Requires school buses that contract with the N.Y. city department of education to retrofit certain buses with certain equipment

3 Co-sponsors

• Hakeem Jeffries
• Joan Millman
• Vivian Cook

5 Multi-sponsors

• William Boyland
• Deborah Glick
• Richard Gottfried
• Margaret Markey
• Darryl Towns

BILL NUMBER:A10210A

Title of bill

An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to contracts with school bus companies; and to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to eliminating the cap on air pollution fees

Purpose

To require that buses transporting New York City's public school children be retrofitted with either diesel particulate filters or diesel oxidation catalysts, whichever is appropriate. This bill also eliminates the per-ton fee cap for facilities emitting regulated air contaminants.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill would re-letter subdivi- sion g of Section 19-606 of the administrative code of New York City as subdivision h and add a new subdivision g that would require any school bus company providing services to students under contract with the City Department of Education to install diesel oxidation catalysts or diesel particulate filters and to use ultra-low sulfur fuel. Installation of the diesel emissions devices would be required within two years of the bill's effective date, or upon entering into or renewing a contract with the department, whichever is later.

Section 2 of the bill would amend subdivision 1 of Section 72-0303 of the environmental conservation law to eliminate the per-ton fee cap for facilities emitting regulated air contaminants.

Section 3 of the bill sets forth the effective date.

Justification

The harmful health effects of diesel exhaust have been studied and documented for decades, and an increasing number of health authorities have recognized diesel exhaust as a potential carcinogen. Diesel exhaust is also known as a major source of fine particles, which can exacerbate asthma, a condition most prevalent among children and of epidemic proportions in many neighborhoods of New York City. In addi- tion, diesel engines emit smog-forming oxides of nitrogen in mass quan- tities, which have been linked to decreased lung function growth in children. According to a 2004 study by the American Lung Association in metropolitan Chicago, schoolchildren on a conventional diesel school bus are exposed to up to five times as much diesel emission as they would encounter on a retrofitted bus that uses ultra-low-sulfur fuel.

New York City's more than 5,000 school buses, which are owned by over 50 bus companies that have contracted with the City Department of Educa- tion, run on diesel fuel. Over 300,000 New York City school children ride these buses every school day. In 2001, the New York Power Authority initiated a $6 million program to install pollution control systems in City school buses, and has since retrofitted over 1,500 to 2,000 school buses. The voluntary program pays to install diesel particulate filters on newer buses and diesel oxidation catalysts on older buses, reducing diesel bus emissions by more than 90%. This legislation would make it mandatory for buses transporting New York City's school children to have

either retrofitted diesel particulate filters or diesel oxidation cata- lysts.

This legislation would also eliminate the per-ton cap on air pollution fees, generating several million dollars per year in additional air pollution fees collected. The fee on sources of regulated air contam- inants was established to finance the direct and indirect costs associ- ated with the Department of Environmental Conservation's operating permit program.

Legislative history

This is a new bill in the Assembly,

Impact on the state

Eliminating the per-ton cap on air pollution fees would generate additional revenue for the State.

Effective date

This bill shall take effect immediately.