The Department issues an open invitation to interested individuals to attend one of five public meetings on Florida’s Diesel Emission Mitigation Program, which stems from the United States government’s settlement with Volkswagen resolving claims ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Department) Division of Air Resource Management (Division) announces a series of public informational meetings to which all persons are invited, and the opening of a 60-day period for all persons to complete an online public survey, the results of which the Department will use in developing Florida’s State Beneficiary Mitigation Plan under the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Environmental Mitigation Trust.

DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, March 21, 2018, 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

PLACE: Department of Environmental Protection, Northeast District Office, 8800 Baymeadows Way West, Suite 100, Jacksonville, Florida 32256

 

DATE AND TIME: Thursday, March 22, 2018, 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

PLACE: Department of Environmental Protection, Bob Martinez Center, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, FL 32399

 

DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, March 27, 2018, 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

PLACE: Department of Environmental Protection, Central District Office, 3319 Maguire Boulevard, Orlando FL, 32803

 

DATE AND TIME: Wednesday, March 28, 2018, 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

PLACE: Department of Environmental Protection, Southwest District Office, 13051 North Telecom Parkway, Suite 101, Temple Terrace, FL 33637

 

DATE AND TIME: Thursday, March 29, 2018, 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

PLACE: Department of Environmental Protection, Southeast District – West Palm Beach, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406

 

GENERAL SUBJECT MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED: The Department issues an open invitation to interested individuals to attend one of five public meetings on Florida’s Diesel Emission Mitigation Program, which stems from the United States government’s settlement with Volkswagen resolving claims that it violated the Clean Air Act by selling diesel vehicles that violated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mobile source emission standards. Each meeting will consist of a presentation describing the mitigation planning process and an opportunity for attendees to meet Division staff who will be developing Florida’s State Beneficiary Mitigation Plan. For individuals who are unable to attend an in-person meeting, the Department will host two webinars on which identical information will be presented to attendees. The Department will announce the dates and times for those webinars in a future notice. All presentation materials used at the in-person meeting and webinar will be posted to the Department’s website in coming weeks.

The Department respectfully requests that persons planning to attend any one of the public meetings submit an RSVP, email the Division at [e-mail], or contact John Paul Fraites at [phone].

The Department also announces the opening of an online public survey (Diesel Emissions Mitigation Program Public Survey), which will be available for a period 60 days. The survey will close on May 12, 2018. The Department will use responses obtained through this survey in developing Florida’s State Beneficiary Mitigation Plan. Individuals interested in submitting general comments on Florida’s approach to developing the State Beneficiary Mitigation plan may also email those comments to [e-mail].

Consistent with the terms of the Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Environmental Mitigation Trust, Florida’s State Beneficiary Mitigation Plan must be submitted to the Trustee at least 30 days prior to the submittal of any project-specific funding request. At this time, the Department is focused exclusively on the development of Florida’s State Beneficiary Mitigation Plan. The Department is not soliciting funding requests or proposals for any specific diesel emissions mitigation project.

For more information about Florida’s Diesel Emission Mitigation Program, please visit: https://floridadep.gov/air/air-director/content/volkswagen-settlement-florida-mitigation-fund.

A copy of the agenda may be obtained by contacting: Mr. John Paul Fraites, [phone] or [e-mail].

Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 48 hours before the workshop/meeting by contacting Mr. John Paul Fraites, [phone] or [e-mail]. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).

For more information, you may contact Mr. John Paul Fraites, [phone] or [e-mail].