EPA Funding to Reduce Hoosier School Bus Emissions
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded nearly $250,000 to four Indiana communities in an effort to replace or retrofit older diesel school buses. The EPA says the buses will reduce pollutants linked to health problems including asthma and lung damage.
The funding is part of more than $7.7 million in rebates awarded nationally by the EPA through its Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. Recipients replacing buses with engine model years of 2006 and older will receive between $15,000 and $25,000 per bus, depending on its size. They also have the option of retrofitting buses with engine model years between 1994 and 2006 with a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst plus Closed Crankcase Ventilation System, for which the EPA will fund the cost up to $4,000.
The Indiana recipients include (City, Recipient, Rebate, Number of Buses):
- Greensburg – Decatur County Community Schools – $75,000 – 3
- Waterloo – DeKalb County Central United School District – $100,000 – 5
- Goshen – Fairfield Community Schools – $40,000 – 2
- Gary – Incandescent Transportation Solutions LLC – $25,000 – 1
"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.”
The EPA launched the DERA program in 2008 and in that time, has reduced emissions in more than 70,000 engines.