The School of the Osage R-2 district is one of the first in Missouri that's been picked by a lottery to receive funding for school bus replacement projects through money the state will receive as part of wider multi-billion dollar settlements with Volkswagen.
Volkswagen settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2016 and 2017 over allegations the automaker sold approximately 590,000 model year 2009-16 diesel motor vehicles equipped with computer software designed to cheat on federal air pollution emissions tests, according to the EPA.
The cheat in Volkswagen engine control systems let motors release less than normal operational levels of nitrogen oxides during emissions tests, when the engines would have otherwise failed the tests because of their nitrogen oxide emission levels, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
The combination of nitrogen oxides and another pollutant known as volatile organic compounds in the air can produce ground-level ozone - "an irritant that damages lung tissue and aggravates respiratory disease," with the most at-risk people being children, the elderly and those with conditions such as asthma or emphysema, according to the DNR.
Volkswagen agreed as part of multiple settlement agreements that totaled up to $14.7 billion to pay $2.9 billion into a national environmental mitigation trust fund that states have to use to fund projects that reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from mobile sources, and Missouri will get $41 million from that particular fund, according to the DNR.
Out of the $41 million, $12 million-$18 million is designated for Missouri school buses. The exact amount will depend on how many applications the DNR gets for replacements of trucks, transit and shuttle buses, barge tugboats, train locomotives, airport and cargo equipment, electric vehicle charging stations and other categories of projects.
"Newer buses are safer, more fuel efficient and require less maintenance. In addition, emissions from newer buses are over 90 percent cleaner than the emissions of older buses. Cleaner school bus emissions mean significantly less acute exposure to concentrated diesel emissions for bus drivers and students," according to the DNR.
Shelly Reimer - an environmental specialist with the DNR's Air Pollution Control Program - reported the first round of school bus applications that closed Sept. 14 produced 67 applications from 64 school districts and three bus contractors to get 137 buses replaced, at a total request of $2.98 million.
Two applications out of the 67 were from Mid-Missouri - the School of the Osage and the Fulton 58 school districts.
School of the Osage applied to have two buses replaced, and Fulton applied for three buses. School of the Osage was the 10th awardee to be drawn in a lottery at the end of September out of 40 to receive funding by June 30.
"The selected applicants will receive up to $22,000 for each bus replaced, with up to three new diesel bus replacements and up to 10 bus replacements for alternative fuels, including propane, natural gas and 100 percent electricity," according to the DNR.
Fulton sits toward the middle among the 27 remaining school districts on an alternate awardee list, where funding will be offered in the order of districts' lottery selection numbers if the districts already selected for awards decline or withdraw.
The DNR added, "All alternate applicants will have their projects funded according to the implementation guidelines."
Reimer said the DNR plans to fund more than $1.47 million of the $2.98 million total requested for school bus replacements through the end of the current fiscal year, "with the remaining funded in future rounds."
The whole $41 million owed to Missouri by Volkswagen is planned to be disbursed by October 2027 - the end of a 10-year plan. The DNR plans to award $6.25 million through June 2019.
More information about Missouri's spending plan or how to apply for funding is available at https://dnr.mo.gov/env/apcp/vw/.