Four school districts receive grants to reduce bus emissions

By Denise Dick

By DENISE DICK

denise_dick@vindy.com

poland

Four Mahoning Valley school districts received Ohio Environmental Protection Agency grants to reduce emissions generated by school buses.

Poland and Jackson-Milton school districts received $94,792 and $91,270, respectively, and Carolyn Watkins, chief of OEPA’s office of environmental education, said those amounts are expected to increase because another district isn’t able to use the full amount it was awarded.

Niles and Weathersfield received $12,327 and $10,566, respectively.

The aim of the grant program is “to reduce children’s exposure to pollutants in diesel exhaust from school buses,” Watkins said.

Poland’s grant is to install equipment on 12 district buses.

“We’ll be taking the old mufflers off,” said Superintendent Dr. Robert Zorn. “The program is for clean-air emissions.”

The district’s fleet includes 25 buses, but six of those are new and already equipped with lower emissions devices, he said.

Equipment purchased with the grant is expected to reduce emissions by nearly 50 percent per year.

Jackson-Milton’s grant is being used to retrofit 10 buses, which will result in an 85 percent emissions reduction annually, Watkins said.

“Over the years, that number just compounds,” she said.

Niles and Weathersfield will be used for seven and six buses, respectively.

The program, started in 2006, is funded by fines levied on pollution violators, the U.S. EPA and federal stimulus money.

It’s administered in two cycles per year, September and March.

“The next round of applications is due Sept. 1,” Watkins said.

In the latest round, the four districts were among the 15 school districts across Ohio to share $520,128 in grant money.