Date
Wednesday, February 06, 2019
The Air District's Board of Directors has voted to approve funding for several key grant programs that will reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases in the Bay Area.
Included among the projects authorized by the board are:
Electric school buses
For many years, the Air District has provided funding to school districts to reduce the impacts of toxic diesel air pollution on children by offering school districts grants to retrofit or replace older diesel buses, switch buses to cleaner natural gas fuel, and replace CNG tanks on school buses. With advances in battery technology, new air pollution-free electric powered school buses are anticipated to begin serving several Bay Area schools beginning in 2019. The Air District has awarded millions to electric school buses and charging infrastructure projects over the past year.
Napa Valley Wine Train locomotive
Many locomotives are powered by older, highly polluting diesel engines that lack advanced pollution controls. Upgrading these locomotives to current emission standards can cut pollution significantly and improve air quality in communities along the rail line.
Caltrain electrification
In 2015, the Air District made a commitment to award $20 million towards the Caltrain electrification project over a five-year period. Allocations to date include $13 million in 2016, $3 million in 2017, $3 million in 2018, and $1 million in 2019. The current $1 million allocation represents the final installment and completion of the Air Districts $20 million-dollar commitment. Caltrain expects to begin operating electric trains by 2022.
Funding for these grant projects comes from three state-wide sources including: (1) The Carl Moyer Program, a partnership with the California Air Resources Board to reduce heavy duty air pollution from diesel, (2) the Mobile Source Incentive Fund, which uses a $2 Bay Area vehicle registration surcharge to fund air pollution reduction programs, and (3) the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, to reduce mobile source emissions, toxic air contaminants, and greenhouse gases in heavily impacted communities.
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Last Updated: 2/7/2019