(Guthrie/Adair Co.) Two area school districts were awarded funds to help purchase buses to lower diesel emissions.
In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a total of $300,000 to 10 Iowa school districts to replace 15 older diesel school buses.
The funds are part of $11.5 million to replace 580 buses for 157 school bus fleets in 43 states and Puerto Rico, each of which will receive rebates through EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding. The new buses will reduce pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.
Locally, Coon Rapids-Bayard Community School District and Guthrie Center Community School District each received $20,000 in funding to replace one bus each.
Other districts receiving funds include Akron Westfield ($20,000), Ballard ($20,000), Dallas Center Grimes ($40,000), Humboldt ($20,000), Independence ($40,000), Marshalltown ($40,000), Sioux City ($60,000), and West Sioux ($20,000).
