Press Releases
08/20/2021
DEEP Announces $12 Million in Clean Air Grants from VW Settlement Funds
Programs Prioritize EJ Communities and EV Infrastructure at Government Facilities
(HARTFORD, CT)— The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection today announced that the State of Connecticut is making up to $12 million dollars in clean air grants available as the third round of funding from the legal settlement in the Volkswagen (VW) Corporation emissions cheating scandal.
This round will be administered in two programs, one being the Diesel Emission Mitigation Program consisting of $10 million targeted toward fleet transformation projects that replace older polluting vehicles or engines, including certain nonroad (e.g., marine vessels) and medium and heavy-duty vehicles, with new, cleaner technology. For the first time, 35% of funding in this program will be dedicated specifically to projects located in or benefiting Environmental Justice (EJ) Communities.
The second program, the details for which will be released by mid-September, will provide up to $2 million to fund light-duty zero emission passenger vehicle electric supply equipment (EVSE) infrastructure at state and local government facilities. $1.2 million will be set-aside for EVSE deployment at state government sites to advance the sustainability goals of Executive Order #1. In addition, $800 thousand for municipal government sites will be provided.
“After an extensive open and transparent public process, DEEP is ready to use these funds to the best of our ability to both protect public health and support important changes to meet our long term environmental and energy goals,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes. “The transportation sector is responsible for approximately 70% of smog forming air pollution and 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in Connecticut. This funding will help us realize additional nitrogen oxides and greenhouse gas emissions reductions from mobile sources in Connecticut and move us closer towards meeting health-based air quality standards.”
In 2015, Volkswagen publicly admitted that it had deliberately installed a defeat device – software designed to cheat emissions tests and deceive federal and state regulators – in nearly 590,000 VW, Audi, and Porsche model year 2009 to 2016 diesel vehicles sold nationwide, with nearly 12,000 vehicles sold in Connecticut. As a result of a federal civil enforcement case against VW for violating the Clean Air Act, Connecticut was allocated more than $55.7 million to be distributed over a ten-year period for use toward offsetting the excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution emitted in the state by these vehicles.
To date, DEEP has offered two rounds of funding under the VW Program totaling $18.3 million to finance 25 projects that replaced an array of aging diesel vehicles with cleaner alternatives. These investments have provided lifetime emissions benefits of reducing more than 218 tons of NOx, 13,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide, nearly 14 tons of volatile organic compounds, and 10.2 tons of fine particulate matter pollution.
DEEP has also leveraged $1.2 million from the VW Program to increase federal grant funding under the national Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA). More information on the program can be found on DEEP’s VW Settlement Information page.
Grants for the Diesel Emission Mitigation Program will be issued on a reimbursement basis to finance projects that replace or repower an array of aging diesel mobile sources and/or non-road equipment. Eligible source categories and funding criteria are specified in the State of Connecticut Beneficiary Mitigation Plan (the Plan) and limited by the Environmental Mitigation Trust Agreement for State Beneficiaries. Both non-government and government entities are eligible to apply. DEEP will ensure that projects ultimately funded by this program support the goals of the Plan.
Details on the EVSE program will be released by mid-September.
Application forms and related guidance for these grant programs are available on DEEP’s website at www.ct.gov/vw. A webinar will be held at 2 p.m., on Thursday, September 2nd, to review the application forms and related instructions for potential applicants under both grant programs. Interested applicants can register for the webinar at this link. Project proposals for fleet transformation grants will be due by September 30, and project proposals for EVSE Grants will be due by 5:00 PM on October 30.
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