Simi Valley May Get $30,000 for Less-Polluting Buses

The city of Simi Valley, which suffers from some of the county’s worst air pollution, would get a little help in cleaning up its smog under a plan being considered by a county regulatory agency.

The board of the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District on Tuesday will consider allocating $30,000 from its Clean Air Fund to help the city buy four new buses equipped with engines that run on compressed natural gas.

“What we’re trying to do is give them an incentive to switch over to a cleaner type of fuel,” said Richard Baldwin, the county’s air pollution control officer.

Compressed natural gas engines emit significantly less nitrogen oxide--a key component of smog--than the more traditional diesel engines used for buses, Baldwin said. The new engines would also be quieter and discharge less smoke, he said.

The Air Pollution Control District has also helped the city of Thousand Oaks replace its bus fleet with vehicles equipped with compressed natural gas engines, Baldwin said.

The district’s Clean Air Fund was established with a $1.5-million donation from 3M Co. and is being held in an endowment overseen by the Ventura County Community Foundation, Baldwin said. The district’s board must approve any expenditures made from the fund.