Volkswagen and Audi Settlement

The Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP) is the lead agency that will prepare funding requests, project management plans and budgeting, disbursement of funds, and progress reporting of the Volkswagon and Audi Settlement. The  Nevada Committee on the Control of Emissions from Motor Vehicles will serve as the advisory committee in establishing program goals and objectives, and will select appropriate projects in a public forum for purposes of accountability and transparency. NDEP will also develop a website, application procedure, list of eligible projects, and provide oversight of projects funded.

The next steps are that Nevada will wait for Court to declare the Trust Fund is approved and in place (called the Effective Date); then Nevada can file for Beneficiary Status and work with the NV Committee on the Control of Emissions to develop program goals and objectives that meet air quality needs, consider public input, and are acceptable to the Court-appointed trustee. The Nevada Governor's Office of Energy will be coordinating with them on developing a mitigation plan for Nevada's allocation under Appendix D.

What did Volkswagen do? Between 2009 and 2015, Volkswagen (VW) sold approximately 500,000 2.0 L diesel vehicles equipped with "defeat devices" designed to control emissions during certification and to illegally turn off emissions controls during on-road driving. These vehicles emit up to 40 times more nitrogen oxide (NOx) than EPA levels. NOx is an air pollutant that contributes to the formation of ozone and particulate matter. It can greatly aggravate health problems such as asthma and cardio-pulmonary disease. This partial consent decree partially resolves these alleged violations. For more details on the overall national agreement, see http://www.VWcourtsettlement.com.

What is this Partial Consent Decree? It is referred to as “partial” because it does not deal with actual penalties against the company. Those will be determined through a separate process.

What does the Partial Consent Decree do? When final, the partial consent decree (consent decree) provides every vehicle owner a choice on how to handle their vehicle, and fully mitigates all environmental harm associated with VW's use of a defeat device.