The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has awarded $295,920 to 17 school districts to apply to the purchase of new school buses for the upcoming school year. The rebates were provided to the school districts toward the purchase of new diesel powered buses with more stringent pollution controls to replace older buses thus reducing emissions of particulate matter, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide.
Since 2009, the MDEQ Diesel School Bus Replacement Program has awarded more than $1.08 million to 38 school districts for the purchase of 67 school buses.
“Because thousands of Mississippi children begin and end their days with a trip on a school bus, providing for clean school buses is an ongoing priority for MDEQ,” said MDEQ Executive Director Gary Rikard. “School buses are the safest and most efficient way to transport students, but we want to ensure that it’s a healthy trip.”
MDEQ has also encouraged school districts to adopt anti-idling policies, and the implementation of such a policy is a requirement for the districts that received funds for buses this year. Stricter emissions standards for diesel engines, including school buses, were implemented in 2007 by U.S. EPA.
More information is available here.
