PORTLAND, Maine — Kevin Mallory, the transportation director for Portland Public Schools, will be honored for his work to reduce pollution from the school system’s bus fleet and raise awareness about the benefits of “greener” transportation.

Mallory has won a U.S. EPA Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented to him on June 26 in a ceremony at the agency’s Boston office.

More than a decade ago, Mallory began working to reduce exposure to school bus diesel emissions that can accumulate in and around idling buses.

“Kevin Mallory has been a leader in Maine and the country in addressing the problem of diesel emissions,” Portland Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk said. “His efforts have helped the Portland Public Schools create a healthier environment for our students and staff. The district’s bus fleet reflects our commitment to create a ‘green’ school district.”

In 2001, Portland Public Schools was the first school district in Maine to establish and enforce a no-idling policy for school buses, officials said. The ban on idling was expanded to include private vehicles around school buildings. The district worked with the city of Portland to designate the city as a “Clean Air Zone” and to extend the reduced idling policies beyond the schools.

In 2004, the district was one of the first in the country to retrofit its buses with pollution-control equipment provided by the EPA.

Two years later, the district replaced three diesel buses with buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG) that were purchased with money from a Clean Cities grant. Since then, the district has replaced seven more diesel buses with CNG buses purchased with assistance from Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) grants.

The district has obtained DEP grants to buy three more CNG buses as well, which officials said will make Portland’s CNG fleet the largest of any school district in New England.  

For the past five years, the district has used a blend of biodiesel and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel in its diesel buses.

The district’s initiatives to reduce pollution have received state and national honors, including the 2005 Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence. In 2009, the district was named one of SBF’s Green Fleets Across America.

Maine Clean Communities nominated Mallory for the EPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has worked in management positions in the transportation sector since 1973, and he became Portland Public Schools’ transportation director in 1996.

Mallory is one of three transportation directors in Maine to obtain certified director of pupil transportation status from the National Association for Pupil Transportation. Additionally, he has served as president and treasurer of the Maine Association for Pupil Transportation, and he is currently a board member at large of the association.