WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the Environmental Protection Agency has awarded rebates totaling $200,000 to school districts in Kennebunk and Sullivan. The funding will help replace or retrofit older diesel school buses with newer buses that are more fuel efficient and will reduce pollutants that can be harmful for public health. RSU 21 in Kennebunk will receive $160,000 for eight buses, and Regional School Unit 24 in Sullivan will receive $40,000 for two buses.

“Buses are a critical mode of transportation to help students get to and from school, and new and refurbished buses are more efficient than older models and reduce children's exposure to harmful pollutants,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “This funding from the EPA will help provide hundreds of Maine children with healthier rides to school.”

The two Maine fleets are among three fleets in New England, and 88 fleets in 27 states, that will receive more than $7.7 million in rebates through EPA’s 2016 Clean School Bus Rebate Program. The funds will help pay to replace 401 older diesel school buses with new buses that are more than 90 percent cleaner than older models.  The new and retrofitted buses will reduce pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.