Portage County Legal News

$15M in Volkswagen settlement grants available in 26 counties

KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: June 18, 2019

The aging fleets of diesel vehicles in about a third of Ohio counties are eligible for an upgrade thanks to Volkswagen's national settlement after it was determined the German automaker had cheated on emissions testing.

Ohio EPA announced last week that $15 million in Volkswagen settlement grants had been made available to assist with replacing or repowering aging diesel fleet vehicles in 26 priority counties. These are counties in which emission reductions are most needed to comply with federal ozone standards, according to a press release.

Franklin, Delaware, Licking, Fairfield and Madison counties are the sole central Ohio counties identified as priority. The remaining counties border Lake Erie and concentrate on the metro areas of Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Eligible applicants include public and private fleet owners of school and transit buses, medium and heavy-duty trucks, switcher locomotives, tugboats, ferries, and cargo handling equipment in airports and ports.

"This program will help Ohioans enjoy cleaner air and a healthier environment," Gov. Mike DeWine said in a prepared statement. "I encourage our school districts and other operators of diesel equipment in the priority counties to learn more about the program and consider applying for these grants."

The EPA has scheduled grant-writing informational webinars for prospective applicants that may need assistance in applying.

This is the second round of grants following an initial $15 million round of grants Ohio EPA awarded through the program. Overall, the grant program is investing $75 million over 10 years to reduce nitrogen oxide pollution.

Funding is allocated to Ohio from the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund in response to settlement of a lawsuit alleging VW installed defeat devices on certain vehicles which made vehicles, during emissions testing, appear compliant with the law, when in fact, during on-road operation, the vehicles emitted nine to 40 times the allowable amount of nitrogen oxides, a harmful air pollutant.

Funding allocation is based on the number of vehicles with the illegal devices that were registered in each state.

[Back]