HR0906 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0906 LRB100 21158 MST 37178 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Volkswagen American Group has entered into a multi-billion-dollar settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violations of the federal Clean Air Act for installing "defeat devices" software in 590,000 diesel engine vehicles of model years between 2009 and 2016; this caused the vehicles to operate differently during emission testing compared to normal operation, circumventing federal vehicle emissions standards resulting in excess NOx emissions from the illegal vehicles; and

WHEREAS, According to the American Lung Association's Estimated Prevalence of Lung Disease Report, there are 1,709,000 people impacted by Pediatric Asthma, Adult Asthma, COPD, and Lung Cancer throughout Illinois; and

WHEREAS, A Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund of $2.7 billion has been established by a federal judge to mitigate the total lifetime excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from all identified Volkswagen diesel vehicles in violation of the Clean Air Act; this fund is to be administered by an independent trustee, Wilmington Trust, N.A, for the purpose of dispersing funds to beneficiary states for projects to reduce NOx emissions as mitigation for Volkswagen's unlawful emissions; and

WHEREAS, Based upon the total number of 2.0 L and 3.0 L Volkswagen diesel engines in violation of the Clean Air Act sold in each state, Illinois has been allocated $108.7 million through the Volkswagen Settlement Mitigation Trust; and

WHEREAS, The Volkswagen Mitigation Trust presents a rare opportunity for the State of Illinois to significantly reduce harmful NOx emissions through the replacement of older engine technology with cleaner emissions vehicles and infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, On January 30, 2018, the Trustee provided notice that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has been listed as the Lead Agency for the State and has been charged with the development of the State's Beneficiary Mitigation Plan; and

WHEREAS, Illinois may use its Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund allocation for the following categories of projects, as defined by the settlement: Class 8 Local Freight Trucks and Port Drayage Trucks (Eligible Large Trucks), Class 4-8 School Bus, Shuttle Bus, or Transit Bus (Eligible Buses), Railroad Freight Switchers, Ferries/Tugs, Ocean Going Vessels (OGV) Shorepower, Class 4-7 Local Freight Trucks (Eligible Medium Trucks), Airport Ground Support Equipment, Forklifts and Port Cargo Handling Equipment, Light Duty Zero Emission Vehicle Supply Equipment, and the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) Option; and

WHEREAS, The ultimate and primary objective of the State's Volkswagen Beneficial Mitigation Trust Plan shall be to reduce NOx emissions equitably throughout the State of Illinois through investments in all applicable, eligible infrastructure and fleet vehicle options that are the most cost-effective, currently commercially available, viable and reasonably affordable to end users; and

WHEREAS, All beneficiary states have 10 years to spend allocated trust funds; and

WHEREAS, Each state's Beneficiary Mitigation Plan allows for up to 15% of total funds to be used by state lead agencies for applicable administrative services, including conducting public hearings; and

WHEREAS, Well in advance of posting draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plans, the vast majority of designated administrative agencies of other states have conducted and have already completed comprehensive, transparent public hearings involving all stakeholders - a critical component in the drafting process of each state's Beneficiary Mitigation Plan - months in advance of posting their state's respective draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plans; and

WHEREAS, In complete contrast to the open and transparent public hearings conducted by the vast majority of other states, on February 28, 2018, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency posted its draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan on its official agency website; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's draft Beneficial Mitigation Plan includes a state map, clearly highlighting that only 16 counties, not every county in the State of Illinois, will be eligible for Volkswagen Mitigation Trust money; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency cited in its draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan that it has conducted private meetings with select stakeholders; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency also posted notice on February 27, 2018 that limited online public comments and an Agency-created online focused survey would be accepted by the Agency for a limited period, expiring April 13, 2018, at which time, per the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the period for submission online surveys and online public comments will be closed, representing the first and only form of official public input the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will allow - a time period after, not before the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency posted its draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan; and

WHEREAS, Consequently the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan has not been properly vetted by all eligible stakeholders, both applicable industries and end-users, or the general public; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, in its draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan timeline, indicated the state's final plan would be submitted to the Trustee by the end of May, 2018, and that the first round of applications would be accepted in June, 2018; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recommend the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency withdraw its draft Beneficiary Mitigation Plan; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we recommend the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, prior to submitting the final Beneficiary Mitigation Plant for the State to the Trustee, extend its arbitrary public comment period through June 30, 2018, to allow sufficient time for transparent and open public hearings; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we recommend the establishment of the Illinois Volkswagen Environmental Beneficiary Mitigation Plan Task Force to be comprised of stakeholders from all eligible vehicle classifications included in the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we recommend the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency provide staff and administrative support for the operation of the Task Force, with all Trustee authorized Agency administrative expenses being reimbursed through the Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we recommend the Task Force assist the Agency in conducting a minimum of four regional public hearings across the State of Illinois, seeking public input from all stakeholders representing interests in each eligible vehicle classification cited in the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund, with specific merit given to proposals that achieve the intended Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund goal of cost-effectively reducing NOx emission through the replacement of older vehicles with viable, trustee-approved vehicles and infrastructure.