Florida - Thursday September 1, 2022: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has awarded more than $68 million in federal funds from the Volkswagen settlement to replace old diesel buses and purchase 227 new electric buses in 13 counties across the state.
Governor DeSantis announced the award this week calling it another step in the state’s efforts to modernize public transit and reduce air pollutants caused by diesel emissions.
“This funding will help lower emissions while also bringing our transit bus fleets to more modern standards,” said the Governor. “This is a win-win for air quality and advancing the state’s efforts to bolster growing electric vehicle usage.”
The 13 counties are Alachua, Broward, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Leon, Marion, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Orange, Palm Beach, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.
The Volkswagen settlement with the U.S. government resolved claims that VW violated the Clean Air Act by selling diesel vehicles that violated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mobile source emission standards. VW was required to pay $1.45 billion in penalties and fines. A Mitigation Trust Fund was established and Florida, along with all other 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have received allotments from that fund.
In addition to the electric transit bus grant awards, the Florida DEP also awarded grants to seven school districts to purchase a total of 218 electric school buses in Broward, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties.
Through Florida’s settlement allotment, DEP has awarded grants to install 150 electric vehicle charging stations along the state highway system and several DERA grants to reduce emissions in and around the state’s ports. These projects include marine engine replacements, an electric freight switch, and port cargo handling equipment.
For more information on Florida’s Mitigation Plan and project selection, visit DEP’s webpage at http://floridadep.gov/Volkswagen.