Senator Clinton Wins Passage of Legislation to Reduce Pollution from Road Construction Equipment and School Buses

Senator Clinton Wins Passage of Legislation to Reduce Pollution from Road Construction Equipment and School Buses

Clinton amendments to the transportation reauthorization bill would fund pollution control retrofits for diesel engines in areas with poor air quality

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) announced passage of a provision to reduce air pollution from road construction equipment as part of the Federal Transportation reauthorization Bill that passed the Senate today. The provision was added to the bill as an amendment authored by Senator Clinton and cosponsored by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK). In addition, Senator Clinton cosponsored an amendment by Senator Inhofe that would increase funding for the "Clean School Bus USA Program" run by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

"In many New York cities and towns, we need to improve our air quality to protect the health of our children and families," said Senator Clinton. "My legislation will help states and localities work with road builders to reduce pollution from road construction equipment by helping to pay for modern pollution controls."

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are approximately 1.2 million pieces of construction equipment that can potentially benefit from being retrofitted with pollution control or anti-idling technologies. A typical piece of construction equipment, such as a 178 hp bulldozer, emits as much pollution as 26 new cars today, which contributes to smog and particulate pollution that is tied to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. Adding controls to construction equipment is a key strategy to reduce these harmful diesel emissions from construction equipment and trucks in the near term.

Senator Clinton's amendment to the transportation reauthorization bill requires states to develop strategies to reduce pollution from off-road equipment used in federally funded highway projects that are located in areas that exceed EPA's pollution standards for ozone and particulate matter. In New York State, these areas include the New York City metro area, as well as the Buffalo, Rochester, Albany and Poughkeepsie metro areas.

The amendment enables states and localities to reduce pollution in these areas by helping to pay to retrofit construction equipment with modern pollution controls. Funding would come out of the $ 12.2 billion included in the transportation reauthorization bill for the congestion mitigation and air quality program. To help states develop and implement their emissions reduction strategies, the legislation also requires EPA to publish a list of verified retrofit technologies, as well as information about costs and health benefits of various technologies.

The transportation reauthorization bill also includes an amendment that builds on Senator Clinton's work to increase funding for EPA's Clean School Bus USA program. With help from Congressmen Walsh and Houghton, Senator Clinton has successfully pushed for increased funding for this program, by which EPA makes grants to school districts to help pay to retrofit old buses or purchase new ones to reduce pollution from school buses. This program was funded at $7.5 million for FY 2005, an increase of $2.5 million over the $5 million appropriated in FY 2003 and FY 2004. Senator Clinton teamed with Senator Inhofe, who offered an amendment to the transportation reauthorization bill to increase authorized funding for this program to $55 million per year.

"This transportation reauthorization bill will help to fund cost-effective solutions to air quality problems in New York and across the country," Clinton said. "I appreciate Senator Inhofe's strong interest in finding ways to reduce diesel pollution, and I look forward to working with him to retain our amendments in conference."

Having passed both the House and the Senate, the transportation reauthorization bill now heads to a conference committee that will reconcile differences between the two bills before sending a final version for final Congressional approval and signature by President Bush.

http://clinton.senate.gov/~clinton/news/2005/2005519C05.html