Iowa DOT awards another round of funding from VW Settlement Trust

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The Iowa Department of Transportation has awarded more than $5.3 million in another round of funding from the Volkswagen Settlement Mitigation Trust program for transit and electric vehicle projects across the state. The funds are part of a settlement between the automaker and the Environmental Protection Agency after the EPA filed a complaint in 2016 alleging that Volkswagen violated the Clean Air Act when it sold vehicles between 2009 and 2016 that were equipped with devices designed to perform differently during normal operation than during emission tests. Volkswagen agreed to settle the complaint with the creation of the Environmental Mitigation Trust to fund projects to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides. Iowa will receive about $21 million for mitigation projects over the next several years. In the latest round of awards, announced last Friday, the DOT awarded about $4.4 million to 32 school districts and the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority that own and operate diesel vehicles and equipment, and $919,000 for zero emission vehicle supply equipment and charging stations. Kum & Go received five of the zero emission equipment awards, or $800,000, while the city of Dubuque received the other award announced in that category for $119,058. Requests for applications for the next cycle of funding are scheduled for this fall with applications due in early 2022.