Congressman Thinks WVU Should Benefit from Volkswagen Discovery

During a congressional hearing on Volkswagen’s emissions rigging today a Virginia congressman said he thinks neighboring West Virginia University should benefit from its discovery of Volkswagen’s emissions-rigging scandal.

Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith said the university should receive part of any settlement or fine imposed on VW by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The university and the nonprofit pollution control advocate International Council on Clean Transportation reported last year that VW cars had significantly higher emissions than allowed by the EPA. The council and WVU reported their findings to the EPA and the California Air Resources Board in May 2014, but VW blamed the problem on technical issues and unexpected conditions. The automaker finally admitted last month it was using a so-called “defeat device” to bypass EPA emission standards for clean air.