Ohio EPA Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Retrofit Grants Program

NEW!  County boards of developmental disabilities are now eligible to apply for grants from the Ohio Clean Diesel School Bus Fund to install pollution controls on ther buses.  The application has been updated to incorporate this change. New!  Clean Fuels Ohio and Ohio EPA will offer an information webinar about the school bus retrofit grants on Wednesday February 17th at 10:00 a.m.   Carolyn Watkins will be participating to answer questions about the application.  Prospective applicants for the March 1, 2010 application deadline are encouraged to register by e-mailing andrew@cleanfuelsohio.org or calling 614-884-7336. NEW!  The Ohio Department of Administrative Services sought bids from vendors willing to provide retrofit equipment on a state term contract for July 2009-June 2011.  Use of this purchasing contract in encouraged, but optional for applicants.   The new contract is now available online at: www.procure.ohio.gov/OrigContract/RS901810_OC.pdf                                                                          Note: The next application deadline for Ohio EPA school bus retrofit grants is March 1, 2010.  Information below on this page.  For information on stimulus funding for school bus retrofits, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ohio EPA Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Retrofit Grant Application for 2010 (word)

Ohio EPA Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Retrofit Grant Application for 2010 (pdf)

• Table 3-1: School Bus Data (word)
• Table 3-1: School Bus Data (excel)
• Table 11-3: School Bus Data, In-Kind Match (word)
• Table 11-3: School Bus Data, In -Kind Match (excel)

Application Guidance: Answers from Information Sessions held in January and February 2006 and spring 2009  (word)

Ohio EPA Rules Authorizing the Bus Grant Program

Ohio EPA Diesel School Bus Retrofit Grant Program [PPT slideshow]

General Guidelines for Ohio EPAs Program for the Retrofitting of School Buses [PDF]

Alphabetical List of Recipients, June 2006-present [DOC]

Ohio Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Grant Awards, November 2009 [PDF]

Ohio Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Grant Awards, April 2009 [DOC]

Ohio Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Grant Awards, October 2008 [DOC]

Ohio Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Grant Awards, April 2008 [DOC]

Ohio Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Grant Awards, October 2007 [DOC]

Ohio Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Grant Awards, May 2007 [DOC]

Ohio Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Grant Awards, October 2006 [PDF]

Ohio Clean Diesel School Bus Fund Grant Awards, June 2006 [DOC]

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A new grant program is helping school districts retrofit their diesel school buses with pollution control equipment and use cleaner fuels to reduce emissions.

Priority will be given to applications from school districts in communities that do not meet the federal air quality standards for outdoor concentrations of fine air particles, and districts that employ additional measures such as anti-idling programs, to reduce emissions from their school bus fleets. A map of Ohio counties not currently meeting the air quality standards for particulates (pm 2.5) is available at www.epa.ohio.gov/dapc/SIP/Nonattain/nonattain.aspx

Grants are funded from civil penalties Ohio EPA collects from environmental violations. Since the program began, Ohio EPA has awarded $3.2 million to 49 school districts to retrofit 1,105 school buses. These grants have resulted in the removal of nine and a half tons of pollutants from the air. The next grant application deadline will be:

• March 1, 2010

For additional questions about the grant program, please contact Carolyn Watkins at carolyn.watkins@epa.state.oh.us, or 614-644-3768. For questions about diesel bus retrofitting, particle standards, or program rules, contact John Paulian at john.paulian@epa.state.oh.us, or 614-644-4832.

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U.S. EPA also has a “Clean School Bus USA” grant program designed to reduce children’s exposure to diesel exhaust, and reduce the amount of air pollution created by diesel school buses. According to U.S. EPA, 24 million children ride the school bus every day, and on average, students spend an hour and a half each weekday in a school bus.

For more information about the U.S. EPA school bus grant program, visit www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus. US EPA’s Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative also provides funding for school bus retrofits.  More information is available at http://www.epa.gov/midwestcleandiesel/grants/ .

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The University of Cincinnati’s Department of Environmental Health is conducting a multi-year study to determine if children with higher levels of exposure to diesel exhaust particles are at increased risk for hypersensitivity to specific allergens, and related respiratory disorders.

For more information about this project and similar publications from the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study, visit www.eh.uc.edu/ccaaps/.

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