After suing Volkswagen over its emissions scandal, the state of Oklahoma now has to go through a comment period in order to receive $21 million in a settlement with the car maker.
The Department of Environmental Quality announced this week it plans to hold a May 8 public meeting as part of the development of a plan for spending the money. The Beneficiary Mitigation Plan is part of the requirement of VW’s settlement with the U.S. It will include how the state plans to spend the money in reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions in the transportation sector.
The state’s proposed plan can be seen on the DEQ website, www.deq.state.ok.us/aqdnew/vwsettlement. But the DEQ also has to allow input from the public and that will happen at the May 8 meeting from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the DEQ headquarters, 7007 N. Robinson in Oklahoma City.
DEQ staff will provide an overview of the plan and afterward, oral comments will be received. The agency is encouraging a written summary be submitted when making an oral comment. Comments will become public record.
The DEQ, according to the announcement, will review all comments in order to determine whether to finalize the Beneficiary Mitigation Plan. But it will not respond to the comments.
The comment period is currently open and comments made by submitted to Heather Lerch, Air Quality Division, PO Box 1677, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73101 or by email at vwsettlement@deq.ok.gov.
The deadline for the comments is May 24, 2018.
