§16091 Clean School Bus Program

Summary

EPA must run a competitive program that gives grants, rebates, and contracts to help replace old school buses with cleaner buses or buses that produce no exhaust. The program pays for buses and the needed charging or fueling equipment, and can cover up to 100% of those costs. Each year, half of the award money must go to replacing buses with zero-emission buses and the other half must go to replacing buses with clean or zero-emission buses. Awards are chosen on a competitive basis, using factors like lowest total replacement cost, local route and weather needs, emission reductions, and whether the project helps new technology become cheaper. The EPA can prioritize projects that serve high-need school districts, Bureau-funded schools, schools on Indian land, rural or low-income areas, or projects that bring in extra funding. Buses bought with these funds must stay in the buying school fleet at least 5 years (with limited transfer rules if a contractor’s service ends), be kept and charged/fueled to maker or state rules, and not add pollution-producing devices. The EPA must spread awards across the country and limit any one State to receiving no more than 10% of the yearly money for the program. The EPA can use up to 3% of the program money each year for its own administrative costs. The EPA must report to Congress by January 31 each year on applications received, awards made, locations, selection criteria, and other relevant information. Key definitions and deadlines in one line each: Administrator = EPA Administrator; alternative fuel = liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas, hydrogen, propane, or biofuels; clean school bus = a bus that cuts emissions and runs partly or fully on an alternative fuel, or is zero-emission; zero-emission school bus = a bus certified to produce zero exhaust air pollutants and greenhouse gases; eligible contractor = a business or nonprofit that can sell, lease, or arrange financing for buses or related equipment; eligible recipient = local or State entities that provide or buy school buses, eligible contractors, nonprofit school transport groups, charter schools that buy buses, and Indian tribes/tribal organizations/tribal schools that provide or buy buses. The EPA had to set up an outreach program within 120 days after November 15, 2021, to explain the awards and provide application help, tech info, costs/benefits, infrastructure planning, and workforce training guidance (including Registered Apprenticeships under the federal rules in effect on December 1, 2019). Congress authorized $1,000,000,000 each year for fiscal years 2022–2026, with $500,000,000 for clean and zero-emission buses and $500,000,000 for zero-emission buses. The EPA may write rules and guidance to run the program.