DEQ made more than $26 million of the settlement funds available in Phase 1 of the Volkswagen Settlement program. Funding was administered through three programs: the Diesel Bus & Vehicle Program, and the ZEV Infrastructure Program, and the Level 2 Rebate Program.

Phase 1 Plan Phase 1 Final Report

Awarded Projects

The competitive application process for the the Diesel Bus and Vehicle Program and the ZEV Infrastructure Program resulted in 116 proposals. The Level 2 Rebate Program received 118 applications.  Overall, 147 applications were awarded funding. The awards include:

• $22.5 million for diesel vehicle replacements, including:
  • $12.2 million for school bus replacements
  • $6.1 million for transit bus replacements
  • $4.2 million for on-road heavy duty equipment, including refuse haulers, dump trucks and debris trucks
• $3.4 million for DC Fast charging stations
• $1.1 million for Level 2 charging stations

Phase 2 was the final phase of funding and combined the previously proposed phases 2 and 3 into one final phase. DEQ invested the remaining $66.5 million through two main programs: the Diesel Bus & Vehicle Replacement Program, and the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Infrastructure Program. Each program had several funding opportunities.

Phase 2 Plan Phase 2 Final Report

Awarded Projects

The awards made in this final phase included: 

• $64.7 million for clean diesel vehicle replacements, including: 
  • $11.0 million for clean on-road and off-road heavy-duty vehicles and equipment
  • $30.1 million for clean school buses, including electric school buses
  • $13.6 million for clean transit and shuttle buses, including electric buses
• $6.5 million for DC Fast charging stations, including: 
  • $5.9 million for new charging ports along priority corridors
  • $626,000 for upgrades and repairs to existing charging stations
• $3.4 million for Level 2 charging stations, including: 
  • $1.7 million for new ports at state agency-owned sites
  • $1.0 million for new ports accessible to the public
  • $394,000 for new ports at multi-unit dwellings like apartment complexes
  • $240,000 for new ports at workplaces and businesses

Historically Under-Resourced County Outreach Program

In Phase 2, DAQ provided additional outreach and technical support to 37 identified historically under-resourced counties to ensure more communities were able to apply for funding. Outreach included webinars, in-person information sessions, social media campaigns, community partnerships and other engagement methods. Applications for projects in these counties qualified for bonus scoring points on their applications. 

With this program, DAQ sought to increase participation in counties unfunded in Phase 1 increase awareness of funding opportunities for Phase 2. Ultimately, in Phase 2, DAQ awarded 43% of funding to projects in historically under-resourced counties.