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Where’s the VW Money Going?

Don’t expect a big check from VW to show up in your mailbox. Each state controls the funds allotted from the Environmental Mitigation Trust, and can choose how to spend the money within the guidelines of the settlement that were published on October 25.

The Trustee is a single, national entity responsible for holding the assets of the Trust (i.e. the $2.7 billion) and distributing those funds to beneficiaries. This will be a U.S.-based law firm specializing in the administration of consent decrees, nominated and designated by EPA and CARB. The Trustee has not been chosen yet.

The Beneficiary is the state-level government entity responsible for developing and awarding their state’s funds. The Beneficiaries in each state have also not yet been chosen, but they will have previous experience managing air quality and transportation grant programs (think state energy office or the body that administers DERA funds), and will be responsible for reporting to the Trustee on the use of funds.

The Trustee should be chosen by December 25, 2016, and the Beneficiaries by February 25, 2017.

The funding levels for each state were determined based on the amount of VW diesel vehicles deployed there. The chart below outlines how much each state will receive in funding, which can be spent over a 10-year period of time.

ROUSH CleanTech and Blue Bird are working on a clear and concise message to promote propane and CNG school bus programs to replace pre-emission (pre-2007) diesel buses, and there are already steps you can take.

Blue Bird Dealers and the VW Settlement

Blue Bird dealers in every state have the opportunity to tap into millions — yes millions — of dollars from the Volkswagen emissions scandal. In total, VW will set aside $2.7 billion to fund the Environmental Mitigation Trust, a portion of which can go toward alt fuel school bus funding.

How did this all come about? We first heard about the VW emissions scandal more than a year ago. The allegations contend that the company’s ‘clean diesel’ vehicles were equipped with software that maximized emission performance during emission testing conditions, and optimized for performance when the vehicle sensed that it was not operating under testing conditions. The difference in NOx emissions between testing and normal performance was an increase by more than 40 times the legal limit.

VW has also been sued by attorneys representing VW owners, the Federal Trade Commission for consumer fraud, state attorney generals for consumer fraud, and the Environmental Protection Agency and California for violating federal and state motor vehicle emissions laws.

It’s also alleged that VW lied to federal regulators and sought to cover up the extent of the non-compliance when first informed that there was a potential emissions problem. The government’s lawsuit was filed in January 2016.

To address excess NOx emissions that have occurred, VW set aside $2.7 billion to fund the Environmental Mitigation Trust (EMT).

What does the EMT mean to Blue Bird dealers? The billions of dollars in this trust are to be used to fund actions that reduce NOx emission and thereby reduce public exposure to NOx pollution. Translation: Money that can go toward our lower-NOx alternative-fuel buses (LPG and CNG)!

To find out more about where this money is going, read here or contact Chelsea Uphaus at chelsea.uphaus@roush.com or 734-466-6710.