The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently awarded more than $4.6 million to help reduce diesel emissions in New England as part of the State Diesel Emissions Reductions Act (DERA) grant program.
The grants will fund projects in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, an EPA press release said. Among them was $326,579 awarded to Arlington, Massachusetts for replacing two older diesel school buses with new 2022 battery-powered electric school buses.
"Cleaner trucks, buses, boats, and heavy equipment keep local economies thriving while better protecting the health of the people living and working near ports, schools, and along delivery routes," EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in the release. "Combined with $5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law going to electric and alternative fuel school buses over the coming months and years, EPA is leading an unprecedented investment in cleaner air for communities across the country."
The EPA gave priority for the grants to projects in areas with poor air quality, those which demonstrated an ability to continue emissions reduction after the project ended and those which incorporate local communities in planning, the release said.
"EPA makes it a priority to help our state and local partners achieve cleaner air in their communities," EPA New England Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Szaro said in the release. "These diesel grants have lasting pollution reductions that will make a difference for many years."
The four projects are among 55 that were awarded DERA grants nationally, amounting to $77 million in funding towards cleaner, energy-efficient transportation, the release said. DERA grants are allocated using a formula outlined in the Energy Policy Act from 2005.
"The district is thrilled to be able to improve the air quality and climate impact of our public-school buses by replacing two of them with new electric buses," Arlington School Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth C. Homan said in a statement. "We are looking forward to beginning our transition to a cleaner and more sustainable future with the support of the EPA."
