Following the Trust Effective Date (October 2nd), states had to apply for beneficiary status. Ahead of the deadline, Atlas verified that all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico filed for beneficiary status with the U.S. District Court. States will now turn to mitigation plans and seek public comment feedback. According to the VW Settlement State Progress dashboard on the Hub, 13 states have released draft mitigation plans and 22 states have already had public comment periods as of December 4th.
Atlas worked with NSI to look for comment requests from states that haven’t made the news. We found 10 states — most do not have a deadline for comments posted online. See the table below for a full list of the states we found in our search. In addition to those states, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Vermont, and Washington have open comment periods now. Visit the VW Settlement State Progress dashboard for all the details.
| State | Title | Description | Web Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Alaska Energy Authority seeks public comments on ideas to use VW Settlement Funds | No deadline has been given. AEA is currently accepting comments from the public and interested parties to determine what types of eligible pollution-reducing projects are of priority to Alaska communities and to identify possible synergies and partnerships that might leverage Trust funds. Following this informal public input, AEA will post a draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan for a formal public comment period. | https://form.jotform.us/70676167589170 |
| Idaho | Public comment email for the preliminary draft | No deadline has been given to submit ideas. Stakeholders are invited to email comments or project proposals for eligible mitigation actions within the state of Idaho to: vwsettlement@deq.idaho.gov. | http://www.deq.idaho.gov/vw-settlement |
| Illinois | Public comments for input in development of the mitigation plan for Illinois | No deadline has been given to submit ideas. Illinois EPA will be seeking input in development of the mitigation plan for Illinois. As additional information and documents are available and opportunities for public input and comment are published, this website will be updated. | http://www.epa.illinois.gov/topics/air-quality/vw-settlement/index |
| Indiana | Indiana Beneficiary Mitigation Plan Draft Framework questions | No deadline has been given to submit ideas. The comments received through this process will be considered in the development of the final beneficiary mitigation plan submitted to the Trustee. In addition to this request for informal comments, an opportunity to provide formal comments on the Indiana Beneficiary Mitigation Plan will be provided prior to final submittal to the Trustee. | http://www.in.gov/idem/airquality/2712.htm |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet seeks public comment on use of VW Settlement Funds | No deadline has been provided for feedback. The Energy and Environment Cabinet has developed an electronic form to allow Kentuckians an easy way to submit comments regarding the state’s utilization of environmental mitigation trust fund monies associated with the VW diesel settlement. All comments are received by the Energy and Environment Cabinet Department for Energy Development and Independence for review. Comments submitted are for the purpose of gathering initial input on how these funds should be used. | http://eec.ky.gov/Documents/VW%20Settlement%20Form.pdf |
| Mississippi | Mississippi seeks public input on how best to spend VW Settlement Funds | No deadline has been given. This form is provided to submit comments regarding Mississippi’s utilization of allocated funds through the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust | https://www.deq.state.ms.us/MDEQ.nsf/pdf/Air_VWCommentFormfillable/$File/VW%20Comment%20Form%20(fillable).pdf?OpenElement |
| Oklahoma | Prior to or during the December 5th listening session, all written public comments must be submitted either by this online contact form or by mail | Prior to or during the December 5th listening session, all written public comments must be submitted either by this online contact form or by mail | http://www.deq.state.ok.us/aqdnew/vwsettlement/index.htm |
| Rhode Island | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management seeks thoughts and ideas concerning Environmental Mitigation Trust funds | No deadline has been given. Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management seeks thoughts and ideas concerning Environmental Mitigation Trust funds. | http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/air/vwsettle.php |
| South Carolina | South Carolina Department of Insurance is requesting ideas on how to use VW Settlement Funds. | No deadline has been given. Submissions should include how emissions will be reduced or how air quality will be improved through the proposed plan | http://vwsettlement.sc.gov/889/Volkswagen-Settlement |
| South Dakota | Input on how to develop the Beneficiary Mitigation Plan that best meets the needs of South Dakota | The state is currently accepting informal input on how to develop the Beneficiary Mitigation Plan that best meets the needs of South Dakota. | http://denr.sd.gov/des/aq/aaVW.aspx |
| Texas | Texas Commission on Environmental quality seeks public comment on the use VW settlement funds | No deadline was given. Any comments pertaining to the use of the Trust funds may be submitted by email to VWsettle@tceq.texas.gov. | https://www.tceq.texas.gov/agency/trust |
(special thanks to Katie Altman and Jake Naim)