buses have been eliminated.  The Illinois EPA has approximately $250,000 remaining in its Clean School Bus fund for districts in the central and west-central Illinois area and encourages other school districts to apply for funding. 

 

Diesel engines are often left running during cold weather to keep them up to temperature and, in really cold weather, to make sure they don't freeze.  Anti-idling equipment alleviates the "fumes" and the "cloud of emissions" often seen by the public when buses are parked and left idling.  The main benefit is that it nearly eliminates the exposure of school children and the drivers to exhaust pollution.  The average diesel engine consumes one gallon for every hour of idling.  Therefore, these units save a lot of diesel fuel that would otherwise be wasted, and help to reduce the cloud of emissions in the area coming from idling buses.

 

The Illinois Clean School Bus Program was announced by Governor Rod R. Blagojevich in October 2003.  The program being implemented by the Illinois EPA, and allows school districts throughout Illinois to incorporate one or more options to reduce emissions from their school bus fleets and further reduce school children's exposure to the potentially harmful emissions. Funds from the program derive primarily from part of an landmark enforcement settlement related to air pollution issues to retrofit diesel engines in school buses and were made available to central and west central Illinois school districts.

 

Following the presentation, district personnel provided Director Scott with a demonstration of the anti-idling equipment, which has been installed on the districts school buses.

 

·        68 school districts in 33 counties participating in program

·        $3,074,822 in grant dollars have been awarded

·        662 buses had catalysts installed

·        350 buses had non-idling equipment installed

·        1,854 buses now use biodiesel

·        102 buses had particulate matter filters installed

·        256 buses now use ultra low sulfur diesel

·        2,595 buses total have reduced emissions through the program

 

 

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