CONTACT: Sasha Tenenbaum
Senior Manager, Media and Public Engagement
stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org
(917) 887-0146
Georgia—This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the recipients of the first round of funding distributed by the Clean School Bus Program, a $5 billion, 5-year investment in clean school buses allocated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Law passed by Congress in 2021.
Moms Clean Air Force has worked in Georgia and beyond to educate local school districts about the importance of replacing dirty diesel buses with zero-tailpipe-pollution electric buses and encouraged districts to apply for the program during the application process this past summer.
This initial round of funding includes funding that will provide 127 clean electric school buses for the state.
In response, Lily Zwaan, the Georgia coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force, issued the following statement:
“These new, clean, electric school buses coming to Georgia school districts mean that thousands of children will have a safer and healthier ride to and from school. According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, in 2018 there were 24,624 asthma-related emergency room visits among children 0-17. Transitioning away from diesel buses, which can trigger asthma attacks, will protect thousands of children not only inside the bus but outside the bus as well. We hope to see more Georgia school districts transition to zero-tailpipe-pollution electric buses in the future. Georgia, let’s keep applying for this funding so we can protect more children in Georgia.”
BACKGROUND
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $5 billion to help school districts replace dirty diesel buses with electric school buses. The law charged the EPA with distributing the funds over 5 years. School districts submitted the first round of funding applications this August. EPA received so much interest in the rebate program that the agency doubled the amount of funding to be distributed this year, to nearly $1 billion nationwide.
Georgia districts that will receive electric school bus funding in the first year are:
- Atlanta Public Schools
- Savannah-Chatham County
- Clayton County
- Long County
- Meriwether County
- Macon County
- Tift County
- Charlton County
- Chattahoochee County
- Union County
- Jeff Davis County
- State Charter Schools Ii- Pataula Charter Academy
- Cook County
- Wilkes County
The initial round of funding prioritized low-income, rural, and Tribal school districts. However, all school districts are eligible for funding. EPA will be awarding more money in future years, including $1 billion anticipated for fiscal year 2023. All school districts, whether selected this round or not, should apply for future rounds of funding.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- Moms Clean Air Force’s National Statement on EPA’s Clean School Bus Awards
- Electric School Buses Fact Sheet
- How Diesel Pollution Affects Your Health
- Why Electric School Buses Are an Environmental Justice Issue
- Business Insider’s True Cost Video About Electric School Buses