WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A dozen new electric buses are coming to Utah thanks to grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Uintah and Tintic school districts are listed among recipients of grants through the EPA’s School Bus Program, which nationwide awarded nearly $1 billion this week for electric buses from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The Uintah School District was awarded $3.95 million to purchase 10 new school buses and build infrastructure to charge the electric vehicles.
Uintah Superintendent Rick Woodford said the district applied for the grant in part due to a letter from the Utah Petroleum Association “encouraging us to electrify our fleet and look for other ways to reduce emissions and improve air quality in the Uintah Basin.”
“Also, with the addition of these 10 new buses, the district is saving local taxpayers more than $1 million over the next three years that would have otherwise gone to purchase route buses on our regular replacement schedule,” Woodford said in a news release.
The district’s current fleet consists of 36 diesel buses and 27 propane buses, district officials said.
The Tintic School District was awarded $790,000 for two electric buses and related infrastructure. The small, central Utah school district covers the Eureka, Trout Creek and Callao communities in western Juab County.
In all, grants were awarded to 389 school districts nationwide to purchase more than 2,400 clean school buses to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles and produce cleaner air in and around schools and communities, according to an EPA news release.
The investment also seeks to drive demand for American-made batteries and vehicles, boost domestic manufacturing and create good-paying jobs, the release states.
“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,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said.
“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.”
These grants are the first $1 billion of a five-year, $5 billion program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The EPA is expected to make available another $1 billion for clean school buses in 2023.
