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News Releases from Headquarters

EPA Rebates Will Fund Cleaner School Buses in 88 Communities

01/05/2017
Contact Information: 
Christie St. Clair (stclair.christie@epa.gov)
(202) 564-2880

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today awarded more than $7.7 million to replace or retrofit 401 older diesel school buses. The funds are going to 88 school bus fleets in 27 states, each of which will receive rebates 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.

“Thanks to DERA funding, we are protecting our children from breathing diesel emissions as they travel to school,” said Christopher Grundler, director of EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality. “Nearly 17,000 of our country's schools are located within steps of a heavily traveled road, potentially exposing more than six million children to traffic-related pollution at a time when their developing lungs are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution.”

Applicants replacing buses with engine model years of 2006 and older will receive rebates between $15,000 and $25,000, depending on the size of the bus. Applicants also had the option of retrofitting school buses with engine model years between 1994 to 2006 with a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst plus Closed Crankcase Ventilation system (DOC plus CCV) to reduce toxic emissions. EPA will fully fund the cost of these devices up to $4,000.

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. 

The 2016 DERA school bus rebate recipients are:

State  City     Selectee Funding   Buses
AZ Marana     Marana Unified School District #6 $465,000  20
CA Moorpark     Moorpark Unified School District $25,000 1
CA Soquel     Santa Cruz City Schools  $155,000 9
CA Tulare     Sundale Union Elementary School $20,000 1
CO Glenwood Springs Yampah Mountain High School $20,000 1
CT Ashford     Town of Ashford $20,000 1
FL  Orlando     School Board of Orange County, FL $240,000 20
FL Fort Pierce The School Board of Saint Lucie County $200,000 10
IA Bondurant     Bondurant-Farrar Community School District $70,000 3
IA Lawton     Lawton-Bronson Community School District $80,000 4
IA Sioux City Sioux City Community School District $20,000 1
IL St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 $20,000 1
IL Frankfort     Lincoln Way Area Special Education District 843 $75,000 5
IL Mt Vernon Spring Garden School District 178 $20,000 1
IN Greensburg     Decatur County Community Schools $75,000 3
IN Waterloo     DeKalb County Central United School District $100,000 5
IN Goshen     Fairfield Community Schools $40,000 2
IN  Gary     Incandescent Transportation Solutions LLC $25,000 1
IN Versailles     South Ripley School Corporation $55,000 3
KS Emporia     Unified School District # 253 $40,000 2
KS  Sublette     Unified School District # 374 $20,000 1
KS Ottawa      Unified School District # 290 $40,000 2
LA Alexandria     Rapides Parish Schools Board $100,000 5
ME Kennebunk     Regional School Unit 21 $160,000 8
ME Sullivan Regional School Unit 24 $40,000  2
MI Haslett     Haslett Public Schools $60,000 3
MI Hudsonville     Hudsonville Public Schools $60,000 3
MI Whittemore     Whittemore-Prescott Area Schools $60,000 3
MO Jamestown     Jamestown C-1 School $55,000 3
MO Louisiana     Louisiana RII Schools District $25,000 1
MO  Sullivan     Sullivan School District $40,000 2
MO Wheaton     Wheaton R III School $40,000 2
NE Arlington     Arlington Public Schools $20,000 1
NE Wahoo     Wahoo Public Schools $20,000 1
NJ Orange     Belair Transport Inc. $145,000 7
NJ Lakewood     Klarr Transport Service Inc. $200,000 10
NJ North Brunswick North Brunswick Township Board of Education $85,000 5
NJ  Wall     Student Transportation of America $200,000 10
NJ Toms River Toms River Regional Schools $180,000 9
NY Brocton     Brocton Central School District $40,000 2
NY Belmont     Genesee Valley CSD $20,000 1
NY Huntington Station Huntington Coach Corporation  $200,000 10
NY  Huntington Station Huntington Coach LLC  $200,000 10
NY Craryville     Taconic Hills Central School District $20,000 1
NY  Verona     Vernon Verona Sherrill Central Schools $60,000 3
NY Whitesboro     Whitesboro Central School District $30,000 2
OH Sullivan     Black River Local Schools $20,000 1
OH Rawson Cory-Rawson Local Schools $70,000 3
OH Lynchburg     Lynchburg Clay Local Schools $60,000 3
OH Thornville     Northern Local School District  $60,000 3
OH Andover Pymatuning Valley Local School $80,000 4
OH Canton     Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities $60,000 3
OK Boswell     Boswell Public Schools $20,000 1
OR  Lakeview     Lake County School District #7 $40,000 2
OR Pendleton     Mid Columbia Bus Co. Inc  $180,000 9
PA Carlisle     Deitch Buses Inc. $80,000  4
PA Glenmoore     George Krapf, Jr. & Sons, Inc. $60,000 3
PA     Philadelphia     School District of Philadelphia $165,000 10
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Anderson 1 School District) $100,000 5
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Charleston County School District) $200,000 10
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Chester County School District)  $40,000 2
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Colleton County School District) $140,000 7
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Dorchester 4 County School District)  $80,000 4
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Greenville County School District) $200,000 10
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Kershaw County School District) $100,000 5
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Lexington 4 County School District) $80,000 4
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Orangeburg 5 County School District) $80,000 4
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Spartanburg 3 County School District) $40,000 2
SC Columbia     SCDOE (For Spartanburg 6 County School District) $80,000 4
SD Hayti     Hamlin Public School Dist.  $20,000  1
TX Rockport     Aransas County ISD $105,000 5
TX Uvalde Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District $20,000 1
UT St. George Washington County School District $250,000 10
UT West Haven Weber School District $100,000  5
VA Alexandria     Alexandria City Public Schools $64,000 16
VA Charlotte Court House Charlotte County Public Schools $100,000  5
VA Norfolk     Norfolk Public Schools $200,000 10
VA Salem     Roanoke County Public Schools $215,000 10
WA Vancouver     Evergreen Public Schools $235,000 10
WA Lind     Lind-Ritzville Transportation Co-Op $20,000 1
WA Longview     Longview Public School District #122 $95,000 4
WA Northport     Northport School District $20,000 1
WA Quincy     Quincy School District No. 144 $50,000 2
WA Sumner     Sumner School District $20,000 1
WI Spencer     Burnett Transit $40,000 2
WI Dousman     Dousman Transport Co., Inc.  $200,000 10
WI Beloit      School District of Beloit Turner $40,000 2
WI Shell Lake School District of Shell Lake  $20,000 1

For more information about this rebate program, visit http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-rebates.