NDEE to provide rebates for replacement of 46 school buses
News Release
NDEE to provide rebates for replacement of 46 school buses
The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy Director Jim Macy announced Aug. 28 that the state is awarding approximately $2 million in rebates to schools across Nebraska to aid in the replacement of older diesel school buses.
The funded projects include 45 public school districts and one bus contractor serving a public school district. Each project will replace one older diesel bus with a new bus with much lower emissions. A list of grant recipients is below.
“The department received a large number of applications from schools across the state,” Macy said. “The funds available for this program give us the opportunity to provide financial assistance to schools that will help reduce harmful diesel emissions. We received more applications than we had funds for, so our staff will continue to explore other avenues of funding the program as it is effective in reducing our children’s exposure to potentially harmful emissions.”
These rebates will be funded from Nebraska’s share of the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Mitigation Trust for State Beneficiaries, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia (VW State Trust). Trust funds may be used to replace diesel vehicles and engines in order to reduce emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx), which may have direct adverse health effects as well as contributing to the formation of harmful ozone. This year’s projects are expected to reduce NOx emissions by 6.5 tons. Six school districts are planning to replace diesel buses with propane-fueled buses that meet California NOx emissions standards, which are much stricter than the current federal standard.
This is the third round of school bus replacement rebates that the department has funded through the VW State Trust. Over this three-year period approximately $6.37 million has been awarded to replace 147 diesel school buses, reducing harmful NOx emissions by over 34 tons. Below is a list of the 2020 School Bus Rebate recipients. Below the list of recipients is a map showing the locations of all recipients over the three-year period of the program.
| Recipient | City | Rebate | New Bus Fuel |
| Amherst Public School | Amherst | $57,000 | Propane |
| Banner County School | Harrisburg | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Bayard Public Schools | Bayard | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Bertrand Community School | Bertrand | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Bloomfield Community Schools | Bloomfield | $41,270 | Diesel |
| Centura Public School | Cairo | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Chambers Public School | Chambers | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Eustis-Farnam Public Schools | Eustis | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Fillmore Central Schools | Geneva | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Freeman Public Schools | Adams | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Fremont Public Schools | Fremont | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Giltner Public Schools | Giltner | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Gretna Public Schools | Gretna | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Harvard Public Schools | Harvard | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Hemingford Public Schools | Hemingford | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Hershey Public Schools | Hershey | $42,000 | Diesel |
| High Plains Community Schools | Polk | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Humboldt Table Rock Steinauer PS | Humboldt | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Kearney Public Schools | Kearney | $57,000 | Propane |
| Lyons-Decatur Northeast Public School | Lyons | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Mid States School Bus | Wayne | $16,947 | Diesel |
| Minatare Public Schools | Minatare | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Minden Public Schools | Minden | $56,341 | Propane |
| Mullen Public Schools | Mullen | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Oakland-Craig Public Schools | Oakland | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Ogallala Public Schools | Ogallala | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Osmond Community Schools | Osmond | $55,753 | Propane |
| Overton Public Schools | Overton | $57,000 | Propane |
| Pawnee City Public School District | Pawnee City | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Perkins County Schools | Grant | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Randolph Public Schools | Randolph | $56,292 | Propane |
| Raymond Central Public Schools | Raymond | $42,000 | Diesel |
| School District of Seward | Seward | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Schuyler Community Schools | Schuyler | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Shickley Public Schools | Schickley | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Silver Lake Public Schools | Roseland | $42,000 | Diesel |
| South Central Nebraska USD #5 | Fairfield | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Southern Public Schools District #1 | Wymore | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Stanton Community Schools | Stanton | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Stapleton Public Schools | Stapleton | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Tekamah-Herman Schools | Tekamah | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Wakefield Community Schools | Wakefield | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Wauneta-Palisade Schools | Wauneta | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Waverly School District 145 | Waverly | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Wilcox-Hildreth Public School | Wilcox | $42,000 | Diesel |
| York Public Schools | York | $42,000 | Diesel |
| Total | $1,993,604 | ||