POINT MUGU : Natural Gas to Be Used at 2 Naval Bases
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In an effort to reduce smog, Ventura County’s two Naval bases will both open natural-gas stations today to fuel their growing fleet of vehicles that operate on the cleaner-burning fuel.
The Naval Air Weapons Station at Point Mugu has converted 36 automobiles to run on natural gas and soon will have a natural-gas fleet of more than 100 cars, vans and trucks served by the new on-base station.
The Naval Construction Battalion Center at Port Hueneme now has a dozen vehicles that operate on natural gas and has slated another 87 vehicles for conversion to the alternative fuel.
The switch is part of the Navy’s efforts to reduce air pollution and comply with the Clean Air Act, said Chau Vu, a mechanical engineer with the Navy Facility Engineering Command in San Diego.
The Southern California Gas Co. built the two stations in Ventura County and a third at another Navy base for about $1.5 million, Vu said.
Cars converted from unleaded gasoline to natural gas cut their pollutants to less than half. Vehicles are the largest source of smog in Ventura County, which has until 2005 to meet health standards set by the federal Clean Air Act.
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