The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has issued a draft plan outlining what it hopes to achieve with nearly $52 million in funds resulting from legal settlements involving emissions violations by Volkswagen.
To become a beneficiary of the settlement funds, the state is required to submit a plan to the court outlining how it intends to use them to mitigate pollution.
The draft plan issued by DEEP prioritizes projects that:
- Improve air quality by reducing nitrogen oxide;
- Expedite deployment and adoption of zero and near-zero-emission vehicles;
- Support the state’s energy, environmental and economic goals.
The funds could be available as early as this fall, according to DEEP.
DEEP would then solicit projects from both government and non-government entities.
This week, ConnPIRG issued a report urging the state to dedicate the maximum allowable amount of money — approximately $7.7 million — for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The liberal advocacy nonprofit estimated that Connecticut could purchase as many as 154 fast-charging stations with the money, enough to cover the state’s highway network.
“This would be a significant improvement to the state’s current network of about 30 fast charging stations,” the report said.
ConnPIRG has also urged the state to use additional settlement funds to purchase more than 50 electric buses.
DEEP has scheduled a public comment session on the draft plan on Feb. 9 at its Hartford headquarters. The agency is also accepting written comments until Feb. 28 at deep.mobilesources@ct.gov or by mail. More information can be found here.
