New Centerville school buses, trucks for business aided by Ohio clean air funds

Credit: FILE

Credit: FILE

Centerville City Schools is among dozens of recipients of nearly $12 million in state grants aimed at improving air quality.

Centerville is the only Montgomery County school district on the list of 40 entities – including 10 school districts statewide – to receive funding, according to the state.

The county’s second largest school district will receive $200,500 for 25% of the cost to replace eight model year 2006 diesel-powered school buses with the same number of new ones, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a release Tuesday.

“Aging diesel vehicles are a major contributor to air pollution across the country, and this program allows Ohio to get some of these vehicles off of our roads,” DeWine said. “The grants will help local schools, governments, and businesses defray the costs of replacing old vehicles with new, environmentally friendly alternatives.”

A handful of businesses in Montgomery and Warren counties will also receive funds, according to the state. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said estimates this year’s grants will remove 36 tons of nitrogen oxide and 7.7 tons of other air pollutants annually.

Other Dayton-area award recipients are:

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

•Cohen Transport Inc., $179,875 for 25% of the cost to replace five model year 1996-2007 Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks with five new Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks.

WARREN COUNTY

•G & J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc., $729,377 for 25% of the cost to replace 30 model year 1996-2009 Class 4-7 diesel-powered local freight trucks with 30 new Class 4-7 diesel-powered local freight trucks; and $254,000 for 25 percent of the cost to replace nine model year 2003-2007 Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks with nine new Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks.

•Independent Development Corp., $232,435 for 25% of the cost to replace eight model year 1999-2008 Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks with eight new Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks.

•John R. Jurgensen Co., $23,992 for 25% of the cost to replace one model year 2000 Class 4-7 diesel-powered local freight truck with a new Class 4-7 diesel-powered local freight truck; and $91,634 for 25% of the cost to replace three model year 2000-2002 Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks with three new Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks.

•MC Trucking, LLC, $223,144 for 25% of the cost to replace seven model years 2004 and 2007 Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks with seven new Class 8 diesel-powered local freight trucks.

•Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, $1,192,657 for 15% of the cost to replace 15 model year 2006-2009 diesel-powered transit buses with 15 new diesel-powered transit buses.

The OEPA said the grants are funded from money allocated to Ohio from the settlement of an enforcement action taken against Volkswagen and its affiliated companies by U.S. EPA and the state of California for violations under the Clean Air Act.

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