Clean diesel grant program to kick off soon

WASHINGTON, D.C. — School bus operations should soon have another opportunity to vie for funding for clean diesel efforts.

The EPA said that it plans to post a request for proposals (RFP) in early November for the 2011 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant program.

About $60 million is expected to be available for the upcoming round, according to the Diesel Technology Forum.

The EPA said it will offer four Web seminars throughout November to discuss the RFP.

Details on the program will be posted at http://epa.gov/cleandiesel/grantfund.htm.

Each year, 70 percent of the DERA funds goes to national competitive grants, with the remaining 30 percent allocated to the states.

School bus operations have used the funds to replace old buses or to retrofit them with emission-control equipment.

As previously reported, a variety of organizations have been calling on Congress to renew the DERA program for another five years. It is set to expire next year, but U.S. Senators Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) have reportedly been drafting legislation to reauthorize it.

The Diesel Technology Forum said that it and more than 340 supporters sent a letter to Voinovich and Carper expressing their interest in having DERA reauthorized.