For Immediate Release:
December 12, 2024
Contact:
Cheri Conca, Transportation and Smart Growth Program Manager
cheri.conca@sierraclub.org, 703-431-4225
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $735 Million
for Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Including Over $15.8 Million for Virginia
RICHMOND, VA - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 70 grant recipients for its Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program to receive funding for over 2,400 zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles. The awards will go to fund projects in 27 states, three Tribal Nations, and one territory.
The Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program was established through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in 2022. The program will distribute a total of $1 billion through 2032 to replace fossil fuel heavy-duty vehicles (such as school buses, garbage trucks, transit buses, and more) with zero-emission models, as well as support the build-out of charging infrastructure and invest in the workforce.
Approximately 70 percent of the selections announced today will support the purchase of clean school buses.
The program prioritizes communities with the worst air quality in the country by earmarking $400 million towards these areas, emphasizing environmental justice in the shift to cleaner transportation. This investment is complementary to other clean transportation programs funded by the IRA and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), such as the Clean School Bus Program.
The Chapter has advocated for Virginia school districts to apply for federal funds to purchase electric school buses since the inception of the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program in 2021.
In response to today’s EPA announcement, Cheri Conca, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter’s Transportation and Smart Growth Program Manager, released the following statement:
“We are thrilled that Fairfax County, Henrico County, and Roanoke City Public Schools received this critical funding which will result in a combined investment of over 100 electric school buses. Electrifying our biggest vehicles will deliver clean air to our communities and support the workers driving this important progress. All too often, young people in underserved communities are exposed to air toxics from diesel-spewing school buses and trucks and burdened by respiratory illnesses from this daily exposure. Shifting to cleaner heavy-duty vehicles is a common sense example of how we can improve the health of Americans, especially our most vulnerable.”