Madison County is part of Priority Area 2 for the project, which also includes Monroe and St. Clair counties. Other priority areas include Chicago and the collar counties and an area including Champaign, DeKalb, LaSalle, McLean, Peoria, Sangamon and Winnebago counties.
The three priority areas are outlined in the Beneficiary Mitigation Plan (BMP). Illinois EPA will also fund a portion of new electric charging equipment if charging infrastructure is needed. The program utilizes Volkswagen (VW) Settlement funding for electric transportation and infrastructure.
"This isn't just a win for our environment; it's a win for our state's children who deserve a healthy environment from the moment they step onto a school bus," said Gov. J.B. Pritzker. "I strongly urge all eligible school districts to apply for this funding as we create a cleaner Illinois, together."
Eligible applicants include school districts that own their buses or commercial school bus providers. Existing diesel buses must be engine Model Year 2009 and older diesel-powered Class 4-8 school buses and must be scrapped within 90 days of the new bus being placed into service.
In April 2022, Illinois EPA submitted a revised BMP to the VW Settlement Trustee, focusing Illinois' remaining $84.3 million on electric transportation and infrastructure. The revised BMP takes into consideration areas that do not meet federal air quality standards for ozone and bear a disproportionate share of the air pollution burden, including environmental justice areas.
All required forms and information can be found on the Driving A Cleaner Illinois webpage: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/air-quality/driving-a-cleaner-illinois.html. Applications for the Driving a Cleaner Illinois — Volkswagen All-Electric School Buses NOFO will be accepted through 5 p.m. Sept. 5, 2023.
©2023 The Telegraph (Alton, Ill.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
