Environment DEC
From the June 2004 issue
First School District in New York Operates Entire Fleet of Clean-Fuel Buses
The Long Beach City School District, Nassau County, Long Island, is the first school district in New York State to operate an entire fleet of clean-fueled school buses.
Governor George E. Pataki applauded the work by the school district and the funding sources that made it possible and said, "A clean and healthy environment is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children and leave to future generations."
The district received a $1.2 million Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act grant as part of a $3.7 million project to retrofit 18 of the school's existing diesel-fueled buses, purchase 20 new clean-fueled buses and develop a compressed natural gas fueling station. The grant was made available through the State's Clean-Air Bus Program and the New York State Clean-Fueled Bus Program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Healthier Rides to School
Twenty of the district's buses are new, low-emission vehicles and 18 are diesel buses that now use an oxidation catalyst to reduce pollutants. Over the life of these vehicles, it is estimated that about 4.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2), 430,000 pounds of carbon monoxide (CO), 483 pounds of particulate matter (PM), and 48,620 pounds of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) will be excluded. It is also estimated that more than 505,000 gallons of petroleum will be displaced.
Project Funding
The total project cost was $3.7 million. In addition to state grants, the Long Beach City School District provided $1.5 million, KeySpan Energy Delivery provided $500,000 and more than $344,000 was received from GLICC, which administers a federal Congestion-Mitigation Air Quality Program in partnership with NYSERDA. The U.S. Department of Energy provided a consultant for this project and funded more than $187,000 from its State Energy Program. These funds were used for construction of the new compressed natural gas fueling station and bus garage modifications.
The Long Beach City School District has 7 schools with an enrollment of about 4,500 students and a bus fleet of 38 vehicles.
