Courtney Announces Federal Awards for Killingly & Montville Schools to Retrofit or Replace Older Diesel School Buses

WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) announced that the Killingly and Montville public school districts will each receive an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rebate to retrofit or replace school buses with diesel engines that do not meet current emission standards. Killingly Public Schools will be eligible for a rebate of $70,000 and Montville Public Schools will be eligible for $55,000.

“I applaud the EPA for providing much needed support to school districts across the country and right here in Eastern Connecticut to replace ageing buses that no longer meet our current standards for pollution emissions,” said Courtney. “We know now that exposure to dangerous emissions is particularly harmful to young people and with school budgets tight, this funding will make a huge difference for our local communities.”

Nationwide, the EPA has announced rebate awards of more than $7 million to retrofit or replace 400 aging school buses that no longer meet diesel engine emission standards. The rebates will assist 85 school bus fleets across 35 states through EPA’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding. The new and retrofitted school buses will greatly reduce pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter that have been linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.

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