EPA
LENEXA – Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over $9 million available nationwide in rebates to replace older diesel school buses through EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding. The new and retrofitted buses will reduce pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.
School buses travel over 4 billion miles each year, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million American children every day. However, diesel exhaust from these buses has a negative impact on human health, especially for children, who have a faster breathing rate than adults and whose lungs are not yet fully developed.
The 2018 School Bus Rebate Program will offer over $9 million to public and private fleet owners for the replacement of old diesel school buses with new buses certified to EPA’s cleanest emission standards. EPA will award selected applicants up to $20,000 per bus for scrapping and replacing old buses.
Applicants can apply for rebates between $15,000 and $20,000 per bus to replace buses with engine model years of 2006 and older with new buses powered by 2017 or newer model year engines. Eligible replacement school buses may operate on diesel, gasoline, battery, or alternative fuels such as natural gas or propane.
Eligible entities include:
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Regional, state, or tribal agencies that have jurisdiction over transportation and air quality, including school districts and municipalities
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Private entities that operate school buses under a contract with an entity listed above
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Fleets with up to 100 school buses may submit one rebate application listing up to 10 buses for scrappage and replacement
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Fleets with more than 100 school buses may submit up to two rebate applications, each listing up to 10 different buses for scrappage and replacement
Selections are made through a lottery process, with at least one selectee from each state/territory represented in the applicant pool. The deadline to apply is Nov. 6, 2018. For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/
This is the sixth rebate program to fund cleaner school buses offered under DERA appropriations, which has supported nearly 25,000 cleaner buses across the country for America’s schoolchildren. For more information about the DERA program, visit: www.epa.gov/cleandiesel.