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Workshop for Reducing School Bus Pollution to be Held Oct. 5 at Tufts University; Topics Will Include $20 Million of New Grants for Bus Retrofits

Release Date: 09/29/04
Contact Information:

Contact: Peyton Fleming, EPA Press Office (617-918-1008)

For Immediate Release: September 29, 2004 Release # 04-09-19

BOSTON – The Environmental Protection Agency and the New England Asthma Regional Council will be holding a workshop Tuesday, Oct. 5, at Tufts University in Medford about tools and resources available for reducing air pollution from school buses, including $20 million of new funding that is being made available for installing pollution controls on school buses.

The workshop, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Ballou Hall on the Tufts campus, is designed for school officials, fleet managers, transportation directors and others involved in school transportation issues. Presentations and discussions will focus on diesel retrofit technology, existing EPA programs and resources for school bus fleets, and easy, low-cost strategies for reducing emissions such as anti-idling programs.

Joining EPA and the Asthma Regional Council in sponsoring the workshop are the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Greater Boston Breathes Better, a partnership of public agencies, businesses and other groups working to implement innovative new projects to reduce air pollution from transportation sources in Greater Boston.

The following speakers will share their experiences with programs to reduce pollution from school buses, including school bus retrofit projects:

• Rich Jacobs, transportation director of Boston Public Schools which has installed pollution control equipment on more than 50 buses.
• Julie Ross, MA DEP, who will discuss the state’s anti-idling regulations and school bus inspection program
• Christine Sansevero, EPA, who manages the agency’s Clean School Bus USA program in New England. The national program has provided more than $10 million for school bus retrofits in the past 18 months