The CSB program aims to: 1) improve air quality by replacing highly polluting buses while accelerating the transformation to low and zero emission alternatives; 2) engage stakeholders in program development, 3) evolve the program, as needed, based on successes and lessons learned, 4) promote cost parity between bus technologies, 5) allow school districts multiple funding opportunities to apply for funding, 6) maximize the number of zero-emission and clean buses that get funded, and 7) ensure a broad geographic distribution of awards. To support development and implementation of the CSB Program, EPA utilized a variety of tools to engage with stakeholders, receive feedback, and transparently share information. EPA continues to coordinate with stakeholders and to develop an education and outreach plan that explains to potential grant and rebate applicants how to apply, describes eligible technologies and their benefits, and shares information on best practices and lessons learned. EPA has engaged in numerous efforts to gather feedback from stakeholders on the 2022 CSB Rebates, including a dedicated listening session for 2022 rebate applicants to provide feedback, a dedicated CSB email box for stakeholders to provide input, and other listening sessions at the regional level.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allows EPA to prioritize certain communities that will benefit from the CSB program. The CSB program statute enables the program to target communities with environmental justice concerns, that is, communities adversely and disproportionately affected by environmental, climate change, and human health harms or risks, and support a broad geographic distribution of funds. Additionally, CSB has been identified as part of the Justice40 Initiative, which provides a goal that 40 percent of applicable federal benefits flow to disadvantaged communities.10 In this program, “school district” refers to local education agencies (LEAs).11 A directory of school districts and corresponding NCES District ID can be found here: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/. For the purposes of this funding opportunity “disadvantaged communities” must meet one or more of the following prioritization criteria:
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