© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Missouri Deciding on How to Spend Volkswagen Settlement Money

In 2016, the United States settled a case against Volkswagen resulting in a $14 billion settlement, and Missouri is getting a $41 million cut.

According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the settlement consists of multiple agreements and requires Volkswagen to take certain actions, such as paying $2.9 billion to a national environmental mitigation trust fund.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is trying to decide how the State of Missouri will spend the 41 million dollars it will receive from the German car company. There are 10 different options for how the money can be used to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.

Kyra Moore, director of the Air Pollution Control Program, said the department wants the public’s help to decide how the money should be spent.

“We don’t want to make these decisions ourselves,” Moore said. “We want input on how the public wants these funds to be used in the state of Missouri. So we are inviting anyone with an interest in this settlement fund to provide us with their feedback.”

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will be holding a series of public meetings in Kansas City, Springfield, St. Louis and Jefferson City to get this feedback.

Hannah Haynes is studying convergence radio reporting at the University of Missouri. She spent this past fall interning for a radio program and print publication in Brussels, Belgium.