EPA AWARDS $11.5 MILLION TO CLEAN UP 580 SCHOOL BUSES IN 43 STATES $1.8 MILLION DESIGNATED FOR NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY AND PUERTO RICO
04/23/2020 – NEW YORK – Today, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $11.5 million to replace 580 older diesel school buses. The funds are going to 157 school bus fleets in 43 states and Puerto Rico, each of which will receive rebates through EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding. The new buses will reduce pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.
See a comprehensive list of the 2020 DERA school bus rebate recipients.
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“Earth Day’s primary goal is to protect the environment for future generations. These rebates help do just that by continuing to improve air quality across the country and providing children with a safe and healthy way to get to school,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “While many fleets are currently off the road, when these local school districts start up again, EPA and the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act have helped equip them with cleaner running school buses, moving farther along the route to healthier kids and communities.”
“Reducing air pollution from diesel engines has enormous benefits for the health of our children and our communities. We are pleased to be able to provide resources that help support school bus fleets and schools as active, engaged partners in protecting public health and the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez.
“School buses are essential in ensuring children have access to school, but older diesel school buses have been linked to negative health impacts. These EPA grants will replace aging diesel fleets, providing safe and reliable transportation for South Jersey students, as well as reducing carbon pollutants in our environment and ensuring that our children and everyone in South Jersey will have better, cleaner air to breathe,” said Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01).
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“On behalf of the National School Transportation Association (NSTA), and in recognition of the 50th Earth Day, we would like to express our continued gratitude and support to EPA for their stewardship of the DERA program,” said John Benish NSTA president. “As our partnership continues to grow, many school bus contractors around the country have been able to upgrade their fleets with newer, cleaner, and more efficient buses. The beneficiaries of this partnership are the school children we transport every day, as well as the communities where we operate. We look forward to advancing this cause even more in the future.”
“Sometimes you don’t miss something until it’s not there, and many parents miss sending their kids to school on the convenient yellow school bus right now,” said Charlie Hood, Executive Director of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS). “After we weather the coronavirus crisis, be assured that school buses will return, transporting students safely and economically. Especially with the budget challenges public schools will be facing for the foreseeable future, the EPA’s School Bus Rebate program is a boon. It helps school districts and contractors replace their old school buses with new ones that are more cost-effective and meet stringent, modern standards for reduced emissions and clean air. This 50th Earth Day is a great time to mark how DERA has been a plus for both taxpayers and the environment.”
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Applicants replacing buses with engine model years 2006 and older will receive rebates between $15,000 and $20,000 per bus, depending on the size of the bus.
EPA has implemented standards to make newer diesel engines more than 90 percent cleaner, but many older diesel school buses are still operating. These older diesel engines emit large amounts of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, which are linked to instances of aggravated asthma, lung damage and other serious health problems.
Since 2008, the DERA program has funded more than 1,000 clean diesel projects across the country, reducing emissions in more than 70,000 engines.
EVOLV-ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION’S TAKE: We like what the DERA program was created to do in 2010 and what it has accomplished so far. The bill had limited funding and focused on idle reduction and retrofitting of older school buses with newer engines and pollution control devices. DERA has been refunded each year since 2012 and generally, the funding has been going up. They started with $1.9 million in grants in 2012 and have increased to $11.5 million granted during the 2019 application process.
When the Act was originally passed in 2010, electrification of vehicles, especially commercial vehicles, was not a large industry. But it is time for the bill to be revamped to focus replacing these old diesel school buses with electric school buses. Congresswoman Kamala Harris, during her 2019 presidential campaign, introduced the Clean School Bus Grant Program bill which would provide $1 billion over five years to the Department of Energy to provide grants for electric schools. As of April 29, 2020, the Clean School Bus Act of 2019 has not been passed. The bill has been introduced and you can track the progress of the bill in the Congress and the House of Representatives.
Source: EPA New Release