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Help Support Clean School Buses, Healthy Kids
You can take action on this alert by reading the information below and following the
directions at the bottom.
While school buses are, in many ways, the safest way for children to travel to school, diesel exhaust can build up in school bus cabins, putting children at risk. Pollution control devices can reduce dangerous particulates in the exhaust by up to 85%
The federal government, through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program and the Federal Highway Administration, has allocated funding to Georgia for projects that decrease transportation-related air pollutants, including pollution control devices for school buses and other diesel vehicles.
Many state agencies work together to invest these funds in regions of Georgia that fail to meet federal clean air standards.
However, in order to use these funds, the state must provide matching funds - $20 for every $80 provided by the federal government.
An appropriation of $1.325 million is needed to match the current $5.3 Million CMAQ funds at EPD.
A match of $500,000 would leverage the $2 million in federal funding currently available at EPD specifically for school buses, which would retrofit approximately 333 school buses.
A match of $825,000 would leverage the $3.3 million in federal funding currently available at EPD for retrofits for any diesel vehicle, which would retrofit approximately 550 school buses or other diesel vehicles.
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Your State Representative
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Please Ensure the FY09 Budget Supports Clean School Buses, Healthy Kids
Dear Representative,
While school buses are, in many ways, the safest way for children to travel to school, harmful diesel exhaust can build up in the cabins of school buses, putting children at risk.
The good news is that dangerous fine particulates in diesel exhaust can be reduced by as much as 85 percent by installing pollution control devices.
The federal government, through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program and the Federal Highway Administration, has allocated funding to Georgia for projects that decrease transportation-related air pollutants, including pollution control devices for school buses and other diesel vehicles. Many state agencies work together to invest these funds in regions of Georgia that fail to meet federal clean air standards.
However, in order to use these funds, the state must provide matching funds - $20 for every $80 provided by the federal government.
An appropriation of $1.325 million is needed to match the current $5.3 Million CMAQ funds at EPD. Heres the breakdown:
A match of $500,000 would leverage the $2 million in federal funding currently available at EPD specifically for school buses, which would retrofit approximately 333 school buses.
A match of $825,000 would leverage the $3.3 million in federal funding currently available at EPD for retrofits for any diesel vehicle, which would retrofit approximately 550 school buses or other diesel vehicles.
Please support an appropriation of $1.32 million in the FY09 budget as a smart, cost-effective method of cleaning up our aging school buses and keeping our kids healthy.
Your name and address here
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This Action Alert Campaign is Closed.
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