BY CHARLES McCLURE

 

Texas Sen. Kirk Watson, Rachel McClure of the advocacy group Public Citizen and Texas Commission of Environmental Quality Commissioner Larry R. Soward gathered in the shadow of the State Capitol last Thursday to call on school districts to convert bus fleets to propane power.

They were assisted by the Lake Travis Independent School District (LTISD), which provided a propane-powered bus from its fleet.

“In 2005, the legislature established the Texas Clean School Bus Program and in 2007, funded it with a portion of the dedicated revenues from the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP),” Watson said. “This is extraordinarily serious and is a matter of common sense, but that doesn’t always mean it gets done.”

Watson said converting school buses to propane will not only help reduce emissions, but also protects the health of school children.

“Cleaning up our school buses was a top priority of mine in the last legislative session,” Watson said. “I will continue to fight for this important cause in the next session of the Texas Legislature.”

Watson said the clean bus program had developed broad, bipartisan support from his fellow lawmakers.

“Republicans and Democrats, the environmental community, the Texas Parent-Teacher Association all came together to support funding this important funding that can help clean up our school buses,” Watson said. “We can be proud that the program was funded for the first time since its inception in 2005. Because of this bi-partisan coalition, based on common sense, 51 school districts across the state received grant funds last year. Today, we have the good folks from the Lake Travis ISD here with us and we are focusing on them as an example of how common sense can be put to practical use. I am also proud to highlight LTISD because they are in my senatorial district. I want to applaud LTISD for going after these funds and looking out for the health of these kids in Central Texas.”

Watson said children who ride conventional diesel-powered buses are exposed to high levels of pollutants that become trapped inside the school bus.

“These kids are exposed to harmful side-effects that can exasperate problems with asthma and other diseases,” Watson said. “But the good news is that with simple retrofits, we can cut down on the pollution and reduce the risk to the health of these kids. In addition, and the folks at LTISD will testify to this, that it is an easy process to follow in order to get this grant money so retrofits can be put to good use.”

McClure observed that the dangers that school children and bus drivers alike are exposed to are quite hazardous.

“Every day, children and bus drivers are exposed to a major health threat from the fine particle pollutants released from the exhaust of their diesel-powered school busses,” McClure said. “They are exposed to nearly 40 toxic substances from these fumes and these levels are often up to 10 times higher than normal outside levels.”

McClure praised the state for taking action to reduce the health impacts of air pollution, and encouraged the legislature to continue treating the issue as a high priority matter.

Watson said the purpose of the press conference was to encourage other school districts across the state to apply for the remaining grant money.

Jim Ratcliff, LTISD Senior Director of Facilities, Construction, and Support Services, told those on hand how it has begun the process of retrofitting its fleet.

“The funds were used to equip our aging buses with newer, pollution-reduction technology,” said Ratcliff.  “Specifically, 29 of our school buses were converted to a closed Crankcase Filtration System which will decrease emissions by as much as 80 percent.” 

The work to retrofit the older models was completed during the summer at a cost of $1,000 to $4,000 per bus.  

Lake Travis ISD bus drivers transport about 2,000 students and travel roughly 3,000 miles daily. Currently, the district maintains 66 buses in its operating fleet, all of which consume ultra-low sulfur diesel.  Of these, approximately half meet or exceed current emission standards.

Additionally, LTISD has received a second grant from TCEQ for just under $100,000 that will allow the district to complete the two-stage retrofit process. This includes the installation of a Diesel Particulate Filter that will decrease tailpipe emissions by as much as 90 percent.

“We will continue to do our part to help reduce pollution and improve the environment for our children,” Ratcliff said.

Soward said the retrofits can be surprisingly inexpensive.

“In some cases, an $800 retrofit can reduce particulate matter by up to 70-80 percent,” Soward said.