South Shore Clean Cities held its annual conference Tuesday at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City - preaching smaller-scale projects to improve Northwest Indiana’s air quality. About 300 people registered to attend, officials said.

One of several events included a panel with representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. EPA and Indiana Department of Environmental Management on how schools, governments and other entities can secure grants helping them to switch to cleaner burning fuels.

Several options include a school bus replacement rebate where organizations can qualify for up to $20,000 per school bus, said Anthony Maietta, a transportation specialist with the U.S. EPA’s Region 5 office.

Many additional funding opportunities, especially in Northwest Indiana, can come from mitigation settlements with large polluters, who sometimes have the option to pay for small-scale projects to lower their fines, he said.

The day-long conference featured several sessions on alternative fuel options and emissions-reducing projects for government fleets, school buses, and electric charging infrastructure.

Clean Cities’ role is to be a facilitator for clean technology in the region, Carl Lisek, the organization’s executive director said last year.

“This is really a celebration of our partners, finding people doing the right thing for the environment,” he said. “We’ve accomplished a lot, but we still have got a lot to do.”