Volkswagen Settlement
Background
In late 2015, Volkswagen (VW) publicly admitted it had secretly and deliberately installed a 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 and 83,000 3.0-liter diesel vehicles sold to American consumers.
Through a series of three partial settlements, EPA resolved their civil enforcement case against VW. As a result of these partial settlements, Rhode Island was allocated approximately $14.4 million for use towards offsetting the excess NOx emissions caused by VW's actions through extensive mitigation projects to reduce NOx from a wide array of mobile sources.
In the News
- RIPTA, Federal, State, and Local Officials Celebrate Completion of the Northeast Region’s First Electric Bus In-Line Charging Station (July 2, 2024)
- Governor McKee, Elected Leaders, RIPTA Unveil Rhode Island's First Electric Bus Fleet (August 16, 2022)
- Raimondo, Congressional Delegation Unveil RIPTA's First Electric Buses (October 22, 2018)
Environmental Mitigation Trust
In March 2017, the Court appointed Wilmington Trust, N.A. as Trustee of the Environmental Mitigation Trust (EMT), and in October 2017, the Court approved two Trust Agreements for Beneficiaries: one for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ("State Trust Agreement"), and one for the separate allocation for federally recognized Indian tribes in the U.S.
The State of Rhode Island ("the State") officially became a beneficiary of the EMT on January 30, 2018, allowing the State to fund Eligible Mitigation Actions (EMAs), as defined in the First Partial Consent Decree and State Trust Agreement, that comply with the State's Beneficiary Mitigation Plan (BMP).
Rhode Island's Beneficiary Mitigation Plan
DEM has released a final Beneficiary Mitigation Plan (BMP) for implementing the State’s initial allocation of $14,368,857.94 from the Volkswagen Diesel Settlement (VW Settlement) EMT. The purpose of the EMT is to execute environmental mitigation projects that reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx).
A draft BMP was released to the public on May 10, 2018. An information session on the proposed BMP was held on Thursday, May 17, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Rhode Island College. The public had the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposal via email to DEM's Office of Air Resources through June 11, 2018. View comments received on the BMP.
The State's final BMP may now be accessed here: State of Rhode Island’s Beneficiary Mitigation Plan.
Project Implementation
DEM will allocate dollars into two main categories designed to implement projects that reduce NOx emissions.
- Rhode Island Public Transit Authority: All-Electric Zero-Emission Transit Buses
- Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources: Electrify RI Program
The BMP and all documentation and records submitted by the State in support of each funding request to the Trustee will be available to the public. The Trustee maintains a webpage that contains current and historical information and reports concerning eligible mitigation actions in Rhode Island.
Project Implementation Updates
You can find complete funding request information including documentation from Rhode Island and the Trustee, required semi-annual reports and estimates of remaining fund balance here: vwenvironmentalmitigationtrust.com/state-trust/rhode-island
DEM is proposing to expand Rhode Island’s Volkswagen Beneficiary Mitigation Plan (BMP) for a second time. The first expansion of the BMP was released for public comment in August 2021 and proposed to utilize funds under Environmental Mitigation Action #10 “the DERA Option” to match DERA funds received in 2021.
In the issuance of the August 2018 Rhode Island Beneficiary Mitigation Plan, DEM outlined a very specific plan on how the state would utilize the $14,368,858 that was received under the proposed partial Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in the lawsuit entitled In re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, Case No: MDL No. 2672 CRB (JSC). It has come to our attention that while those funds were held in a trust account, interest was earned.
DEM is proposing to expand the BMP for a second time and utilize VW trust funds earned interest to match its State DERA allocation for 2023 and 2024, and utilize a portion of the remaining VW funds to go toward class 8 diesel vehicles and electric school buses. The full proposal with the approved 2023 and 2024 workplan can be found here.
The Department is proceeding with a 15-day public notice to request public input on the proposed expansion of the plan. At minimum, all voluntary state match funds ($412,147 for 2023 and $382,347 for 2024) from the interest earned on the VW account will be dedicated to electrification project(s).
You may submit your comments by email to Bailey Nance at Bailey.Nance@dem.ri.gov with the subject line “Expanded RI VW BMP #2”.
Comments will be accepted through Friday, June 20, 2025. Thank you for your assistance in helping DEM maintain a Volkswagen Beneficiary Mitigation Plan that best meets the needs of Rhode Island.
You can find complete funding request information including documentation from Rhode Island and the Trustee, required semi-annual reports and estimates of remaining fund balance here: vwenvironmentalmitigationtrust.com/state-trust/rhode-island
For more information, contact Bailey Nance at (401) 537-4403