A Nevada clean air grant program has extended its deadline from Jan. 15 to Jan. 31.

The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) is accepting applications for its 2021 Diesel Emission Mitigation Fund, which uses money from Volkswagen settlement funds to help public and private fleets replace older diesel-powered vehicles and equipment with new alternative fuel and zero-emission vehicles.

Eligible projects include those that would replace Class 4-8 school buses, shuttle buses, and transit buses with a 2009 or older engine model year. Buses covered under these projects could be outright replaced or repowered with new engines that use improved diesel or alternative fuels, such as electricity, propane, or compressed natural gas.

The NDEP’s goal is to fund projects that reduce nitrogen oxide emissions and the agency scores applications on criteria such as:

• Project location

• Environmental co-benefits

• Likelihood of additional future emission reductions

• Feasibility

• Societal co-benefits

Grant recipients are required to report regularly on their project status and submit materials when a project is finished to show that necessary work is completed.