TDEC to Provide Financial Support to Eligible Entities Applying for 2023 EPA Clean School Bus Grants

TDEC will provide matching funds to eligible Tennessee entities applying for federal funding under U.S. EPA's 2023 Clean School Bus Grants (CSB) Program to replace older diesel school buses with new all-electric school buses.

Though the CSB Program does not require grantee match or cost share, EPA has indicated that applicants demonstrating the commitment of other funding sources to reduce the federal cost for projects to below 100% will have their proposals more favorably evaluated. TDEC is committing a portion of the State’s Volkswagen Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust (EMT) allocation to support Tennessee school districts and other eligible entities improve the competitiveness of their applications and maximize the amount of federal funds that may be granted to Tennessee entities under the CSB Program.

TDEC, through its Office of Energy Programs (OEP), will commit the following funding amounts as “non-federal share” to projects in the following manner:

$25,000 per bus for up to 10 buses ($250,000 maximum award) to eligible applicants included on EPA's 2023 CSB Program Prioritized School District List or those that operate within 2023 CSB Program Priority Areas
$10,000 per bus for up to 10 buses ($100,000 maximum award) to all other eligible applicants (for more information on eligible applicants under the EPA CSB Program, see the “Eligible Entities” section of the Notice of Funding Opportunity here)

Prospective applicants to the CSB Program that wish to leverage these non-federal funds are asked to submit the following information to TDEC.OEP@tn.gov with the subject "EPA Clean School Bus Grants Program Cost Share Interest" by COB on July 21:

Applicant name;
Applicant address and county or counties of operation;
Number of eligible school buses to be replaced/all-electric school buses to be purchased through applicant’s proposal to EPA (any applicants attempting to secure funding for more than 10 new all-electric school bus replacements from EPA will be considered for the maximum 10 allowed under this initiative);
EPA engine family name and engine model year of each school bus to be replaced (the Volkswagen Settlement EMT requires that all school buses to be replaced with EMT funds must be engine model year 2009 or older); and gross vehicle weight rating of the school buses to be replaced (the EMT requires that all school buses to be replaced with EMT funds must have a gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 14,000 pounds)
Whether the applicant is included on EPA's 2023 CSB Grants Program Prioritized School District List or operates in a 2023 CSB Grants Program Priority Area.

Applicants approved to receive these non-federal matching funds will be notified and provided with a signed letter of commitment no later than August 4, such that applicants can include documentation of this financial commitment in CSB Program proposals due to EPA by August 22.

Please contact TDEC.OEP@tn.gov for any questions about this initiative.

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