SEATTLE — The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that $500 million in grant funding is available to school districts to buy zero-emission buses, according to an agency press release.

The money is part of the first round of $5 billion in federal funding including in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress in 2021 to be spent over the next five years to help drive demand for American-made battery-powered, rechargeable vehicles, the EPA press release noted.

According to the press release, the EPA will give priority to applications from rural school districts, tribal schools and what the EPA called high-need local education agencies, with a focus on agencies or areas that have never received a federal grant. Awards from the program can also be used to install electric charging stations, the press release said, with grants awarded through a lottery system.

EPA will accept applications for the grants through Aug. 19, 2022. For more information about application, contact EPA at [email protected].