About 2.7 Billion Reasons to Convert to Alt-Fuels

For an update on the story, click here.

Lately, a particular phrase has been hanging in the air like a shiny Christmas ornament - "The VW Settlement". States are now drafting their plans for the VW Settlement's Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund, a pot of gold set aside to pay for projects that would reduce Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions.

First, a brief history of how we got here.

The Volkswagen Emissions Scandal began in the fall of 2015 when the EPA issued a notice of violation to the Volkswagen Group citing intentional misrepresentation of NOx emissions through its diesel engines used in approximately 500,000 cars sold in the United States. In fact, independent testing proved that real-world driving emissions were about 40% higher than what the automaker had reported. According to a peer-reviewed study on Environmental Research Letters, NOx emissions have been linked to health issues such as asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer, heart disease, and premature death as well as acid rain and smog according to the EPA. In other words, there is a reason the EPA has NOx standards.

Fast-forward to today, a federal court has ordered VW to pay $2.8 Billion into an environmental mitigation trust that has been broken out in different amounts for states according to how many of these cars were sold within the state. The funds will pay for fleets of all shapes and sizes to convert diesel vehicles (model years 1992-2009) to alternative fuel vehicles that will lower NOx emissions within each state. Here's the breakdown:

$2.7 Billion Total

• Government Fleets will qualify for up to 100% of the total cost of each vehicle replacement or engine repower
• Non-Government (Privately-Owned) Fleets will Qualify for up to 25% of the total cost of each vehicle or 40% or total cost of repower (except EVS, which qualify for up to 75% of total cost of vehicle replacement)
• Privately-Owned Fleets Serving Municipalities will also qualify for up to 100% of the total cost of the vehicle
• Private Drayage Fleets will qualify for up to 50% of the cost of a vehicle replacement, or 40% for a repower

According to NGVAmerica, here is a list of what's available in each state.

Be sure to check out the Vehicle Emissions Calculator developed by Argonne, which is housed inside the NGVA VW Action Center!

Trillium has been closely monitoring the progress of draft plans in each state. If you'd like to take advantage of the Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund, call a representative at Trillium CNG, or send us an email at Inquiries@trilliumcng.com.