NC needs to put VW settlement funds to work

The settlement in the Volkswagen auto emissions scandal will provide North Carolina $92 million over 10 years to encourage the deployment of more zero and low-emission vehicles. This should be an opportunity for a state with a lot of high-tech resources – including several engine manufacturers – to encourage innovations in engine design and wider use of electric vehicles. But instead the opportunity is stuck in a smoggy traffic jam in the General Assembly.

The legislature’s Republican leaders, whose main aim these days is to limit or usurp the power of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, want to control the settlement money even though such payments are typically disbursed through the governor’s office. Cooper, who worked on the settlement as attorney general, says his office should determine how the mitigation funds are spent. Cooper has sued the legislative leaders saying their demand violates the state Constitution’s delegation of powers and terms of the VW settlement.

There’s no reason for lawmakers to be meddling in this matter. Cooper knows the restrictions of the settlement, and agencies under his control – either the Department of Transportation or the Department of Environmental Quality – will oversee how the money is spent. Subjecting the funds to the political horse trading of legislative appropriations ensures that the opportunity will not be fully realized and may well be squandered.

Even now the legislative grab and the ensuing court case are thwarting the process. A lead agency for the project has not been designated and university researchers and industry engineers have not been engaged even though the settlement was announced in June 2016 and became effective Oct. 2. Some other states already have plans in place or are soliciting ideas from the public.

The delay is frustrating for those eager to put the VW windfall to work.

If the court breaks the impasse, Rick Sapienza, clean transportation program director at N.C. State University’s Clean Energy Technology Center, has plenty of ideas about how the money should be spent. For starters, he suggests boosting the impact of VW funds by combining them with contributions from municipalities and companies for certain projects. The money could also be use to meet cost-share requirements to obtain federal grants.

“It’s a great opportunity. You’ll have money coming in for number of years. Try to make it go as far as you can,” he said.

One point of contention will be deciding whether to emphasize an immediate reduction in emissions now, or to encourage technologies that will reduce pollution in the future. Money could be spent on more efficient engines for train locomotives of heavy construction vehicles to cut heavy emissions now. Or the money could be spent to encourage the use of vehicles that run on natural gas and biofuels. It could also spur the conversion to electric vehicles by adding charging stations, especially in private settings such as apartment complexes.

Sapienza prefers an approach that emphasizes cleaner engineering tomorrow rather than mitigating emission from engine types that likely will not be around 30 years from now.

“I would consider this as an investment. Don’t just put the money through,” he said.

But first, the VW settlement money needs to come out. Legislative leaders should drop their claim on it and let North Carolina’s effort to encourage low-emission vehicles get rolling.

This story was originally published October 29, 2017 at 8:30 AM with the headline "NC needs to put VW settlement funds to work."