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Truck and Bus Regulation School Bus Provisions

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onrdiesel/documents/tbschoolbusfs.pdf

On December 12, 2008, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) approved a new regulation to significantly reduce emissions from existing on-road diesel vehicles operating in California. As discussed below, the regulation includes requirements for school bus particulate matter (PM) reductions. For general information about the regulation, see Overview of the Truck and Bus Regulation.

What does the regulation require?

Owners must retire school buses manufactured before April 1, 1977, by January 1, 2012. Remaining school buses must have exhaust retrofits installed that capture pollutants before they are emitted to the air. The regulation provides three options for owners to reduce emissions in their fleet. A fleet owner may not use non school bus vehicles to satisfy requirements for school buses.

How does the proposed regulation define a school bus?

School buses are vehicles providing transportation of any school pupil at or below the 12th-grade level to or from a public or private school or to or from public or private school activities.

What school buses are subject to this regulation?

Diesel-fueled school buses weighing more than 14,000 lbs GVWR are subject to this regulation.

What school buses are already in compliance with this regulation?

• School buses with level-3 (85 percent reduction of PM) particulate filters installed as after-treatment or by the original engine manufacturer
• School buses with a level-2 (50 percent reduction of PM) particulate filters installed on or before December 31, 2005, if that was the highest level device available at the time

What are the exemptions and special provisions for school buses?

Exemptions

Small school buses, less than or equal to 14,000 lbs GVWR, school buses registered as historic vehicles and non diesel-fueled school buses such as CNG-fueled school buses

Low use school buses

School buses operated less than 1,000 miles in a 12-month period are exempt from the performance requirements of this regulation; however, these vehicles are subject to the reporting requirements.

School buses that cannot be retrofitted

A delayed compliance date of January 1, 2018, is provided for school buses that cannot be retrofitted (e.g. 2-stroke engine buses). Reporting requirements apply until the school bus is brought into compliance. These buses must be replaced, or repowered with an engine that can be retrofit, if no retrofit is available by January 1, 2018.

Is incentive money available?

The Lower-Emission School Bus Program (LESBP) provides financial incentives to replace highemitting pre-1987 model year school buses with lower-emitting new buses, and to equip in-use diesel school buses with ARB-verified diesel retrofit devices to reduce toxic PM emissions. Information about this grant program is located at www.arb.ca.gov/bonds/schoolbus/schoolbus.htm. The LESBP provides up to $140,000 per bus to help replace an existing older school bus with a new diesel or alternative-fueled school bus. However, this funding amount does not cover the cost of a typical hybrid school bus. The Hybrid Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program (HVIP) would allow for LESBP and HVIP funds to be combined to pay for up to the full cost of a new hybrid school bus.
Additionally, local air districts may have funding, such as motor vehicle registration fee surcharge money, which can be used to replace or retrofit school buses.

What are the compliance options for school buses?

The first option, the best available control technology (BACT) option, allows owners to install PM retrofits and replace vehicles (or engines) according to a prescribed schedule based on the existing engine model year (See Table 1). There are no reporting requirements for the fleet choosing this option.

Table 1: Best Available Control Technology Compliance Schedule for Schoolbus Fleets

The second option, the PM BACT percentage limit option, allows fleet owners to ensure that
a minimum percentage of the fleet is in compliance with the regulation each year (See Table 2).
There are reporting requirements for the fleet choosing this option.

Table 2: Percent of Total Fleet That Must Comply with PM BACT

The third option, the PM fleet averaging option, allows fleet owners to ensure that their fleet
average emission rate is at or below the target for a given year. There are reporting requirements for the fleet choosing this option. An on-line calculator to assist fleet owners using this option can be found at: www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onrdiesel/calculators.htm. The compliance table is located in the regulatory language at the end of section 2025 (h)(3).

When is the CHP Safety Inspection required?

A California Highway Patrol safety inspection is required after the retrofit is installed and
before the school bus returns to service.

When are the reporting requirements for school buses subject to this regulation triggered?

When the owner of the fleet chooses to comply with option 2, the PM BACT percentage limit option, option 3, the PM fleet averaging option, or when the owner utilizes special provisions such as ‘Low use school buses’ and ‘school buses that cannot be retrofitted,’ reporting requirements apply beginning January 31, 2011.

For More Information

Fact sheets, compliance tools, and regulatory documents are available at
www.arb.ca.gov/dieseltruck or by calling the ARB’s diesel hotline at (866) 6DIESEL (634-3735).
To obtain this document in an alternative format or language please contact the ARB’s Helpline
at (800) 242-4450 or at helpline@arb.ca.gov. TTY/TDD/ Speech to Speech users may dial 711
for the California Relay Service.

We now have 2 International DPF Service kits to accommodate the closed ended Diesel Particulate Filters on the 2007 and Later International Trucks. If you have a clogged filter similar to the ones shown below give us a call and we can help!
800-954-8265