For The Daily Southerner
TARBORO —
Some Edgecombe County Public School students will be riding to and from school this year in a new bus that does more to protect the environment.
North Carolina has received its first-ever delivery of six new buses that meet 2010 emission requirements. The buses are replacing older units in Wilson, Edgecombe, Pitt and Nash counties.
Funding for the new buses was provided to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, which received funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Wilson, Edgecombe, Pitt and Nash counties were selected by the NCDPI for early school bus replacement and diesel engine retrofits due to air quality concerns identified by the North Carolina Division of Air Quality and EPA. Without this grant, each of the six buses being replaced would still be running regular school bus routes for an average of seven more years or 75,000 more miles.
In these six new buses, Nitrogen oxide (NOx) exhaust emissions – which contribute to acid rain, smog and greenhouse gas levels – are reduced to 0.2g/bhp-hr, which is 20 times less than 1998 engines.
“We already know that school buses are the safest way for children to get to and from school,” said State Superintendent June Atkinson. “We are pleased to be able to do our part in also helping to make the air healthier for students and grateful to the EPA for sharing the cost of these new clean diesel buses.”
