The Washington State Department of Ecology Olympia is accepting applications for its Volkswagen Enforcement Action Grant.
Donor Name: Washington State Department of Ecology
State: Washington
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/09/2026
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
The Trustee for the federal Volkswagen (VW) settlement certified Washington as a beneficiary to the settlement’s environmental mitigation trust. The trust allocates $112.7 million to Washington to mitigate environmental damage caused by pollution from the violating VW vehicles
For the purposes of this grant, common terms are defined below:
- DCFC/Fast charging stations: Stations which can rapidly recharge electric vehicle (EV) batteries using direct current (DC)
- “Full Public Access”: Charging stations which must be available to the public 7 days a week for a minimum of 12 hours a day, year-round
- Ground disturbance: Any activity that disturbs or alters the soil, ground surface, or subsurface, even in previously developed or paved areas. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Trenching (for conduit, electrical lines, or utilities)
- Excavation or digging
- Drilling, boring, or auguring
- Grading or leveling
- Installation of equipment requiring anchoring, footings, or concrete pads
- Stations which use a 240V AC power supply on a dedicated circuit to recharge electric vehicle (EV) batteries. For this grant program, DC charging below 25kWH may be considered Level 2 and reimbursed at the same funding level.
- DCFC/Fast charging stations above
- Location: A project location is a distinct address
Goals
- Reduce emissions from diesel engines in the state where the 2.0- and 3.0-liter Volkswagen vehicles were, are, or will be operated
- Fully mitigate the total, lifetime excess NOx emissions of the subject vehicles
Principles
- Improve air quality for communities that have borne a disproportionate share of the air pollution in Washington
- Provide air quality benefits in addition to NOx reductions
- Maximize air quality benefits that improve public health.
Priorities
- Accelerate adoption of electric vehicles, equipment, and vessels
- Promote electrification technologies in public transportation fleets
- Accelerate fleet turnover to the cleanest vehicles
- Achieve substantial additional emission reductions, beyond what would already occur, absent trust funding
- Ensure cost-effectiveness
- Leverage additional matching funds
- Grant awards also align with the state’s objectives under the:
- Washington Clean Air Act
- Washington greenhouse gas emission reduction limits (Chapter 70.235 RCW)
- Washington Fuel Usage Goals for Publicly Owned Vehicles (RCW 43.19.648)
- Washington Clean Energy Fund
- Results Washington Clean Transportation and Healthy Air Goal
- State and local government vehicle procurement rules
- Washington Climate Commitment Act
- Washington’s Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act
Funding Information
$8M total available for Level 2 and Level 3 charging.
- $2M is allocated for Level 2 charging projects
- $6M is allocated for Level 3 charging projects
Grant Period
- Must be completed by June 30, 2028
- (DCFC) stations and any associated Level 2 stations: Must be completed by June 30, 2029
Eligible Projects
- Charge Where You Are: Connecting Washington
- (DCFC) full public access (including any associated Level 2 plugs)
- (DCFC) public agency light duty fleet charging (including any associated Level 2 plugs)
- Full public access, government-owned property
- Full public access, non-government owned property
- Residential multi-unit dwelling (single unit residences are not eligible) workplace charging
- Rails, Keels, and Wheels – Eligible projects include replacing or repowering:
- Class 4–8 vehicles (weighing 14,001 lbs. and above), model years 1992–2009 including:
- Emergency
- Paratransit
- Local freight
- Freight switcher locomotive
- Tugboat (repower only)
Eligibility Criteria
Organizations licensed in Washington, including but not limited to:
- Corporations
- Partnerships
- Limited liability companies
- Other legal business entities
- Non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations
- Investor-owned utilities and contracted municipal utilities
- Multi-unit/multi-family residential buildings
- State, local, or Tribal governments and related entities in Washington, including but not limited to:
- Cities and towns
- State and local parks
- Counties
- Special districts (such as health districts, fire districts, college districts, metropolitan municipal corporations)
- Port authorities
- Public utility districts and municipal utilities
- Clean air agencies.
For more information, visit Washington State Department of Ecology.
