The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is the designated environmental authority to oversee funds received in Minnesota as a result of the $2.9 billion Volkswagen (VW) settlement establishing an environmental mitigation trust fund to be shared among the states.
The MPCA is holding a series of public meetings to discuss the settlement and how the funds, an expected $47 million over the next decade, should be used. States must submit a mitigation plan that uses the funds to offset VW’s excess pollution by reducing NOx emissions. Federal air quality standards for NOx emissions are meant to prevent health consequences including a variety of respiratory diseases.
To learn more, see the Volkswagen Partial Consent Decree, more information about the Volkswagen Clean Air Act Partial Settlement, and U.S. EPA’s answers to states’ Frequently Asked Questions.
