Wis. Admin. Code Department of Transportation Trans 135.06 - Grant recipient selection

(1) ELIGIBILITY. Grants may be issued only to school districts or school bus companies that own or lease one or more school buses routinely used to transport students to and from school in the counties identified in s. 110.20(5), Stats. Grants may be issued only to retrofit qualifying buses that were manufactured in any of the 1999 through 2004 model years. Applicants may apply for more than one grant, but only one oxidation catalyst per vehicle is allowed under the grant program.

Note: For example, previously retrofitted buses are not eligible for further retrofit grants.

(2) GRANT REQUEST PROCESS. Grant applicants shall be required to submit a grant request providing all information required by the department of natural resources. Grant requests shall be accepted throughout the year. The department of natural resources shall expeditiously evaluate requests as received. Once completed, the results of the evaluation shall be reported promptly to the applicant.

(3) INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS. The grant request shall include information necessary to determine how well the proposed grant will meet the program's goals. At a minimum, the grant request shall include the following:

(a) The number of oxidation catalysts sought.

(b) The model year of each bus to be retrofitted with an oxidation catalyst.

(c) The vehicle identification number, or other unique identifier, of each bus.

(d) The county in which each bus operates.

(e) Any other vehicle-specific information that the department of natural resources deems to be helpful in evaluating the merits of each grant request.

(4) GRANT REVIEW CRITERIA. The department of natural resources may award grants only for the purpose of equipping school buses that are customarily kept, and serve school districts, in the counties identified in s. 110.20(5), Stats., with oxidation catalysts. At a minimum, grant requests shall be evaluated based on the following criteria:

(a) Timeliness of grant request. This criterion does not apply to requests received within 30 days of May 1, 2005. After that date, grant request review and resultant issuance of grants shall be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

(b) Model year of buses to be retrofitted. Preference shall be given first to model year 2004 buses, then model years 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000 and 1999 buses, respectively.

(c) Usage level, with preference given to higher-capacity buses and buses that are used more intensively for transporting students.

(5) GRANT AMOUNTS. Subject to fund availability and the result of the grant request review process, grant applicants may receive a grant for an amount sufficient to cover the purchase of the requested number of diesel oxidation catalysts. The department of natural resources may also, at its discretion and according to criteria established in this section, award a grant for fewer oxidation catalysts than the number requested. Grant amounts may exceed the purchase cost only for the exception established in sub. (6). Grants may not be used to pay for any vehicle operation or maintenance costs, even if the costs are associated with retrofitted oxidation catalysts.

(6) EXCEPTION. Grant applicants unable to install the diesel oxidation catalysts may request, and may receive, a grant sufficient to pay for both purchase and installation of the catalysts. Applicants under this subsection shall provide sufficient explanation of their inability to install the catalysts.

(7) GRANT AWARD CONDITIONS. Upon receiving notification of a grant, each recipient shall be required to:

(a) Sign a statement certifying that, barring unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances, for at least 5 years each retrofitted bus will comply with all of the following:

1. Remain in the applicant's possession.

2. Operate in its current capacity as a school bus.

3. Operate predominantly in one or more of the counties identified in s. 110.20(5), Stats.

(b) Sign a statement certifying that, to the extent possible, the applicant will undertake anti-idling measures for each bus on which an oxidation catalyst is installed.

(c) Agree to schedule all oxidation catalyst installations within 30 days of delivery.

(8) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. For each bus retrofitted under this grant program, within 90 days of the grant award date anniversary, the grant recipient to the best of its ability shall report the following information to the department of natural resources annually:

(a) Annual hours of operation.

(b) Annual miles traveled.

(c) Estimated annual number of students transported.

(d) Area in which the bus customarily transported students.

(e) The extent to which the recipient has practiced anti-idling measures over the past year.

Notes

Wis. Admin. Code Department of Transportation Trans 135.06

CR 04-090: cr. Register April 2005 No. 592, eff. 5-1-05.