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EPA Highlights $11 Million for Clean School Buses in Southeast Michigan Publisher: Environmental Protection Agency Byline: Allison Lippert Dateline: Chicago, Illinois 
Date: 2 November 2022 Subjects: American Government , Buses, The Environment
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Clean school buses headed to Ypsilanti and Dearborn school districts
Contact Information
Allison Lippert (lippert.allison@epa.gov)
312-353-0967
CHICAGO (November 2, 2022) — Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized Ypsilanti Community Schools and Dearborn Public Schools in southeast Michigan as Fiscal Year 2022 recipients of EPA's Clean School Bus Program rebate competition. The school districts will receive up to a total of $11 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help purchase 28 zero-emission school buses for cleaner air in and around their schools.
In Ypsilanti, EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Director Liesl Clark joined school district leaders on a tour an electric school bus and highlighted how these vehicles 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.
“Thanks to the Clean School Bus program, Ypsilanti and Dearborn are making significant progress in providing a healthier environment for their students, bus drivers, and school staff,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “Upgrading to electric school buses is a major win for these communities that will reduce harmful air pollution in and around schools. EPA is proud to be able to partner with them and help move our country forward towards a cleaner, healthier future.”
“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 Congresswoman 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.”
“These grants are forward-focused in two crucial ways,” said Michigan EGLE Director Liesl Clark. “They protect the health of our children and generations to come in Michigan’s promising clean-energy future, and they move us toward the ambitious goals we’ve set to reduce our carbon footprint and avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis.”
Ypsilanti Community Schools will receive up to $3.9 million to help purchase up to 10 electric school buses.
“The 10 electric buses purchased with the $3.9 million will help us provide cleaner transportation to our students and benefit our community by decreasing our carbon footprint,” said Dr. Carlos Lopez, Assistant Superintendent, Ypsilanti Community Schools. “These electric buses could eliminate more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year which can result in a reduction in the number of children who are exposed to high levels of air pollutants. Overall, this will improve the quality of life for our residents throughout Michigan and the world.”
Dearborn Public Schools will receive up to $7.1 million to help purchase up to 18 electric buses.
“We are excited to be one of several school districts in our state to receive this funding, allowing us to purchase up to 18 electric school buses. Adding these vehicles to our fleet will provide us with the opportunity to evaluate this new technology and how it performs in the real-world environment year-round,” said Dr. Glenn Maleyko, Superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools. “The Dearborn Public Schools has a long history of educating students on the importance of being good stewards of the environment and the addition of electric school buses will reinforce the importance of that message.”
Last week, EPA announced the selection of 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.
In Michigan, EPA is awarding more than $50 million to 25 school districts to help purchase 138 clean school buses.
These awards are among 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.