(AGENPARL) – mer 11 dicembre 2024 Issued: Dec 11, 2024 (11:05am EST)
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EPA Announces Over $10M to St. Louis Public Schools for Clean Heavy-Duty
Vehicles
70 applicants tentatively selected to receive funding for over 2,400
zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, along with infrastructure and workforce
development projects, to tackle climate change, reduce air pollution, and
advance environmental justice
LENEXA, KAN. (DEC. 11, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) announced that St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) has been selected
to received $10,128,735 to assist in the purchase of 30 zero-emission vehicles
through EPA’s first-ever Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program.
SLPS is applying to replace 30 Class 6/7 diesel buses with Class 6/7
zero-emission buses to reduce the school district’s emissions of nitrogen
oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. The project will directly
improve the air quality for students, staff, and community members and reduce
district transportation costs. In addition, the district plans to leverage a
public-private partnership with Highland Electric Fleets (Highland) to ensure
cost-effective use of EPA funding and successful implementation of the
project.
EPA’s Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program, created by President
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, will replace existing internal combustion
engine, heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission vehicles, while also supporting
the build-out of clean vehicle infrastructure, as well as the training of
workers to deploy these new zero-emission technologies. The selected projects
announced today will reduce harmful emissions from heavy-duty vehicles,
support good-paying jobs, and improve air quality in communities across the
country, particularly in those that have been overburdened by air pollution.
“Thanks to President Biden, we are accelerating American leadership in
developing clean technologies that address the impacts of climate change,”
said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Together, the Clean Heavy-Duty
Vehicles Grant projects announced today will slash air pollution and enhance
the country’s infrastructure for cleaner transportation solutions, creating
good-paying jobs along the way.”
“We commend St. Louis Public Schools’ dedication to replace 30 diesel
busses with zero-emission vehicles,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meghan
A. McCollister. “Their efforts demonstrate a significant commitment to their
students and community by promoting a cleaner, greener future.”
Across the nation, over 3 million Class 6 and Class 7 vehicles are currently
in use, spanning a wide variety of vehicle types and vocations. Many of these
are older vehicles that emit higher levels of harmful pollutants, like
nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter, and greenhouse gases, than newer
vehicles. This pollution is associated with respiratory and cardiovascular
disease, among other serious health problems. Children, older adults, those
with preexisting cardiopulmonary disease, and those of lower socioeconomic
status are particularly vulnerable to these health impacts. Cleaning up
pollution from heavy-duty vehicles helps protect the health of 72 million
people living near truck freight routes in America.
EPA’s Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program will accelerate the adoption
and deployment of eligible Class 6 and 7 zero-emission vehicles. Vehicles
eligible for replacement include older vehicles powered by internal combustion
engines that pre-date recent EPA emission standards.
Proposed replacement vehicles include battery-electric box trucks, cargo
trucks, emergency vehicles, refuse/recycling haulers, school buses, shuttle
buses, step vans, transit buses, utility vehicles, and other vocational
vehicles, as well as a small number of hydrogen fuel-cell transit buses. In
addition, the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program also funds zero-emission
vehicle fueling infrastructure (e.g., electric vehicle charging stations), as
well as workforce development and training. These investments support the
implementation of the Biden-Harris administration’s National Blueprint for
Transportation Decarbonization and the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor
Strategy.
Approximately 70% of the funding awarded today will support the purchase of
clean school buses, helping provide clean air for children on their ride to
school. These awards complement EPA’s Clean School Bus Program through the
President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has awarded nearly $3
billion for nearly 9,000 clean school buses to date.
The Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program advances President Biden’s
Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of
certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized
by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
EPA prioritized disadvantaged communities facing air quality challenges,
including nonattainment with EPA’s fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone
(O3) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) or high levels of ambient
diesel PM. Applications were evaluated on engagement with affected
communities, especially local residents, to ensure their meaningful
participation with respect to the design, planning, and performance of each
project. 
Approximately $523 million of the funds announced today will be used to fund
projects serving communities located in areas in nonattainment with the NAAQS.
In addition to the funding for the replacement of existing internal combustion
engine Class 6 and 7 heavy-duty vehicles with eligible Class 6 and 7
zero-emission vehicles, funding may also be used to support zero-emission
vehicle adoption and deployment by providing:
Zero-emission vehicle refueling infrastructure.
Workforce development and training.
Project implementation costs.
EPA will work with selected applicants over the coming weeks to finalize the
awards. EPA currently anticipates finalizing awards in early calendar year
2025, once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. Project
implementation will occur over the next two to three years, depending on the
scope of each project.
Additionally, EPA and the Department of Labor expect to issue in early 2025 a
separate grant program designed to strengthen the workforce development
ecosystem through curriculum development in order to prepare workers to
maintain and repair ZEVs.
Please visit the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program webpage for
additional information and updates, as EPA works with tentatively selected
applicants to finalize awards and implement their projects.
For further information and to stay up to date on matters related to the clean
heavy duty vehicle program, sign up for the Clean Heavy-Duty
Vehicles listserv.
# # #
Learn more about EPA Region 7
Visit the Region 7 Media page
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