EPA awards rebates totaling $17 million to fund clean school buses that reduce diesel emissions and protect children’s health
March 8, 2022
LENEXA, KAN. (MARCH 8, 2022) – At an event Monday with Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winners of two school bus rebate opportunities: 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP) Electric School Bus Rebates, and 2021 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) School Bus Rebates.
The Charleston R-1 School District of Charleston, in southeastern Missouri, received school bus rebate opportunities from both the ARP and DERA programs. The district received $900,000 in electric school bus rebate opportunities through the ARP program.
The $7 million in total ARP funding is directed toward school districts in underserved communities to replace old diesel buses with new, zero-emission electric models. If they meet all the regulatory requirements, the districts will receive 100% of the cost toward the buses. The ARP program awards include replacing 23 diesel buses with electric school bus replacements and associated charging infrastructure in a total of 11 states.
The Missouri district also received DERA school rebate opportunities for three additional bus replacements at $60,000. The $10 million in DERA rebates will assist with 444 school bus replacements across the country.
“The historic investments in clean transportation resulting from President Biden’s leadership will have lasting impacts on protecting clean air for children for generations,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This round of school bus grants from the American Rescue Plan is just the beginning. The unprecedented $5 billion investment that’s on the way for clean and zero-emission school buses from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will transform how millions of children get to school and help build a better America for a new generation.”
“This funding is a vivid demonstration of how local school bus infrastructure can be upgraded, while also improving air quality in communities,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meghan A. McCollister. “We encourage all Region 7 school transportation fleet supervisors to learn more about this program.”
ARP electric bus replacement awards included:
| State |
Selectee Name
Buses
Funding
Tennessee
Bledsoe County Board of Education
2
$600,000
Missouri
Charleston R-1 School District
3
$900,000
Michigan
Dearborn Public School District
1
$300,000
Rhode Island
First Student Inc – (Providence School District)
4
$1,200,000
Oklahoma
Heavener Public Schools
1
$300,000
New Jersey
Holcomb Transportation, Inc. (Camden City School Dist.)
1
$300,000
Montana
Lame Deer Elementary School
1
$300,000
Virginia
Petersburg City Public Schools
3
$900,000
South Carolina
SC DOE Orangeburg CSD
4
$1,200,000
California
Terra Bella Union Elementary
2
$600,000
Arizona
Theodore Roosevelt School
1
$300,000
In addition to the $17 million announced today, in the coming weeks, EPA plans to announce a new Clean School Bus rebate program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides an unprecedented $5 billion over five years to replace existing school buses with low- or zero-emission school buses.
The rebate awards are EPA’s latest round of funding for longstanding DERA School Bus Rebates. This year’s program awards approximately $10 million to fund the replacement of old diesel school buses with new electric, diesel, gasoline, propane, or compressed natural gas (CNG) school buses meeting current emission standards.
The two rebate awards total approximately $17 million in combined funding for schools and bus fleet owners to replace older, highly polluting diesel school buses. Replacing these buses will improve air quality in and around schools and communities, reduce greenhouse gas pollution, and better protect children’s health overall. Since 2012, EPA’s school bus rebates have awarded, or are in the process of awarding, over $73 million to replace more than 3,000 old diesel school buses.
This program will also prioritize projects that help achieve the goals of President Biden’s Justice40 initiative, which aims to ensure that federal agencies deliver at least 40% of benefits from certain investments to underserved communities.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Clean School Bus Program
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides an unprecedented $5 billion over five years for the Clean School Bus Program to replace existing school buses with cleaner models. In spring 2022, EPA plans to announce a new Clean School Bus rebate program for applicants to replace existing school buses with low- or zero-emission school buses. EPA may prioritize applications that replace school buses in high-need local educational agencies, low-income and rural areas, tribal schools, and applications that provide cost share. To learn more about the upcoming Clean School Bus Program, please visit EPA’s website.
To learn more about the rebate programs, applicant eligibility, and selection process, visit EPA’s website.
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