FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. October 19, 2009. Media Contacts. Phil Rossi,
Clean Air Carolina: 704.342.9161. Kathleen Johansen, Charlotte-Mecklenburg ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 19, 2009 Media Contacts Phil Rossi, Clean Air Carolina: 704.342.9161 Kathleen Johansen, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools: 980.343.0472 Luanne Ingram, Union County Public Schools: 704.296.5188
Schools Receive Grant to Reduce Diesel Pollution CHARLOTTE – October 19, 2009 – Clean Air Carolina (CAC), in partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) and Union County Public Schools (UCPS), received a $536,000 grant to reduce diesel emissions from school buses and fuel trucks. There will be a press conference at Matthews Elementary on Wednesday, October 21, at 10 a.m. The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant is federally funded, administered by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and available to areas that do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (or non-attainment areas) set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Union and Mecklenburg Counties are both part of an eight county ozone non-attainment region designated by the EPA in 2004. Projects are eligible for CMAQ grants if they contribute to air quality improvement and\or reduce traffic congestion. CAC wrote and submitted the grant to help the school systems continue their goals of greening their fleets. The funds will be used to purchase and install EPA\CARB verified pollution control devices on the school buses. These devices reduce the amount of soot and other toxic pollutants that are emitted from the tailpipe. Diesel exhaust contains fine particles that penetrate deep into the lungs and pose health risks, especially to school children as their respiratory systems are still developing. The CMAQ grant will allow for the retrofitting of 24 school buses in Union County with diesel particulate filters which will help reduce harmful diesel emissions by at least 85%.
CMS plans to retrofit 47 school buses and 15 fuel trucks with diesel multi-stage filters to reduce harmful emissions by at least 55%. This grant will help reduce the following pollutants: •
PM2.5 (Particulate Matter) – 156 kg/yr
•
NOx (Nitrous Oxides) – 210 kg/yr
•
CO (Carbon Oxide) – 1,168 kg/yr
•
VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) – 526 kg/yr
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Union County Public Schools have been regional leaders in reducing emissions from diesel school buses. Collectively, the districts’ transportation departments carried approximately 142,500 students to and from school every day last year and traveled nearly 165 million miles. The children riding the buses, school staff, and the community all benefit from the reduction of pollution. "We appreciate the support of Clean Air Carolina in helping us reduce diesel emissions from our buses," said Carol Stamper, Executive Director of Transportation at CMS. "Installing these devices on our buses will make a tremendous difference in improving the air quality for our students and the community." The press conference will have the following guest speakers: Dr. Peter Gorman, Superintendent for CMS; Dr. Ed Davis, Superintendent for UCPS; Phil Rossi, Clean Air Carolina; Anthony Foxx, Vice-Chairman of Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization (MUMPO), at-large member of Charlotte City Council; Carol Stamper, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Director of Transportation; and Adam Johnson, Union County Public Schools Director of Transportation. For over seven years Clean Air Carolina (CAC) has been ensuring cleaner air quality by educating, advocating and building partnerships. For more information about CAC visit www.nccleanair.org or call Phil Rossi at 704.342.9161. Please note that we will be rolling out our new website Nov. 1st.
