Volkswagen Settlement Diesel Emission Mitigation Program – Class 8 Municipal Service Trucks and Port Drayage Trucks

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Resource Management, administers this funding opportunity under Florida's Volkswagen Settlement Diesel Emission Mitigation Program. The Notice of Funding Availability makes $20 million available to support the purchase of new Class 8 municipal service trucks and port drayage trucks powered by diesel, compressed natural gas, or propane. New vehicles must replace eligible diesel trucks with engine model year 2009 or older. The program is intended to reduce diesel-related emissions while supporting essential municipal services and port drayage operations within Florida. Eligible replacement municipal service trucks must be used for waste hauling, waste management activities, or other municipal services, including electrical utilities, potable water or wastewater utilities, and emergency response, in one or more Florida cities or counties. Eligible port drayage replacement trucks must be used for port drayage purposes at one or more Florida seaports. A qualifying participant must purchase one new diesel, CNG, or propane truck for each eligible existing unit that the participant scraps. Scrappage requirements apply as specified in Florida's Beneficiary Mitigation Plan under the Volkswagen Settlement. Eligible applicants include Florida county governments, Florida municipalities, non-governmental private commercial entities that provide municipal services for a Florida county or municipality under contract, and non-governmental private commercial entities that own and operate port drayage truck fleets at one or more Florida seaports. A governmental entity or private commercial entity providing municipal services under contract may receive funding for up to two eligible replacement units. A private municipal services entity operating under contracts in more than one county or municipality may submit separate applications for unit replacement projects within each separate county or municipality in which it provides services. Qualifying port drayage fleet owners and operators may receive funding for up to five eligible replacement units. Funding levels vary by applicant and project type. Qualifying governmental entities may receive up to $400,000 per eligible municipal service truck unit, subject to available funds and the Department's goal of awarding funds to as many qualifying governmental entities as possible. Qualifying private municipal services entities may receive up to $100,000 per eligible municipal service truck unit, with the award not exceeding 25 percent of the new unit price. Qualifying owners and operators of port drayage truck fleets may receive up to $150,000 per eligible replacement unit, with funding not exceeding 50 percent of the new unit price. Based on the maximum number of units permitted, a governmental municipal-services applicant could receive up to $800,000, a private municipal-services applicant up to $200,000, and a port drayage fleet applicant up to $750,000. The Department reserves the right to make additional Volkswagen Settlement funds available for new Class 8 municipal service or port drayage trucks if sufficient interest exists. The Department will prioritize awards to projects in areas of Florida engaged in disaster recovery and resiliency planning and in communities that have experienced disproportionate economic, environmental, and operational impacts from severe weather events in recent years and would also benefit from reductions in diesel-related emissions. The Department will additionally prioritize projects located in rural areas of opportunity as defined under Section 288.0656, Florida Statutes. The provided source does not identify additional scored evaluation criteria, a performance period, award notification date, or previous recipients. Florida entities seeking participation were instructed to download, complete, and submit the Class 8 Truck Project Application Worksheet. Applications were due Thursday, April 23, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. EST. The official notice was published in the Florida Administrative Register on March 24, 2026. No pre-application letter of intent, concept paper, or other gating submission is identified in the provided materials. No individual program contact name, email address, or telephone number is provided in the supplied source, and no explicit direct PDF URL is supplied. The notice does not state that the opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule, so no future recurring deadline is inferred.

Confirm that each replacement corresponds to an eligible diesel truck of engine model year 2009 or older and satisfies the one-for-one scrappage requirement; stay within the applicable unit and funding limits; clearly document project location and relevance to the Department's stated priorities for disaster recovery and resiliency planning, communities disproportionately affected by severe weather, diesel-emission reductions, and rural areas of opportunity.