BATON ROUGE - The Environmental Protection Agency is giving the East Baton Rouge Parish school system $773,000 to replace 30 of its diesel school buses over the next two years with more eco-friendly propane-powered buses.

The grant comes from the federal agency's National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program.

The grant was presented to the school board on Thursday and the board is expected to approve it at its Nov. 7 meeting

The $773,000 represents roughly 25 percent of the estimated $2.8 million cost of the buses. The school system will cover the rest.

The shift from diesel to propane is expected to improve air quality by lowering some air pollutants as well as emitting fewer greenhouse gases.