EXCERPT: “The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Wednesday said it will use $47 million paid by Volkswagen for the company’s air pollution violations to pay for cleaner school buses, electric car charging stations and other cleaner vehicles across the state. PCA officials said they received more than 1,000 public comments in recent months on how to spend Minnesota’s share of the massive fines the German automaker had to pay after being caught cheating on air emissions controls on diesel cars . . . The spending plan was praised by Michael Noble, executive director of the environmental group Fresh Energy. ‘Rural utilities, cities, counties and schools have all expressed interest in electrifying their fleet vehicles and buses and this plan makes sure people in every corner of the state has a chance to access these funds,” Noble said in responding to the state plan. ‘Electrifying our transportation system improves air quality in our neighborhoods and reduces emissions overall. This settlement is a big opportunity to move Minnesota forward in cleaning up our transportation system.'” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2JKi65g
