Under funds from the Volkswagen settlement, Pennsylvania will put an extra $8,489,844 into the Driving PA Forward grants and rebates program, which seeks to reduce diesel engine emissions.
The funds are Pennsylvania’s portion of a settlement with Volkswagen Group of America, which was found to have cheated U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions tests. Now, that money will be turned around and put toward 34 cleaner energy transportation projects, meant to collectively prevent the emission of hundreds of tons of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, fine particulate matter, and coarse particulate matter.
“The funding awarded from the VW emission cheating scandal is helping Pennsylvania reduce transportation pollution statewide and will help continue our efforts to improve air quality throughout the commonwealth,” Gov. Tom Wolf said.
Benefiting projects are split between statewide projects, multi-county projects, and individual county efforts. Statewide, SYSCO Leasing LLC will gain a $432,320 grant to replace 24 diesel Class 8 trucks with new diesel trucks for food and food product distribution. Three projects will cross county borders, including a joint project between the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the City of Philadelphia and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to replace diesel trash trucks and service vehicles — an effort which will net them a $2,093,042 grant. Advanced Disposal Services will also be replacing 13 older diesel trash trucks with a new CNG truck and 12 new diesel trucks, for which they will receive a $778,035 grant. A further $363,537 grant will benefit First Student, which seeks to replace 18 older diesel school buses.
The remaining projects are all focused on single counties. They include everything from replacing diesel transit buses with battery electric buses in Allegheny County, to the installation of electric vehicle chargers in Philadelphia County.
Driving PA Forward first launched as a program last year and has been focused on reducing NOx emissions in Pennsylvania. Last year, it provided six projects with $580,000 in the first set of rewards from the Volkswagen settlement.
This round of funding represents the second set of awards. Still, funding remains available in three programs from last year, with applications due by September and October: for Class 8 trucks and transit buses, for Level 2 EV charging and DC fast charging and hydrogen fueling. Another grant program is expected to open for marine and rail freight movers later this fall, and other funding programs should reopen early next year.