Funding from the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust is now available statewide for Combustion Freight, Marine Vessels, and Zero-Emission Class 8 Trucks. Up to $109 million will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis for eligible projects to repower or replace older, in-use vehicles and equipment with the cleanest commercially available certified internal combustion, hybrid, or zero-emission technologies. Two categories currently eligible for funding include:

Combustion Freight and Marine Category:
• Replacing or upgrading engine model years 1992- 2012 Class 7 and Class 8 freight trucks, dump trucks, waste haulers, and concrete mixers with low NOx engines;
• Replacing freight switcher locomotives or upgrade engines to Tier 4 or zero-emission technologies; and
• Upgrading ferries, tugboats, or towboats to Tier 4 or hybrid with Tier 4-equivalent NOx emission.

Zero-Emission Class 8 Trucks Category:
• Replacing engine model years 1992-2012 Class 8 freight trucks, drayage trucks, dump trucks, waste haulers, and concrete mixers with zero-emission battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

New vehicles, equipment, and engines funded through this program must operate in California for a minimum of three years. Existing vehicles, equipment, or engines being replaced or upgraded must be scrapped. South Coast AQMD will administer the funding statewide, with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) providing program and fiscal oversight. At least 50 percent of the funds from these two funding categories are expected to benefit disadvantaged or low-income communities. Applications are
being accepted online at http://www.aqmd.gov/vw/.

The Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust was established as part of a settlement with Volkswagen for their role in utilizing illegal defeat devices in certain 2.0- and 3.0-liter vehicles that resulted in excess nitrogen oxide emissions.