Officials with the EPA Region 7 headquartered in Lenexa, KS, said Monday the IKM-Manning Community School and Sioux City (Iowa) Community School Districts have been awarded a total of $60,000 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to replace or retrofit three older diesel school buses. IKM-Manning CSD will receive $40,000 for two buses and Sioux City CSD will receive $20,000 for one bus.

The Iowa awards are part of more than $7 million in rebates to replace or retrofit 400 older diesel school buses. The rebates are going to 85 school bus fleets in 35 states, each of which will receive rebates through EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding.

The new and retrofitted buses will reduce pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter that are linked to numerous health problems, including asthma and lung damage.This was EPA’s third round of the rebate program aimed at replacing older diesel school buses. Applicants replacing buses with engine model years of 2006 and older will receive rebates between $15,000 and $25,000, depending on the size of the bus.

This year, applicants also had the option of retrofitting school buses with engine model years 1994 to 2006 with a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst plus Closed Crankcase Ventilation system (DOC plus CCV) to reduce toxic emissions. EPA will fully fund the cost of these devices up to $3,000.

EPA has implemented standards to make newer diesel engines more than 90 percent cleaner, but many older diesel school buses remain in operation and pre-date these standards. Older diesel engines emit large amounts of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, which are linked to instances of aggravated asthma, lung damage, and other serious health problems.

Since 2008, the DERA program has funded more than 650 clean diesel projects across the country, reducing emissions in more than 60,000 engines.