New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Latest funding from the President’s Investing in America Agenda follows nearly $1 billion for thousands of electric and low-emission school buses across the nation.
“Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) New England Regional Administrator David Cash joined elected officials and school leaders in New Bedford to celebrate the award of 14 zero emission school buses to the City of New Bedford. The buses were part of nearly $30 million of rebates awarded to Massachusetts school districts last year under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provided 76 zero-emission school buses in five Massachusetts communities. Under this program, the City of New Bedford received a rebate of more than $5.5 million for the 14 buses and charging infrastructure
Recently, EPA also announced $400 million in grants currently available for cleaner school buses, reducing harmful pollution and helping to protecting children’s health, especially in communities already overburdened with air pollution. Under President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, funding from EPA’s Clean School Bus Program will improve air quality in and around schools and communities, save schools money, create good-paying clean energy jobs and reduce greenhouse gas pollution, protecting people and the planet.
The grants are made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides an unprecedented $5 billion to transform the nation’s fleet of school buses. This is the first round of funding available as grants and follows the nearly $1 billion the Biden-Harris Administration awarded through the rebate competition last year to fund electric and low-emission school buses across school districts.
“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is delivering significant funding to Massachusetts school districts for clean electric school buses, with a particular focus on reducing air pollution in disadvantaged communities overburdened by dirty air,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “These zero-emission vehicles will help provide cleaner and healthier air for school children, reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, and save money for our communities. Investing in America means investing in communities so that a parent waiting at the bus stop with their kid is not worried what their child is breathing.”
“New Bedford has been at the forefront of investments in renewable energy for more than a decade — from our nation-leading municipal solar programs, to our status as the staging port for America’s first industrial-scale offshore wind project, to the electric vehicles already in use by our municipal fleets. We are proud today to continue that record of early adoption of these important technologies with the planned acquisition of electric school buses and are grateful for the federal support from the EPA and our congressional delegation, that has made this possible,” said City of New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.”-EPA.gov.
