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NC DEER (Diesel Emissions - Economic Recovery) Grant
Reduced emissions in our school buses result in cleaner air for the citizens of Stokes County
In February, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). As part of President Obama's ARRA, the North Carolina State Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Air Quality was granted $1.73 Million to be used to reduce emissions from diesel engines. With these funds, the Division of Air Quality has set up two programs. The first will award a subgrant to one organization to administer a rebate program for Auxiliary Power Unit or Heavy-Duty Diesel replacements for long haul trucks. The bulk of the grant, however, will be used to solicit and select worthy "shovel ready" projects to reduce mobile emissions from diesel engines. This program will be called the NC Diesel Emissions-Economic Recovery (DEER) Grant. There was approximately $1.1 Million invested in NC DEER Grants.
In March 2009, Derek Graham - Section Chief of Transportation Services with the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) - sent out an e-mail describing the NC DEER Grant program and soliciting each county to determine interest. Several Counties - including Stokes - replied to Mr. Graham's e-mail. Later that month Stokes County submitted a formal request to NCDPI for NC DEER Grant funds. In July 2009 Stokes County was one of eight counties awarded grant funds from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
These grant funds were used to retrofit school buses with diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) and closed crankcase ventilation systems (CCVS) to reduce emissions from school buses. After piggy-backing on a contract signed by the Nash-Rocky Mount School District and Cummins Atlantic, Stokes contacted NCDPI to determine the number of buses from our fleet that qualified for the retrofit. Seventeen buses were chosen for retrofit. In November 2009 Stokes County Schools entered into a grant contract with DENR for $25,600 in grant funds to pay for the retrofits. This grant project is scheduled to be completed by September 30, 2010.
On June 14 - 17, 2010 service technicians from Cummins Atlantic came to the Stokes County Bus Garage and completed the retrofits for seventeen buses. All buses were retrofitted with a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and a closed crankcase ventilation system (CCVS). The CCVS will dramatically decrease crankcase emissions by eliminating 100 percent of engine blow-by. Combined with the DOC - and when used with low-sulfur diesel - the DOC and CCVC will provide the following reductions:
| Technology | Fuel (Sulfur Content) | Particulate Matter (PM) % | Carbon Monoxide (CO) % | Hydrocarbons (HC)% |
| DOC + CCVS System | Less than or = 15 ppm | 30 | 50 | 74 |
On behalf of Stokes County School Transportation we would like to thank NCDPI, NC DENR, and the ARRA for making these funds available. We're excited that we will be able to reduce emissions in our school buses resulting in cleaner air for the citizens of Stokes County and North Carolina.
Brad Lankford
Transportation Director
Cummins Atlantic service truck |
Technicians from Cummins Atlantic installing a CCVC on an International |
Closed Crankcase Ventilation System (CCVS) on an International (The 4500-08R Model). This system protects the engine and provides an excellent solution for crankcase emissions by eliminating 100 percent of engine blow-by. |
Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) installed on an International Bus (The Model 203609N with the following exhaust clamps - Inlet 90355A; Outlet 90356A). |
CCVS on a Freightliner (The CV51118 Model). |
Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) on a Freightliner (The Model 200909N with the following exhaust clamps - Inlet 90356A; Outlet 90356A). |
CCVS on the Thomas Pusher (Model CV51118). |
Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) on the Thomas Pusher (Model 200921N with the following exhaust clamps - Inlet 90356A; Outlet 90356A). |
