The federal government and California have pursued litigation against Volkswagen AG and some of its U.S. and North America subsidiaries (Volkswagen) concerning vehicles that violated vehicle emissions standards.
Settlements in the California and federal government case provide a remedy for some of the economic and environmental damages caused by Volkswagen. The remedy includes three main areas:
- A vehicle recall/repair program to buy back or repair at least 85 percent of the unlawful vehicles.
- An Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund to be administered by states to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from diesel mobile sources to mitigate the unlawful emissions.
- A commitment to invest in Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) and charging and refueling infrastructure (ZEV Fund).
The Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund and the ZEV Fund will help Pennsylvania to reduce harmful emissions from diesel vehicles. You can find details on the opportunities available through the Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund and the ZEV Fund by using the navigation buttons found under Related Information on this page.
State Environmental Lawsuit
Pennsylvania has filed a separate lawsuit against Volkswagen, seeking civil penalties for selling unlawful vehicles to customers in Pennsylvania. The financial penalty is meant to discourage Volkswagen from engaging in similar conduct in the future. The lawsuit asks Volkswagen to pay environmental penalties for violating Pennsylvania's Air Pollution Control Act and air quality regulations and causing excess emissions that impacted Pennsylvania's citizens. What Pennsylvania is seeking under its environmental lawsuit is separate from, and in addition to, the funds recovered under the settlement of the federal government and California lawsuit.