This morning, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Department) published a draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan for a public comment period of thirty (30) days. A Beneficiary Mitigation Plan is a requirement under the Volkswagen Settlement’s Environmental Mitigation Trust for State Beneficiaries (Final Trust Agreement).

The purpose of the Mitigation Trust is to provide money for mobile source emissions mitigation projects based on the excess nitrogen oxides emitted by certain Volkswagen vehicles operating without the legally required emissions controls. The Beneficiary Mitigation Plan fulfills the required elements listed in the Final Trust Agreement, including how Florida will spend the $166 million allotted to the state.

All public comments must be submitted via email to VWMitigation@FloridaDEP.gov by 5:00 PM EST, Friday, August 16, 2019. At that time, the Department will consider all public comments and then finalize the plan for submittal to the Trustee. For more information about the Volkswagen Settlement, the Department’s activities related to the settlement, and to download a copy of the draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan, please go to the Department’s dedicated webpage at the following link:https://floridadep.gov/Volkswagen.