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IU McKinney School Professor of Practice Janet McCabe spoke to a committee of former lawmakers, state officials and environmental experts, appointed by Governor Holcomb to decide how Indiana will spend $40.9 million, its share of the penalty Volkswagen is paying for cheating on diesel emissions standards for half a decade.

On June 5, the committee, chaired by former state Senator Beverly Gard, heard from Professor McCabe, as well as other experts, about how the money should be allocated. It can only be used to replace current on-road or off-road diesel engines with cleaner ones or invest in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

The story was covered by Nuvo, which noted that Professor McCabe shared with the committee the effects of diesel emissions on the human body. She explained the health hazards for short- and long-term exposure and how the smaller fine particles of diesel emissions are more dangerous because they can be inhaled more deeply into the lungs and pass through the body’s natural filter system.

Professor McCabe is Assistant Director for Policy and Implementation at IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute. She is a Senior Law Fellow with the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Professor McCabe served as Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the United States Environmental Protection Agency and was nominated by President Barack Obama to be Assistant Administrator of that office.