This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Three Utah school districts are getting help from the Environmental Protection Agency to purchase alternative fuel and clean-burning school buses.
The agency announced Thursday that $7 million in rebates will be given to school-bus fleets in 35 states, including a combined $390,000 for Utah's Jordan School District, Canyons School District and Grand County School District.
Jordan School District received the largest single rebate, at $250,000, of any fleet in the country.
The grant will cover the incremental cost of 10 new buses, according to Jordan transportation director Herb Jensen, allowing the district to purchase natural-gas vehicles for the equivalent cost of traditional diesel models.
"It frees up other money that can go into the classroom where the money really needs to be spent," Jensen said.
Jensen said the district replaces roughly 14 buses every year to maintain its 240-vehicle fleet.
Beginning in 1999, the district began purchasing natural gas vehicles, which now make up one-third of the district's buses, he said.
"We're trying hard to do our part to clean up the air in the Salt Lake Valley," he said.
Jordan school buses average 12,000 miles per year, Jensen said, or nearly 3 million miles for the entire fleet.
Because natural gas burns cleaner than traditional diesel, the new vehicles require less maintenance, Jensen said.
And each gallon of natural gas costs roughly $1, he said, currently one-half and sometimes one-fourth the cost of traditional diesel.
"Right out of the chute we're saving money and we're burning the cleaner fuel," Jensen said.
Rebates were given to 85 bus fleets, which the EPA estimates will allow for the replacement or retrofitting of 400 diesel fuel buses.
Utah's Canyons School District received $100,000, and Grand County School District received $40,000.
In a prepared statement, Christopher Grundler, director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said the rebate program will help thousands of American children breathe easier.
"Schools and other organizations that install clean diesel technology are doing more than just saving money," he said. "They're creating cleaner, healthier air for children and all community residents."
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