§ 31-47.3-3 - Reducing emissions from school buses.
SECTION 31-47.3-3
§ 31-47.3-3 Reducing emissions from schoolbuses. – (a) Purpose. To reduce health risks from diesel particulate matter (DPM)to Rhode Island school children by significantly reducing tailpipe emissionsfrom school buses, and preventing engine emissions from entering the passengercabin of the buses.
(b) Requirements for Rhode Island school buses:
(i) By September 1, 2010, no full-size school bus with anengine model year 1993 or older may be used to transport school children inRhode Island; and,
(ii) Providing there is sufficient federal or state monies,by September 1, 2010, all full-sized school buses transporting children inRhode Island must be retrofitted with a closed crankcase ventilation system andeither: (A) be equipped with a level 1, level 2, or level 3 device verified bythe US Environmental Protection Agency or the California Air Resources Board;or (B) be equipped with an engine of model year 2007 or newer; or (C) achievethe same or higher diesel PM reductions through the use of an alternative fuelsuch as compressed natural gas verified by CARB/EPA to reduce DPM emissions ata level equivalent to or higher than subsection (B) above.
(c) Financial assistance to defray costs of pollutionreductions called for in (b)(ii):
(i) DEM shall work with the Rhode Island department oftransportation or other authorized transit agencies to maximize the allocationof federal congestion mitigation and air quality (CMAQ) money for Rhode Islandfor diesel emissions reductions in federal FY 2008 and thereafter until theretrofit goals in this act are met. The (CMAQ) program is jointly administeredby the federal highway administration (FHWA) and the federal transitadministration (FTA), and was reauthorized by congress in 2005 under the safe,accountable, flexible, and efficient transportation equity act: A legacy forusers (SAFETEA-LU). The (SAFETEA-LU) requires states and MPOs to give priorityin distributing CMAQ funds to diesel engine retrofits, and other cost-effectiveemission reduction and congestion mitigation activities that benefit airquality.
(ii) Drawing upon any available federal or state monies, thedirector shall establish and implement a system of providing incentivesconsistent with this section to municipalities, vendors, or school bus ownersfor the purchase and installation of any CARB/EPA-verified emission controlretrofit device together with the purchase and installation of closed crankcaseventilation system (CCV) retrofit device. In 2007, the per-unit incentive shallnot exceed one thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($1,250) for a level 1 deviceplus a CCV, or two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for a level 2 deviceplus a CCV, or for model years 2003-2006 five thousand dollars ($5,000) for alevel 3 device plus a CCV. Incentive levels may be reevaluated annually, withthe goal of maintaining competition in the market for retrofit devices. To theextent practicable, in kind services will also be utilized to offset some ofthe costs. Incentive recipients must also certify that newly purchased orretrofitted buses with a level 3 technology will operate in the state of RhodeIsland for a minimum of four (4) years.
(d) Priority community provision:
(i) When penalty funds, state SEP funds, federal funds, orfunds from other state or non- state sources become available, these shouldfirst be allocated toward further offsetting costs of achieving "bestavailable" emissions control in "priority communities";
(ii) The "best available" standard is attained by all newbuses (MY2007 and newer) and by diesel buses model year 2003 to 2006, inclusivethat has been retrofitted with level 3-verified diesel particulate filters andclosed crankcase ventilation systems, by diesel buses model year 1994 to 2002,inclusive that has been retrofitted with at least level 2-verified dieselparticulate filters and closed crankcase ventilation systems or could beachieved with a natural gas bus that achieves the same or better standards ofcleanliness as a 2007 diesel bus standard; and
(iii) "Priority communities" (to be identified by the RhodeIsland DEM) are Rhode Island communities that have high levels of ambient airpollution and high incidence of childhood respiratory impacts.
(e) To achieve the pressing public health and environmentalgoals of this act, DEM shall identify opportunities to achieve maximize PMreductions from diesel powered heavy duty vehicle or equipment that is ownedby, operated by, or on behalf of, or leased by, or operating under a contact toa state agency or state or regional public authority (except vehicles that arespecifically equipped for emergency response) and diesel powered wastecollection and recycling vehicles that are owned, leased, or contracted toperform the removal or transfer or municipal, commercial or residential waste,or recycling services. No later than January 1, 2008, DEM shall present areport to the general assembly, governor, house committee on environment andnatural resources, and the senate committee on environment and agriculture onsuch opportunities to maximum PM reductions from the aforementioned fleetsincluding legislative changes, regulatory changes, funding sources, contractrequirements, procurement requirements, and other mechanisms that will bringabout maximum PM reductions from these two priority fleets. This report shallexplore funding sources beyond CMAQ, including but not limited to DieselReductions Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funds under the Federal Energy Act.
(f) Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph,section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competentjurisdiction to be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review,the judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, butshall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, sectionor part of this act directly involved in the controversy in which the judgmentshall have been rendered.