The U.S. EPA announced that it is extending the deadline for tribal governments and beneficiaries to apply for approximately $2 million for reducing diesel emissions from commercial vehicles, including school buses.
The EPA opened up the application period on June 8 with an original deadline of Sept. 6. EPA’s new deadline for the amended Request for Applications from North American tribal governments, intertribal consortiums, and Alaska native villages is April 3. They can use the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act option under the second cycle of the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund that is scheduled to start in December and run through next May.
Related: EPA Awards $2M for Tribal School Bus Operations
As previously reported, school buses and their engines are among the equipment that are eligible for replacement under the Clean Diesel Tribal Grant program, in addition to Class 5-8 heavy-duty highway vehicles, locomotive engines and marine engines. Vehicles or equipment that are used in construction, cargo handling, agriculture, mining or energy production are also eligible.
Grant funds may also be used for clean diesel projects that use technologies and equipment that are approved by the EPA and California Air Resources Board. These could include: exhaust control technologies, engine upgrades, certified engine configurations, clean alternative fuel conversions, idle-reduction technologies, aerodynamic technologies and low-rolling-resistance tires.
However, EPA said the grant funds cannot be used for fueling infrastructure, federally mandated emissions reduction programs, or emissions testing equipment.
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