Worcester's former school bus provider settles air pollution lawsuit

WORCESTER ― The city will receive a share of a $1.4 million court settlement tied to idling school buses that allegedly released harmful toxins into the air.

The settlement was announced Tuesday in a press release by the Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation . It reached the settlement with the city’s former bus operator, Durham School Services, and its owner, National Express, claiming the company violated the federal Clean Air Act.

Besides the cash payout, Durham and National Express agreed to stop excessive bus idling.

School officials declined to comment. The district took bus service in-house starting in the 2022-23 academic year.

National Express did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The diesel exhaust from the idling buses parked at the district's lot at 42A Harlow St. allegedly compromised the air quality of 70,000 residents who live within 2 miles of the lot, according to the lawsuit.

A majority of the residents in the zone live in a state-classified Environmental Justice Area that includes a preponderance of low-income, non-English-speaking residents of color.

The Worcester chapter of Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts will receive $145,000 from the settlement, according to Dálida Rocha, the organization’s executive director. Those funds will help educate residents about what Rocha called “bad actors” in their neighborhoods and assist with retrofitting public housing with cleaner air systems.

"We want to prevent bad actors coming into the community and impacting the community in a negative way,” said Rocha.

As part of the settlement, Durham will make cash payments to Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts over the next five years should it engage in excessive idling of buses, said Chelsea Kendall, a foundation attorney. The funds would flow to the Worcester chapter to address past air-quality harms caused by Durham's idling buses.

Surprise visits to the companies bus yards could identify infractions. Fines would include $150 per vehicle for idling up to five minutes, $300 for six to 10 minutes, $2,000 for 11 to 30 minutes, $3,000 for 31 to 60 minutes and $7,000 for 61 or more minutes.

Beyond the $145,000 to Worcester, another $145,000 is going to Holyoke for alleged air-quality problems from bus idling. In addition, $1 million will be used by Durham for electrifying Holyoke's school bus fleet, said Kendall. Other funds will cover some of the foundation's legal fees.

The Conservation Law Foundation connects idling vehicles to dangerous health outcomes, including lung damage, heart disease, cancers and decreased cognitive function. Children face higher risks from diesel bus fumes, because their lungs are still developing, said the foundation.

"(The settlement) is really important to Neighbor to Neighbor," said Kendall, "because it's helping communities of color, environmental justice communities and low-income communities disproportionately impacted by exhaust and overburdened by air pollution. It's important for these areas to reap the benefits of the settlement and see improvements in air quality."

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com . Follow him on X: @henrytelegram .

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester's former school bus provider settles air pollution lawsuit