Volkswagen Committee Approves Clean Air Funding
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund Committee has approved the first round of funding for clean air projects in Indiana. The committee was established as the result of Volkswagen’s Clean Air Act settlement.
The $9.8 million in funding comes from the National Volkswagen Mitigation Trust, which was formed to address the installation and use of emission testing devices in certain vehicles sold in the U.S. from 2009 to 2016. The funding will be used for onroad/nonroad clean air projects designed to reduce diesel emissions across the state. Nearly 180 vehicles or equipment were funded in 23 counties.
"The Committee worked together deliberately in evaluating and scoring each project," said Committee Chair Beverly Gard. "We want to ensure that these funds will be used for transformative projects and achieve our goal of improving Indiana’s air quality."
Funds were approved for 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 5 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 full funding list can be found here. More option funding awards are planned for January 2020 and additional projects, including round two of onroad/nonroad, comes in March 2020, with round one for electric infrastructure set for May 2020. More information on the Indiana Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Program can be found here.