Comment Period Closes March 9, 2018
CT’s Draft Final Mitigation Plan under the VW Environmental Mitigation Trust Agreement (PDF)
In late 2015, Volkswagen (VW) publicly admitted it had secretly and deliberately installed defeat device software, designed to cheat emissions tests and deceive federal and state regulators, in nearly 500,000 VW and Audi branded 2.0-liter diesel vehicles sold to consumers in the State of Connecticut and throughout the United States. VW later admitted to installing similar defeat devices on certain 3.0-liter diesel vehicles. On October 2, 2017, an Environmental Mitigation Trust (Trust) was approved which allocates $55.7 million to Connecticut to mitigate excess air pollution caused by VW’s actions. By the terms of the settlement, this funding is required to finance specifically identified mitigation projects to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from a wide array of both on road and non-road mobile sources.
In order to fund mitigation projects under the Trust, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) must first develop a state mitigation plan that: outlines the types of eligible mitigation actions; sets out the process by which DEEP will administer the funds; and describes the anticipated range of emission benefits. This plan must also be made available for public review and comment.
Having proposed and taken public comment on an initial draft mitigation plan on January 18 – March 6, 2017, DEEP is now announcing a formal public comment period on the draft final mitigation plan. The actions outlined in the draft final mitigation plan are expected to significantly reduce mobile source related air emissions in Connecticut. PLEASE NOTE: This is not a formal solicitation for projects.
How to comment to DEEP: You may email written comments to deep.mobilesources@ct.gov, or send via postal mail to the Bureau of Air Management, Mobile Sources Division, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, 5th Floor, Hartford, CT 06106 from February 15, 2018 to March 9, 2018. Please provide your full name, company name (if applicable), address, e-mail, and telephone number.
Federal information: The three Partial Settlements, including the Environmental Mitigation Trust Agreement, as well as additional related information, is available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at www.epa.gov/enforcement/volkswagen-clean-air-act-partial-settlement.
Connecticut information: DEEP has established a VW Settlement web page with information about Connecticut’s response to the Settlements: www.ct.gov/deep/vw.