EPA awards $460K to Kansas schools to replace old diesel buses and reduce pollution

Several Kansas school districts, including six in the Wichita area, are receiving federal funding to replace aging buses.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in a Thursday news release that 18 school districts in Kansas will get $460,000 to replace 24 older diesel school buses. The new buses will lower diesel emissions and reduce pollutants linked to health problems, such as asthma and lung damage, EPA officials said.

“We believe protecting the health of our children and youth is one of our primary missions,” said Jim Gulliford, EPA Region 7 administrator, in a statement. “Removing old diesel-engines from our roads and replacing them with reduced-emission engines will provide further protection.”

EPA officials said that government standards have led to newer diesel engines being 90% cleaner. However, many school districts continue to use older diesel buses that emit large amounts of pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

“Sometimes you don’t miss something until it’s not there, and many parents miss sending their kids to school on the convenient yellow school bus right now,” said Charlie Hood, executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, in a statement. “After we weather the coronavirus crisis, be assured that school buses will return, transporting students safely and economically.

“Especially with the budget challenges public schools will be facing for the foreseeable future, the EPA’s School Bus Rebate program is a boon. It helps school districts and contractors replace their old school buses with new ones that are more cost-effective and meet stringent, modern standards for reduced emissions and clean air.”

Wichita-area school districts receiving funding are:

• Butler County: Douglass USD 396, $15,000 for one bus
• Harvey County: Hesston USD 460, $20,000 for one bus; Newton USD 373, $20,000 for one bus
• Reno County: Fairfield USD 310, $15,000 for one bus
• Sedgwick County: Mulvane USD 263, $20,000 for one bus
• Sumner County: Argonia USD 359, $20,000 for one bus

The money comes from the EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act funding.

“While many fleets are currently off the road, when these local school districts start up again, EPA and the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act have helped equip them with cleaner running buses, moving farther along the route to healthier kids and communities,” said Andrew Wheeler, EPA administrator, in a statement.