WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) awarded grants totaling $500,000 to six school bus operators at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Retrofit Conference. The grants are intended to fund demonstration projects to reduce diesel emissions from school buses in districts served by private carriers.

The school district/contractor partnerships include representatives from rural, suburban and urban communities. Five retrofit technologies will be incorporated with assistance from the NSTA’s vendor partners: Donaldson Company, Clean Diesel Technologies, Johnson Matthey and International Truck and Engine Corp.

The grant recipients will work to improve diesel emissions levels by retrofitting buses with diesel particulate filters, using ultra-low sulfur fuel and replacing diesel oxidation catalysts. In Wisconsin, the School District of Kettle Moraine, Arrowhead Union High School and Dousman Transport Company plan to retrofit 20 buses with the catalysts and closed crankcase ventilation filtration systems.

The other school district/contractor partnerships receiving portions of the funding are:

• The Carbondale (Ill.) Elementary School District #95 and Beck Bus Company.

   

• Everett (Wash.) School District and Durham School Services.

   

• Monkato (Minn.) Independent School District #77 and Palmer Bus Service.

   

• Stamford (Conn.) Public Schools and Laidlaw Education Services.

   

• West Chester (Pa.) Area School District and George Krapf Jr. & Sons Inc.

  The six districts together contributed an additional 40 percent in matching funds and will retrofit approximately 150 buses with technology to reduce diesel emissions. The grant was given to the NSTA by the EPA to assist districts and contractors willing to make changes that benefit the environment.