Greenville owns and operates 29 school buses. Twenty of
these buses are used for daily bus routes. The other 9 buses are used for field
trips, athletic and music events and when a daily route bus is in for service.
In 2012 the Ohio EPA awarded a total of $277,885.53 to Ohio schools with $63,
653.00 awarded to Greenville City Schools. These grants were used to install
pollution control equipment on 75 buses, 13 of them being Greenville buses. These
grants were also used to install idle reduction technology on 68 buses with 19
of them, Greenville school buses. Across Ohio, these projects will achieve an
estimated annual reduction of 262.2 pounds of fine particulates, plus more than
3 tons of annual reductions in carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and
hydrocarbons. These grants are supported with funds from civil penalties
collected by Ohio EPA for violations of Ohio’s environmental protection laws.
The idle reduction technology comes in the form of a pre-heater
which has a timer attached and comes on automatically 90-120 minutes before the
bus is started to warm the fluids. This in turn cuts down on emissions from
idling and saves the district money by reducing fuel costs and electric use
since there is no need to plug in a block heater.
The DOC’s were installed in place of the mufflers and these
will reduce emissions from each bus by 15-30%. Students are especially sensitive to air pollution because
their respiratory systems are still developing. Students riding Greenville
buses will be able to breathe easier with less air pollution coming from their
own bus.
Rob Widener, mechanic for Greenville Schools, heard about
the Grant and approached his supervisor, Beth Cain, who did all the necessary
paperwork to apply for the grant. The EPA staff was very helpful with all
questions. Greenville received word they were chosen to receive the grant in
November 2012. Cummins Bridgeway was the vendor who ordered the parts and did
the installation work. Cummins Bridgeway came to Greenville on January 21st
to install 12 of the 13 DOC’s, all in one day. The last DOC and the 19 pre-heaters
were installed at their location in West Chester on various dates in April. Greenville
Schools is happy to report the grant work was successfully completed on May 1,
2013.
