The Latest VW Mitigation Projects

Truck replacements in Maine, new school buses in Colorado, electric vehicle infrastructure in Minnesota, shuttle buses in Missouri and aviation ground support equipment replacements in Nevada, are among the recently announced state projects funded by Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Environmental Mitigation Trust dollars.

The full list of projects funded for the year ending Dec. 31, 2019, can be found at https://www.vwenvironmentalmitigationtrust.com/state-trust.

As detailed in the July 2019 issue of Diesel Progress, Wilmington Trust, the administrator of the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Environmental Mitigation Trust, publishes semi-annual reports of the funded projects, every February 15th (for period ending 12/31 prior year) and August 15^th (for period ending 6/30 current year).

The reports can be found on under the header Semi Annual Reporting Package on the public-facing website listed above.

The February 15^th, 2020 report lists 61 projects in 12 states.

As reported in our July article, the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Environmental Mitigation Trust money is available only through individual state (and tribal, Puerto Rico and DC) agencies. The amount of money each state is entitled to was determined by the number of VW 2.0 L and 3.0 L diesel-powered cars that were registered in a state at the time of the consent decree.

One of the central parts of the settlement, and one of the most misunderstood, is that there are 10 types of projects, called Eligible Mitigation Actions (EMAs) that the trust money can be used to fund. All have a goal of reducing NOx, the offending emission regulation that VW was accused of violating.

The other widely misunderstood aspect of the settlement is that it, for the most part, funds replacement of older diesel engines with newer, cleaner diesels. Further, EPA, as part of the terms of the agreement, limits 15% of a state or tribe’s funding to zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV).