EPA OIG PODCAST: EPA’s Clean School Bus Program 


Libby: Hello, and welcome to this podcast hosted by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. My name is Libby John and with me is Jarrett Rickerds, an auditor with the OIG’s Recycle, Cleanup, and Pollution Prevention Directorate in our Office of Audit. Thanks for joining me today.

Jarrett: It is a pleasure to be here. 

Libby: Today, we are going to discuss an audit report that your team recently issued concerning the EPA’s Clean School Bus program. Can you explain what that program is?

Jarrett: Yes. The Clean School Bus program aims to help school districts around the country replace their existing school buses with clean and zero-emission buses. The program began under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. In 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which amended the Clean School Bus program and will provide over 5 billion dollars through 2026 to purchase new buses and related infrastructure. 

Libby: Can you explain what clean and zero-emission buses are? Is there a difference?

Jarrett: Yes. A zero-emission school bus does not produce exhaust emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. It is a subset of a clean school bus, which is a bus that operates entirely or in part using an alternative fuel, such as propane or natural gas. 

Libby: How does the Clean School Bus program work?

Jarrett: The program uses several funding mechanisms, such as grants, rebates, and contracts, to give school districts the money to purchase zero-emission or other clean school buses, along with the eligible charging infrastructure, that must meet program requirements. Under this program, the EPA can award an amount up to 100 percent to cover the cost of the replacement bus and charging infrastructure. In 2022, the program offered rebates. In 2023, the EPA accepted applications for a round of grants to be awarded in early 2024. 

Libby: What was the level of interest in the rebates offered in 2022?

Jarrett: There was an overwhelming demand for the rebates. In fact, in just four months, the EPA received around 2,000 applications requesting a total of nearly 4 billion dollars to purchase more than 12,000 school buses. The applications came from school districts around the country, including from low-income communities, tribal nations, and territories. The Agency originally planned to distribute 500 million dollars in rebates, but because of the overwhelming interest, the EPA nearly doubled the amount available to 965 million dollars. In the end, the EPA approved rebates for 397 school districts to purchase charging units and 2,490 buses, including 2,363 electric buses, 121 propane buses, and six compressed natural gas buses. 

Libby: That’s amazing. What happened after the school districts were notified that they were selected?

Jarrett: The school districts had until April 2023 to submit purchase orders and proof that the new buses and charging infrastructure were ordered. School districts could request an extension if needed. Regardless of whether an extension was requested to submit purchase orders, the deadline for the school districts to receive their new buses, install the charging infrastructure, replace the old buses, and submit closeout forms is October 2024.

Libby: The report states that the objective of your audit was to determine whether supply chain or production delays could impact the EPA’s efforts to manage the Clean School Bus program funds pursuant to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. What did the audit find on this topic?

Jarrett: We concluded the supply chain issues have not impacted the EPA’s efforts to disburse those funds. However, we did find that the Agency might be unable to effectively manage and achieve the goals of the program unless local utility companies can meet increasing power supply demands for the electric school buses.

Libby: What do you mean?

Jarrett: The EPA did not require rebate applicants to coordinate with their utility providers regarding potential changes needed to connect charging stations to the providers, although the Agency said that during the program webinars it encouraged applicants to do so. As a result, 31 percent of extension requests the Agency received were due to installation issues. 

Libby: What are some examples of these issues?

Jarrett: For one thing, there could be delays in bringing the necessary power lines and transformers to the school districts to charge the buses. For example, one utility company we spoke with said that it did not have the experience with projects of this magnitude. Another issue is timeliness. Establishing charging stations and connecting them to power lines could take 12 to 24 months. Additionally, infrastructure to support fleets of 25 or more clean or zero-emission buses requires a challenging electrical set-up, such as a different transformer and switch gear. Keep in mind that 36 percent of rebates were issued to 40 school districts to purchase 21 to 25 buses each. On top of all those considerations, as another utility provider we spoke to said, there is a backlog of orders for transformers in the United States because of the high demand. 

Libby: What is the EPA doing to address these issues?

Jarrett: In response to the OIG’s report, the Agency is providing additional resources and technical assistance, such as a Grants Utility Partnership Template that instructs applicants to discuss the proposed project with their appropriate utility. The EPA also uploaded resources on website to assist school districts to plan infrastructure needs with utilities and to plan and deploy clean school buses and infrastructure. Additionally, in September, the Agency announced a second Clean School Bus Rebate program. Under this program, all applicants must submit a Utility Partnership Agreement to verify the school district’s electric utility provider is aware of the school district’s rebate application. Proactive and ongoing communication between the school district and its local electricity provider is critical to the successful deployment of infrastructure. 
Libby: Since these issues were identified during the 2022 rebate process, were the 2023 grant applicants required to coordinate with their utility providers?

Jarrett: No, it is not a requirement. And actually the full impact of the utility issues will not be known until the rebate selectees close out their rebates in October 2024. We know that the clean school buses and chargers cannot be used if there is a delay in connecting the charging unit to the utility. Also, the goal of reducing diesel buses in operation, as well as the resulting health and environmental benefits, will be delayed until the clean school buses are fully operational.

Libby: Jarrett, thank you so much for speaking with me today. Our listeners should know that the Office of Inspector General has additional work planned to examine aspects of the EPA’s Clean School Bus program. For more information on the current audit report and other EPA OIG projects, please visit our new website at www.epaoig.gov.