News Releases from Region 10

EPA Awards $491,000 for Healthier School Buses in Idaho, Oregon and Washington

03/08/2018

Contact Information:

Suzanne Skadowski (skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov)

206-553-2160

Seattle - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today awarded $491,000 to replace or retrofit 27 older diesel school buses in nine school districts in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. School districts will receive the funds as rebates through EPA's Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program.

Nationwide, $8.7 million in rebate funds are going to school bus fleets in 32 states to replace or retrofit 450 older diesel school buses. The new and retrofitted buses will reduce pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.

“These rebates are an innovative way to improve air quality and provide kids with safe, reliable transportation to and from school,” said EPA Region 10 Administrator Chris Hladick. “Through the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, EPA is equipping these local school districts with cleaner-running school buses, helping them along the route to healthier kids and communities in the Northwest.”

Schools 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. Schools also have the option of retrofitting school buses with engine model years between 1994 to 2006 with a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst, Closed Crankcase Ventilation system, and Fuel Operated Heater to reduce toxic emissions. EPA will fully fund the cost of these devices up to $6,000.

School bus rebate recipients in the Northwest region are listed below.

State	City	School District	Funding	Buses
Idaho	Murtaugh	Murtaugh Joint School District	$20,000	1
Oregon	Fairview	Reynolds School District	$200,000	10
Oregon	Hillsboro	Hillsboro School District	$40,000	2
Oregon	Portland	David Douglas School District	$80,000	4
Washington	Spangle	Liberty School District	$20,000	1
Washington	Rockford	Freeman School District No.	$20,000	1
Washington	Stevenson	Stevenson Carson School District	$11,000	3
Washington	Menlo	Willapa Valley School District	$20,000	1
Washington	Moses Lake	Moses Lake School District	$80,000	4

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 700 clean diesel projects across the country, reducing emissions in more than 70,000 engines.

A comprehensive list of the 2017 DERA school bus recipients can be found at https://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-rebates. More information about the DERA program is available at: www.epa.gov/cleandiesel.

For more information about EPA’s Pacific Northwest and Alaska region, visit: www.epa.gov/epa-region-10-pacific-northwest.