The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality announced the selection of nine Nebraska schools that will receive rebates under the Nebraska Clean Diesel Rebate Program. The rebates 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 September, and all K-12 schools (both public and private) were eligible to apply. The rebates are to be used to help pay for replacement of active school buses with 1991-2003 model-year diesel engines. The new school buses will be powered by EPA- or CARB-certified 2013 or newer model year engines that emit much lower levels of pollutants.

Because the funds available for 2016 are limited, NDEQ had previously announced that it intended to award nine rebates of up to $20,000. Because 16 applications were determined to be eligible, NDEQ conducted a random drawing on Nov. 9 to select the nine recipients. The first nine selected in the drawing were:

1. Norfolk Public Schools
2. Randolph Public Schools
3. Brady Public Schools
4. Pleasanton Public Schools
5. Guardian Angels Central Catholic High School
6. Hayes Center Public Schools
7. Elmwood-Murdock Public Schools
8. South Central Unified District #5
9. Mead Public Schools

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

10. Bishop Neumann Central High School
11. Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools
12. Loomis Public School
13. Johnson County Central Public Schools
14. Central Valley Public School
15. Osmond Community Schools
16. Pawnee City Public Schools

More information can be found on the Nebraska Clean Diesel Rebate Program web page (https://dee.nebraska.gov/aid/air-loans-grants-rebates/nebraska-clean-diesel-rebate-program) on NDEQ’s web site under Air > Air Quality Programs > Nebraska Clean Diesel Grant Program.