VW Settlement Grant Fund Winners Announced

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality is pleased to announce this year's Volkswagen (VW) Settlement grant proposals for emissions reduction projects across the state.

Proposed projects must involve methods to mitigate nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from vehicles listed within the eligible mitigation actions established in DEQ's VW Mitigation Plan. More detailed information about eligible mitigation actions can be found in DEQ's mitigation plan, which is available at https://deq.wyoming.gov/outreach-public-information/volkswagen-settlement/.

According to Keith Guille, DEQ Outreach Manager, the Department received over twelve proposals this year.

"We were very pleased with the interest in this year's VW emission reduction grant program," said Guille. "Unfortunately, we could not award all of them as we had only a certain amount of funding available."

This year's winners will receive nearly $1.4 Million in VW Settlement funds.

This year's winners are:

• Teton County
• The Town of Diamondville
• Grand Teton National Park
• Jackson Hole Airport
• Jackson Hole Flight Services
• The Town of Lusk
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Background about the Program and Funding:

In September 2015, Volkswagen admitted that it installed emissions control defeat devices on approximately 500,000 VW/Porsche/Audi 2.0 liter diesel engines and an additional 90,000 3.0 liter diesel engines. These devices were allowed up to 40 times the legal limit of NOx emissions to be emitted from these vehicles.

In October 2016, a settlement was reached between multiple stakeholders in a lawsuit against Volkswagen. At this time, the First Partial Consent Decree for 2.0-liter vehicles was released. As part of that decree, a trustee was required to be appointed to oversee the mitigation process. The decree also required Wyoming to develop a mitigation plan in order to qualify for potential funding from this mitigation trust fund.

In 2018, the State of Wyoming submitted a mitigation plan to the settlement trustee summarizing the state's plan to utilize the mitigation funds.

DEQ was selected as the lead agency on behalf of the state to oversee the mitigation plan and allocation of funds under the settlement.

The consent decree outlines specific details of how trust funds may be used. Money from the settlement may be used to pay some or all the cost to repower or replace eligible diesel-powered vehicles with new cleaner diesel, alternative fueled, or all-electric engines.

Currently, DEQ has obligated or spent over $7 Million from the settlement.

Keith Guille
Outreach Manager
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
[email protected]
307-777-6105/307-286-6123