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Reformulated Gasoline Settlement Fund – Unocal

For Grants to Achieve Fuel or Air Emissions Benefits for California Consumers

The deadline for grant applications was May 3, 2010. Applications are no longer being accepted.

On November 24, 2008, the Honorable Christina A. Snyder of the United States District Court for the Central District of California issued an Order of Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and an Order appointing Harry Snyder and Carl Oshiro Cy Pres Grants Administrators in a class action entitled In Re Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) Antitrust & Patent Litigation, MDL Case No. 05-1671 CAS (VBKx).

The lawsuit concerned reformulated gasoline that complies with low emissions standards set by the California Air Resources Board ("CARB"). The class action claimed that Unocal successfully convinced CARB to adopt its proprietary formula for this gasoline. It also claimed Unocal did not tell CARB that it intended to charge competing oil companies royalties for using its gasoline formula, contrary to CARB's policies. As a result, the lawsuit claimed that prices increased for CARB-compliant summertime reformulated gasoline sold by all gasoline companies as a result of Unocal's conduct. Unocal denies all the claims or that the price of gasoline increased as a result of its conduct.

As Grants Administrators we prepared and issued a Notice of Funds Availability and Request for Proposal from eligible nonprofit charitable organizations for grants to improve air quality in California. Priority was given to projects focused on replacing high emissions vehicles and creating programs to improve air quality or fuel efficiency.

Grants Awarded from the Reformulated Gasoline Settlement Fund

• Balance Foundation (California Fast Charge Project) ($615,800) to (a) develop and deploy model ordinances and guidelines to reduce the cost of installing residential electric vehicle chargers and (b) develop and deploy streamlined electric vehicle permitting processes for use by local building departments and inspectors in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California.
  
  
• Bay Area Clean Air Foundation (Urban Mobility Solution: Long Range Plug-In Hybrids) ($546,097) to (a) convert 10 hybrid electric vehicles to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (b) deploy them as part of City CarShare's fleet to promote car sharing in the Bay Area, (c) evaluate deployment of plug-in electric vehicles and develop best practices for car sharing fleets.
  
  
• California Center for Sustainable Energy (Alternate Fuel and Clean Vehicle Rebate Program) ($923,442) to (a) implement a vehicle rebate program to replace approximately 200 shuttles, taxis, and door-to-door vans serving the San Diego Airport with alternative fuel vehicles, (b) provide basic technical training to fleet managers on natural gas, hybrid and electric vehicles, and (c) coordinate local governments in planning and deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure.
  
  
• Center for Community and Environmental Justice (Air Filtration and Community Education Outreach Program) ($1,000,000) to install and maintain high-performance air filtration systems in four schools and one community center in areas heavily impacted by diesel emissions from rail yards and trucks in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
  
  
• Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology (California Advanced Vehicle and Infrastructure Project) ($377,225) to convene and facilitate collaborative stakeholder processes to address the logistical and systems barriers to the deployment of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in California.
  
  
• East Bay Clean Cities Coalition (Altamont Biomethane Fueling Station) ($500,000) to construct a Biomethane Fueling Station at the Altamont Landfill to fuel heavy-duty trucks with Compressed Natural Gas.
  
  
• Mothers of East Los Angeles (MELA Air Filtration Implementation) ($950,000) to install high-performance air filtration systems in six inner city schools located close to congested freeways in East LA.
  
  
• Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium (Gasoline Hybrid Electric & Plug-in Electric Training) ($675,675) to develop curricula and train mechanics on how to maintain electric gas hybrid buses in transit fleets in Southern California.
  
  
• Uncommon Good (Greenspace) ($836,406) to create a Superadobe building called Greenspace to be a model on how to eliminate carbon emissions from buildings, achieve a zero carbon footprint for their operation, and a near zero carbon footprint for construction. The new building will be used as their headquarters and an environmental education center.