Yellow Buses Turn Green At Independent School District 197 | Community Spirit

School buses serving the West St. Paul, Mendota Heights, and Eagan School District are now running cleaner and greener thanks to the voluntary efforts of the school district transportation staff.

ISD 197 and the Henry Sibley High School Environmental Club recently partnered with Project Green Fleet, an effort of the Minnesota Environmental Initiative to improve Minnesota’s air quality by reducing diesel emissions.

Buses are made “green” by the installation of federally approved filters and catalyst mufflers that can reduce engine emissions by up to 50%. Buses eligible for retrofits are older buses with diesel engines that are expected to still provide many years of service—newer buses create less pollution and don’t need retrofits.

Thirty-three school buses in the ISD 197 bus fleet have been retrofitted with pollution control equipment.

Students with the Henry Sibley High School Environmental Club helped encourage their district to participate in the voluntary effort. Utilizing dollars granted to the club by the Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon program, students offered to purchase replacement filters if the district agreed to have pollution control equipment installed on school buses.

Cleaner running buses in ISD 197 are part of a larger statewide effort by Project Green Fleet. To date, more than 1,600 buses have been retrofitted in cities such as Duluth, Bemidji, Rochester, and the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. Those retrofits have reduced emissions exposure for thousands of school children. Project Green Fleet plans to retrofit all eligible school buses in the state within the next several years—a total of approximately 4,000 buses.

For more information about the Minnesota Environmental Initiative’s Project Green Fleet visit www.projectgreenfleet.org.

For more information about Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon visit http://www.schoolscuttingcarbon.org/