School Districts Encouraged to Apply for Clean School Bus Grants

HELENA—The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking applications for clean school bus funding from school districts statewide. The grants will help school districts replace older diesel school buses with newer diesel, gasoline, propane or electric models to help reduce air pollution.

Older diesel buses release nitrogen oxides which can lead to asthma and respiratory illnesses, especially in children and the elderly who are known to be at increased risk. DEQ’s Clean School Bus Replacement program aims to reduce kids’ exposure to harmful diesel exhaust from old diesel buses across the state.

“School districts statewide are encouraged to apply,” said Dan Lloyd, DEQ’s energy bureau chief. “We expect this to be a competitive grant process and look forward to helping districts purchase cleaner buses that reduce children’s exposure to harmful nitrogen oxide emissions.”

The grants awarded by DEQ are funded through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program.

Grant applications are due Nov. 15, 2022. For more information on the application, please visit: Alternative Fuels & Transportation | Montana DEQ (mt.gov)

---

Tags: Energy and Press Release