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SEARCHOut with the old diesel; in with the new, lower emission. Check out which school transportation projects were approved for funding in the latest DERA round.
In this round of funding, 70 total projects have been picked to receive financial assistance. Among those, at least 53 school buses will be replaced.
Photo: SBF/Canva
On Oct. 17, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced tentative* selections for its FY 2022-23 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) National Grants Program.
This round, nearly $125 million will fund about 70 projects across the U.S. More than half are marked as swap-outs for zero-emission vehicles.
All named tentative recipients can be found online, and the page will be updated as the tentative status moved toward finalized.
To save you the hassle of filtering through the chart on their website, SBF did the work for you, and found the following.
Eight of the total projects in this round are for school bus-exclusive funding, with five more recipients splitting their funds between school buses and other upgrades, including freight, transit, construction, or municipal vehicles. Some of the school bus upgrades will go toward newer diesel buses; others to battery-electric or propane.
In total, across 11 states, there will be at least 53 known school bus replacements (only one project did not indicate the number of school buses), 29 chargers or charging stations installed, and 15 engine retrofits. $16,834,251 is earmarked toward all of these, but not all of that will be toward school bus projects.
*What makes the recipients tentative? “These awards are in final workplan negotiations with the tentatively selected applicants,” the agency said. Further, a small number of awards are still under processing.
The agency initially anticipated approximately $115 million broken down into $58 million in FY 2022 and $57 million in FY 2023, “subject to the availability of funds, the quantity and quality of applications received, and other considerations.” Applications were due Dec. 1, 2023.
DERA offers funding to accelerate the upgrade, retrofit, and retirement of legacy diesel vehicles to reduce overall emissions. Projects are prioritized in areas that face challenging air quality issues, with extra attention for those that benefit underserved communities or those with environmental justice disparities.
In comparison, in 2021, $10.5 million was allocated to upgrade 137 buses in 40 states.
Find a breakdown of historical funding projects on the EPA's website.
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