More than half of the first round of VW settlement funds will go toward supporting green or clean fuel efforts in Northwest Indiana.
A statement from South Shore Clean Cities said several of its members and partners were awarded more than 56% or $5.48 million of the $9.8 million in funds distributed by the Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Committee. The funds will go toward either covering a portion or the entire purchase price of 85 clean-fuel vehicles.
The committee on July 23 announced it approved the first round of funding from the National Volkswagen Mitigation Trust.
The state received $40.9 million of the $2.9 billion settlement reached in 2016 between the Department of Justice and Volkswagen Corp. for its violation of the federal Clean Air Act. The company agreed to the settlement to resolve violations based on the sale of 2.0-liter diesel engines equipped with software designed to cheat federal emissions tests.
“The committee worked together deliberately in evaluating and scoring each project,” said Beverly Gard, committee chair. “We want to ensure that these funds will be used for transformative projects and achieve our goal of improving Indiana's air quality.”
This was the first round of funding for onroad/nonroad projects totaled more than $9.8 million. The funds will be used for clean air projects that will reduce diesel emissions across Indiana.
A total of 179 vehicles or equipment were funded in 23 counties. Funds were approved in four groups:
Electric school buses: Four awards will support the purchase of one all-electric school bus for each applicant for a total funding amount of $1.26 million. The buses will be used in Bartholomew, Monroe, Carroll, and Hamilton counties.
Non-electric school buses: Twelve awards will support the purchase of 18 clean diesel-powered and 60 propane-powered buses for a total funding amount of $1.99 million. The buses will be used in Elkhart, Dekalb, Lake, Marion, Clark, Johnson, LaPorte, Howard and LaGrange counties.
Onroad vehicles: Fourteen awards will support the purchase of 47 clean diesel-powered, 31 compressed natural gas-powered, and five electric-powered vehicles for a total funding amount of $5.36 million. The vehicles will be used in Vanderburgh, Lake, Allen, Tippecanoe, St. Joseph, Porter, LaPorte, Madison, Hendricks, Jackson, and Delaware counties.
Nonroad equipment: Four awards will support the purchase of four diesel-powered engines and 10 electric-powered pieces of equipment for a total funding amount of $1.23 million. Equipment will be used in Spencer, Hendricks, Marion, and Porter counties.
The state said the solicitation process for Diesel Emission Reduction Act Option funding will begin in October. Awards are planned for January.
Additional project solicitations include round two for onroad/nonroad in March and round one for electric infrastructure in May.
