Bus Retrofit Project Means Cleaner, Healthier Air for
Pueblo County Schoolchildren and Other Bus Riders
Aug. 6, 2008 - PUEBLO - Thousands of Pueblo County
schoolchildren and other bus riders in the area will breathe
cleaner, healthier air during their commutes beginning this
year, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health
and Environment. The department partnered with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Sierra Club,
Better Pueblo, Pueblo City Schools, Pueblo School District
No. 70 and others to retrofit approximately 125 buses with
devices that substantially reduce diesel emissions and
exposure to toxic pollutants that can accumulate in bus
cabins. “Air sampled inside buses before and after these
retrofits confirm that substantially lower emissions
result,” said Jim Martin, executive director of the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment, during an event
at Gateway Park in Pueblo on Tuesday. “That means cleaner,
healthier air for children, drivers and other bus riders to
breathe as they travel each day.” Diesel emissions are
becoming more of a focus of pollution reduction efforts,
both locally and nationally. “EPA has made getting the
pollution out of diesel emissions a national priority, and
we commend Pueblo’s school bus retrofit project as a
significant investment in children’s health and regional air
quality,” said Carol Rushin, EPA’s Acting Regional
Administrator. “Pueblo’s clean bus fleet is making going
‘back to school’ a little bit healthier for 9,000 school
kids.” The Pueblo Bus Retrofit Pilot Program traces its
origins to an agreement reached between local and statewide
environmental groups with Xcel Energy in 2004. Additional
funding was secured through a supplemental environmental
project that was part of an enforcement settlement between
the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and
Rocky Mountain Steel Mills. “Xcel Energy is pleased to be
part of this project because it is a testament to the fact
that utility companies, regulators, and environmental
leaders can all work together for a common cause, such as
improving air quality," said Fred Arellano, director of Xcel
Energy’s Comanche Station near Pueblo. "Today we are
improving air quality through the bus retrofit project, and
next year, when the new unit at Comanche Station is
operational, we will more than double the plant's
electricity output while reducing air emissions and
improving air quality." The Sierra Club and Better Pueblo
also spoke positively of the agreement and partnership that
led to the retrofit effort. “This project and the
agreement that got it started are extraordinary testimony to
how much ordinary concerned citizens can accomplish,
especially when they have responsive corporate officials to
work with,” said Ross Vincent, vice chair of the Sangre de
Cristo Group of the Sierra Club. “Kids and others in Pueblo
will be healthier in the future and that's ultimately what
environmental protection is all about." Larry Howe-Kerr of
Better Pueblo said: “This is a good thing to do, a right
thing to do. It is a privilege and pleasure to come together
with all the partners who made this happen. I am thankful
for their persistence and good will." Buses in the fleets
of both school districts, as well as several buses used by
school children and others that are part of Pueblo’s
municipal fleet, have been or will be retrofitted. Retrofits
include diesel oxidation catalysts to reduce tailpipe
emissions that often enter cabins through doors when
students board and exit buses; pre-heaters that reduce
idling; and crankcase filtration systems that reduce
emissions that seep directly into cabins from under hoods.
Diesel exhaust contains many known air toxics, and may
aggravate asthma and other respiratory and cardiovascular
ailments. Sampling results have shown retrofits to reduce
fine particulate emissions; lower elemental carbon, organic
carbon and formaldehyde; and lessen concentrations of other
toxic pollutants in diesel exhaust by, in some cases, more
than half. Retrofitted buses also save about a gallon of
fuel per day through idling time reductions. The combined
annual fuel savings for the districts is calculated to be at
least $135,000. “Pueblo City Schools is proud to be a part
of this collaborative effort,” said Kevin Romero, chief
officer of Student Support and Community Services. “This
unique partnership will reduce pollution and create a more
healthy environment for everyone. These types of
partnerships are the future as we serve our community.”
The project is modeled after similar retrofit projects
completed along Colorado’s Front Range managed by the
Denver-metropolitan area’s Regional Air Quality Council.
According to the council, more than 1,000 buses in 18 school
districts already have been retrofitted, affecting more than
50,000 Colorado schoolchildren. Pueblo Bus Retrofit
partners are: Better Pueblo, Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment, Colorado Renewable Energy Society,
Diocese of Pueblo, Environment Colorado, Environmental
Defense Fund, Pueblo City Schools, Pueblo School District
No. 70, Pueblo Transit, Regional Air Quality Council, Sierra
Club, Smart Growth Advocates, Southwest Energy Efficiency
Project, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Region 8),
University of Colorado at Boulder, Western Resource
Advocates, and Xcel Energy. |
