Congressman Childers Announces $1.4 Million in Recovery Funding for Columbus Schools to Reduce Diesel Emissions, Improve Safety

Washington, DC – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $1,445,851 million to Columbus Municipal School District for replacing and upgrading old school buses. The funds, provided under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act’s National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, will help improve air quality, create green jobs, and keep Columbus students safe.

“North Mississippi schools should have the up-to-date equipment they need to safely serve their students and their communities,” said Congressman Childers. “These significant recovery funds will provide Columbus schools with modern, environmentally-friendly modes of transportation that reduce diesel fuel emissions, investing in both public health and our students’ safety.”

“We are so excited to be a part of the DERA Grant Program. This grant allows our school district to upgrade a large portion of our school bus fleet to correct emission standards. The new standard set for 2010 model buses will reduce the carbon footprint we emit locally each day as we transport students in our city. It's truly a win-win situation for our community and school district,” said Dr. Del R. Phillips, Columbus School District Superintendent.

“We are pleased to work once again with the Columbus School District in securing this grant which will ensure they have the most technologically advanced and cleanest bus fleet available. The Columbus School District is a leader in the state in seeking out grants to protect the health of their children. School buses are the safest and most efficient way to transport students, but we want to ensure that it’s a healthy trip,” said Trudy Fisher, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Under this funding competition, EPA Region 4 alone received 98 grant applications requesting more than $140 million to help fund clean diesel emissions projects. The award announced today was chosen to both maximize economic impact and emissions reductions.

This award will fund the replacement of 30 old Columbus school buses with new buses and the installation of direct fire heating units (which prevent cold starts and increase useful life) in 22 other buses. The result will be an estimated vehicle lifetime emissions reduction of 61.43 tons of nitrogen oxides, 1.19 tons of particulate matter, 2.91 tons of CO, and 246.12 tons of CO2.

In addition to helping to create and retain jobs, the clean diesel projects would reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year.

The Recovery Act allotted the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) a total of $300 million, of which the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program received $156 million to fund competitive grants across the nation. The Recovery Act also included $20 million for the National Clean Diesel Emerging Technology Program grants and $30 million for the SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program grants.

In addition, under the Act’s State Clean Diesel Grant program, a total of $88.2 million has been provided to States for clean diesel projects through a noncompetitive allocation process.

To learn more about EPA's implementation of the Recovery Act in Mississippi, visit http://www.epa.gov/recovery

For more information on the First District’s and Mississippi’s share of Recovery Act funds, visit Congressman Childers’ online Recovery Tracker at www.childers.house.gov