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Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $50 Million from EPA’s Clean School Bus Program for Michigan School Districts Publisher: Environmental Protection Agency Byline: Mary Pressley Date: 26 October 2022 Subjects: American Government  , Buses, The Environment
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Historic investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law headed to all 50 states in effort to transform America’s school bus fleet
Contact Information
Mary Pressley (pressley.mary@epa.gov)
312-886-1443
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the Fiscal Year 2022 recipients of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program rebate competition, awarding $54,060,000 from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to 25 school districts in Michigan. The grants will help school districts purchase 138 clean school buses that will accelerate the transition to zero emissions vehicles and produce cleaner air in and around schools and communities.
Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan joined schoolchildren, district leaders and community members in Seattle, Washington, today to make the announcement and highlight how it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save schools money, and better protect children’s health. The investment will also drive demand for American-made batteries and vehicles, boost domestic manufacturing, and create good-paying jobs.
“President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is accelerating our nation’s transition to electric and low-emission school buses while ensuring a brighter, healthier future for our children,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “As many as 25 million children rely on the bus to get to school each day. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, we are making an unprecedented investment in our children’s health, especially those in communities overburdened by air pollution. This is just the beginning of our work to build a healthier future, reduce climate pollution, and ensure the clean, breathable air that all our children deserve.”
“By replacing older, heavily polluting buses, EPA is making clean school buses the American standard,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “Students deserve to live a life free from the burdens of pollution, just as they deserve to learn and grow in a healthy school environment.”
“Today’s grants will help Michigan buy and use clean school buses to take kids to school safely and keep the air in and around our schools cleaner, all while powering our economic growth,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “The EPA’s Clean Bus Program will help us upgrade our school bus fleets and build on work being done across the mobility industry to switch to electric. In Michigan we will continue taking action to meet the goals of the MI Healthy Climate Plan I unveiled earlier this year that will lower costs, create jobs, and protect public health while putting us on a clean energy path to carbon neutrality. Let’s keep working together to fund innovative clean energy solutions while prioritizing the health and safety of our kids and communities.”
"On behalf of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist and the Michigan Infrastructure Office, I would like to thank the EPA and the many school districts across Michigan that submitted high quality applications for electric school bus funding,” said Zachary Kolodin, director of the Michigan Infrastructure Office. “Thanks to their hard work and leadership, rides to school for thousands of Michigan children will be cleaner and safer. This funding builds on Governor Whitmer’s work to create a sustainable clean energy economy here in Michigan. Together, with the generous support of the EPA, we are going to drive Michigan toward a clean energy future that will benefit all of us.”
“Electric school buses will make a big difference for schools across Michigan. This investment will improve air quality while helping our school districts cut their transportation costs and keep more resources in the classroom. It’s a great step to protect the health of our children and save schools money,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
“I’m proud to have supported the bipartisan infrastructure law that is now providing this funding to help replace school buses across Michigan,” said Sen. Gary Peters. “We need to be working to tackle climate change, improve air quality and protect our children’s health as they ride to school each day, and these low and zero-emission buses are a great step forward.”
“We know that diesel exhaust from school buses has a negative impact not only on our environment, but on the health of our children, teachers, bus drivers, and the surrounding communities,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell. “With this funding from the Clean School Bus program, Dearborn and Ypsilanti will be able to take diesel buses off the roads, reducing our carbon emissions and ensuring the air our children breathe on the way to school is cleaner and free from dangerous pollutants.”
“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, mid-Michigan schools are getting new school buses that are cleaner, safer and saving school’s money,” said Rep. Dan Kildee. “By replacing older buses with new clean buses, we can both create good-paying jobs and reduce pollution for our children and communities.”
Twenty-five school districts in Michigan will receive funding. A total of 138 clean school buses will go to the state, 100% of which are electric.
In May, EPA announced the availability of $500 million for its Clean School Bus Program. Given overwhelming demand from school districts across the country, including in low-income communities, Tribal nations, and territories, EPA nearly doubled the amount of funding that will be awarded to $965 million. The rebate application period closed in August with an outstanding response from school districts seeking to purchase electric and low-emission school buses across the country.
At this time, the agency has selected 389 applications totaling $913 million to support the purchase of 2,463 buses, 95% of which will be electric. EPA will distribute awards to school districts in all 50 states, Washington D.C., along with several federally recognized Tribes and U.S. territories. School districts identified as priority areas serving low-income, rural, and, or Tribal students make up 99% of the projects that were selected. More applications are under review, and the agency plans to select more to reach the full $965 million in the coming weeks.
Those school districts who received an award can now proceed with purchasing new buses and eligible infrastructure. Selectees will need to submit Payment Request Forms with purchase orders demonstrating they have ordered new buses and eligible infrastructure. EPA is also partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Transportation to provide school districts with robust technical assistance to ensure effective implementation.
These awards are the first $1 billion of a five-year, $5 billion program created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. EPA is also designing the next rounds of program funding to launch in the coming months, which will include an ambitious grant competition. Through future rounds of funding, EPA will make available another $1 billion for clean school buses in Fiscal Year 2023. EPA encourages school districts not selected in the first round of rebates – and those that did not apply this funding cycle – to participate in future rounds.
About the Clean School Bus Rebate Program
The Clean School Bus Program will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money for school districts and produce cleaner air. Diesel air pollution is linked to asthma and other conditions that harm students’ health and cause them to miss school, particularly in communities of color and Tribal communities. Phasing out these diesel engines will ensure cleaner air for students, bus drivers, and school staff working near the bus loading areas, and the communities through which the buses drive each day. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from these bus replacements will also help to address the outsized role of the transportation sector in fueling the climate crisis. The program will also save school districts money as they upgrade school bus fleets, replacing older, heavily polluting buses with brand new clean school buses, while freeing up needed resources for schools.
The 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates prioritize low-income, rural, and Tribal communities. The vast majority of applicants met the priority definition under the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates criteria, resulting in access to more funds for buses and electric vehicle infrastructure for schools in areas that need them the most. The program also delivers on President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved and overburdened by pollution.
View the full list of Clean School Bus award recipients here.