The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) has announced the opening of the Statewide School Bus Retrofit Program. The purpose of this program is to provide assistance to California school districts with early compliance of the Air Resources Board’s (ARB or Board) Truck and Bus Regulation.
This program will provide incentive funds to retrofit 1987 and newer engine model year diesel-powered school buses with ARB-verified Level 3 diesel emission control strategies (retrofits).
Eligible applicants are public school districts, Joint Power Authorities (JPA), and private transportation agencies that provide student transportation services under contract to public school districts. Private schools are not eligible for funding.
Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2012. The Request for Applications is available on the SJVAPCD website. For additional information regarding the Statewide School Bus Retrofit Program, please contact SJVAPCD staff at (559) 230-5800.
A Truck and Bus Regulation School Bus Provisions fact sheet online. For more information visit the Truck and Bus Regulation page.
Background
On Dec. 11, 2008, the Board approved the Truck and Bus Regulation to control emissions from nearly all existing diesel-powered heavy-duty trucks and buses operating in California. The regulation was subsequently amended by the Board on Dec. 17, 2010 and the amended regulation is now effective.
Diesel-fueled school buses with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating over 14,000 pounds are subject to the regulation. By Jan. 1, 2012, owners must have retired school buses manufactured before April 1, 1977. Remaining school buses must have retrofits (that reduce diesel PM emissions by 85 percent) installed over a phase in-period from Jan. 1, 2012 to Jan. 1, 2014. A delayed compliance date of Jan. 1, 2018 is provided for school buses that cannot be retrofitted (e.g., two-stroke engine buses and some pre-1987 model year school buses). By Jan. 1, 2018, these buses must be replaced if no retrofit is available, or repowered with an engine on which a retrofit can be installed.
