KDHE Posts Overview of Plan and Invites Comments for VW Settlement
Comment period runs from June 1 – July 2
TOPEKA – Beginning today, Friday, June 1, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) will post online the Kansas Plan for the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust and will collect comments on the content through July 2. The trust was created pursuant to the 2016 U.S. Department of Justice partial consent decree to settle claims against the automaker Volkswagen. As part of the settlement, Volkswagen is required to allocate $2.7 billion toward an Environmental Mitigation Trust to fund diesel emission reduction projects.
In 2017, KDHE was designated as the lead agency to act on behalf of the trust for the state of Kansas. This includes distributing funds totaling more than $15 million, which may be used on eligible projects ranging from the replacement of older diesel-fueled equipment to the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging stations.
To view the plan and for more information about the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, visit www.kdheks.gov/bar/air-monitor/dieselgrant/dieselvw.html. To submit comments via email, send to kdhe.ksvwsettlement@ks.gov. Comments must be received by July 2.