Vanderbilt University
OP-2: Outdoor Air Quality

Vanderbilt recently was awarded a $4.5 million, three-year federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) grant, which the university will match. The $9 million total will fund shuttle operations, shuttle shelters, bike shelters and other efforts to encourage greater use of sustainable travel options. In advance of the grant, Vanderbilt is installing motion and air-quality sensors across the campus and its periphery to understand how people navigate it and any air quality issues present. Over the next three to five years, the MoveVU program, with funding support from the CMAQ program, will launch a variety of new initiatives, including expanding shuttle operations using vehicles that rely on alternative fuels (either electricity or biofuels), constructing new bus shelters, and establishing bike shelters and repair sheds. Vanderbilt University has a guideline prohibiting Plant Operations vehicles from idling. Plant Operations’ vehicles make up the majority of the “on campus fleet” and therefore are the most likely candidates to idle while on campus. Vanderbilt’s campus is not driver friendly, has few roads that go through campus, and allows very few vehicles to drive on the campus aside from the Plant Operations vehicles. All Plant Operations vehicles were recently outfitted with Geotab GPS tracking systems which report idling time and route performance and optimization back to VU management. The majority of Plant Operations’ fleet has changed to electric powered golf carts over the past few years, significantly improving outdoor air quality.

Vanderbilt keeps a daily log of its fuel use and energy production and utilizes EPA’s AP-42 emission factors to determine the institution’s annual air emissions. Vanderbilt’s power plant is regulated by a Title V Air Permit managed by Metro Nashville Public Health Department.

Other standard categories of air emissions identified in permits and/or regulations: VOCs: 12.53