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COMMENTS ON DRAFT VOLKSWAGEN BENEFICIARY AGREEMENT | | | |
| | | | | | | | Background | As part of the 2017 Volkswagen settlement agreement, Volkswagen was required to establish a fund to mitigate excess emissions from vehicles failing to meet US emissions standards.
On August 8, 2018, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) released a draft mitigation plan indicating how and where the $209 million allocation of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust (Trust) would be distributed within Texas over the next decade. TCEQ has indicated $8 million would be used by TCEQ for direct administration, $31.4 million would be used throughout the state to install light-duty electric charging infrastructure, and $169.6 million would be used to support vehicle or engine replacement activities in “priority areas” - areas where air quality is closest to the current 2015 ozone standard. The proposed distribution of funds by TCEQ is shown in the table below:
Region
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Funding Amount
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Percentage of Total Funds
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Percentage of VW Vehicles
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San Antonio
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$73,554,754
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35.1%
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11.1%
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Dallas-Fort Worth
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$29,116,296
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13.9%
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25.5%
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Houston-Galveston
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$27,399,879
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13.1%
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23.9%
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El Paso
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$26,771,921
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12.8%
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2.4%
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Beaumont-Port Arthur
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$12,705,673
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6.1%
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0.9%
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Other Uses / Areas
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$39,400,000
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19.0%
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36.2%
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Totals
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$208,948,523
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100%
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100%
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The Draft Mitigation Plan can be found at: www.tceq.texas.gov/agency/trust. TCEQ will accept public comments on this draft plan until October 8, 2018. On September 10th, TCEQ hosted one of its public meetings to receive feedback on the plan at the Tracy Gee Center in Houston. |
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| | | | | | | | Current Situation | To enhance program effectiveness and provide additional emission reduction benefits for the Houston-Galveston region, H-GAC staff has developed the following recommendations:
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Increase the maximum funding percentage to at least 80% for government recipients. In the Houston-Galveston region, many local governments have delayed both routine capital budget items and the replacement of Harvey-damaged equipment as other urgent hurricane-related costs are being addressed. Increasing the share of costs from 60 to 80 percent will provide flexibility and expand local government participation in Trust funded activities.
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Administer Trust funds in the largest regions through Councils of Governments. This will provide more local control, promote coordination of investments (where appropriate) and expedite program delivery. The Houston region already has experienced staff in place capable of implementing the Trust-related projects through its local governments and businesses.
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| | | | | | | | Action Requested | Request authorization to transmit comments to TCEQ Commissioner Niermann conveying recommendations and requesting their incorporation in the development of a final State Beneficiary Plan Agreement. (Staff Contact: Alan Clark) |
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