Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Acting Director James Jennings announced a $27 million Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the replacement of existing public transit buses with new all-electric transit options. Grant awards will cover 75 percent of the eligible cost per electric transit bus and any necessary charging infrastructure, with a minimum award amount of $300,000. Eligible applicants include government and transit agencies that own and operate public transit buses in any of the three priority areas outlined in the Volkswagen Beneficiary Mitigation Plan (BMP) and further described below. This funding opportunity will remain open until funding is depleted with grants awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. As outlined in Illinois’ BMP for the Volkswagen diesel emissions settlement, and as specified in the NOFO, Illinois EPA will fund projects in the following priority areas:

• Priority Area 1: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, Oswego Township in Kendall County, and Aux Sable and Goose Lake townships in Grundy County.

• Priority Area 2: Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties.

• Priority Area 3: Champaign, DeKalb, LaSalle, McLean, Peoria, Sangamon, and Winnebago Counties.

The link to the Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found on the Driving A Cleaner Illinois webpage: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/air-quality/driving-a-cleaner-illinois.html. Applications for the Driving a Cleaner Illinois – Volkswagen All-Electric School Buses NOFO will be accepted until funding is depleted.