Late last week, the Ohio EPA announced a grant award to the City of Mentor in the amount of $329,000 towards 75% of the purchase price of a new all-electric school bus to replace two aging diesel buses in the city’s fleet. Mentor City Council approved acceptance of the grant, as well as the city’s 25% financial match towards the $440,000 project, during their October 17, 2023, regular meeting.
The new bus will predominantly be used to transport children participating in summer camp and other programs including local day trips.
The Ohio EPA awarded $3.2 million to seven organizations across the state to replace aging diesel-powered vehicles and equipment with new electric vehicles and equipment.
“Every little bit helps when it comes to improving air quality,” said Ohio EPA Director Anne M. Vogel. “It’s exciting to know that these grants fund projects that will reduce the amount of pollutants released into the air. This is just one of many things the DeWine administration is doing to improve air quality throughout the state as we transition to modern, cleaner technologies for both transportation and industry.”
Mentor City Manager Kenneth J. Filipiak indicated the city’s excitement to receive the grant to help purchase the city’s first all-electric vehicle.
“This is a big win for us, not just from the from the standpoint of being able to offset the majority of the cost, but it reinforces our commitment to sustainability in all of the many projects we have engaged in over the years,” said Filipiak, “It’s important to a large segment of our community and council has supported similar projects in the past.”
With city council’s acceptance of the grant, the procurement process will begin in the coming weeks with the hope of incorporating the new vehicle into the fleet in early 2025. In addition to the electric bus, a portion of the project will include the installation of a dedicated electric charging station at the Public Works maintenance facility located at 6645 Hopkins Road.
The grant is funded from dollars allocated to Ohio from the settlement of an enforcement action taken against Volkswagen and its affiliated companies by the U.S. EPA and the state of California for violations under the Clean Air Act. The grant program is investing $75 million over 10 years to reduce nitrogen oxide pollution in Ohio. Selection considerations were given for specifically targeted reduction categories (e.g., school and transit buses, and heavy-duty trucks) and to vehicle replacement projects that would produce the largest reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions for the grant dollars invested.
A committee of Ohio EPA and Ohio Department of Transportation representatives reviewed the grant applications and selected the grant recipients. More information about the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund and a copy of the state’s Beneficiary Mitigation Plan are available on the agency’s VW program webpage.