Dec. 4, 2014 --The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality announced the selection of four Nebraska schools that will receive Clean Diesel reimbursements. The reimbursements will be used to help the schools replace older school buses with new buses that have certified cleaner burning engines. This funding is made possible by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s State Clean Diesel Grant program.

Schools across the state were informed of this opportunity in October, and all K-12 schools (both public and private) were eligible to apply. The reimbursements are to be used to help pay for replacement of 1991-2003 engine model year school buses that are still part of their active fleet with a new school bus powered by an EPA or CARB certified 2013 or newer model year engine.

Because the funds available for 2014 are limited, NDEQ had previously announced that it intended to award four reimbursements of up to $19,800. Because 15 applications were determined to be eligible, NDEQ conducted a drawing on Dec. 4 to select the four recipients. The first four selected in the drawing were:
 

1. Falls City Public Schools
2. Superior Public Schools
3. Elkhorn Valley Schools
4. Wahoo Public Schools

If a selected grant recipient is unable to fulfill the terms of the grant, the reimbursement opportunity will be given to the next eligible school that was selected. The next schools selected in the drawing were:
 

5. Aquinas-St. Mary’s School
6. Crete Public Schools
7. Bishop Neumann Central High School
8. Allen Consolidated Schools
9. Raymond Central Public Schools
10. Potter-Dix Public School
11. Johnson County Central Public Schools
12. Hitchcock County Public Schools
13. Banner County School
14. Mead Public Schools
15. Yutan Public Schools

More information can be found by going to NDEQ’s web site and Selecting Publications/Air Quality, “2014 Clean Diesel School Bus Rebate Application and Instructions.” The direct web address is http://deq.ne.gov/Publica.nsf/pages/12-003.