Posts – Page 12 – Environmental Technical Assistance Program Newsletter

Environmental News Highlights – December 13, 2023

Oregon DOT Plugs Underserved Areas into EV Infrastructure

The Oregon Department of Transportation is spending $1.75 million to help companies, schools, apartment building owners, small towns, and other groups build 370 new public Level 2 electric vehicle or EV charging ports in rural and disadvantaged areas.

[Above photo by the Oregon DOT]

The Community Charging Rebates Program is one way Oregon DOT is trying to beef up the state’s EV charging infrastructure to simultaneously encourage and meet the demand for zero-emission vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A 2022 Oregon DOT study noted that the state will need about 17,000 Level 2 charging ports by 2025 to meet a goal of 250,000 registered EVs in the state.

Under the program, which is 100 percent state funded, organizations can get rebates of up to 75 percent of the cost of buying and installing EV charging stations at multifamily homes and public parking areas. ODOT reserved 70 percent of the first funding round to applicants who would build EV charging stations in rural or disadvantaged communities.

“Some sections of the state have EV charging gaps,” noted Oregon DOT spokesman Matt Noble. “These are populations we serve that haven’t seen the level of EV infrastructure investment as other areas.”

Of the 94 projects receiving awards via this program, 79 are in rural or disadvantaged communities, according to an agency statement. Noble added the response to the program was “overwhelmingly positive,” so Oregon DOT plans to do a second round of funding in March 2024.

The money for the Community Charging Rebates program is from a $100 million federal-state fund the Oregon Transportation Commission created in 2022 to build out the EV charging infrastructure. Most of that money is going toward Alternative Fuel Corridors; routes approved by the Federal Highway Administration where states may use federal funding to build alternative fuel infrastructure. In Oregon, those routes include seven interstate highways.

The remaining $36 million – all state cash – is being used to build charging stations in places that are not along those corridors. By growing the charging infrastructure in those areas, the Oregon DOT is hoping to overcome one of the biggest hurdles to EV ownership: range anxiety.

Oregon has more than doubled the number of registered EVs in the state since 2020, from less than 23,000 to about 51,000, according to statistics from the Oregon Department of Energy. There are about 2,800 Level 2 and fast-charging ports across the state, a ratio of one port for every 18 vehicles.

That’s fewer than the national average of about 15 vehicles per port, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy.

For a broader look at EV infrastructure advancement, the Alternative Fuels Data Center – operated by the DOE – maintains state-by-state information on the number and types of EV stations and ports, as well as a breakdown of all alternative fuel stations, such as biodiesel and propane.

Other state departments of transportation are also engaging in efforts to build out EV support infrastructure.

For example, the Utah Department of Transportation recently announced plans to double the state’s current fast charging capacity for electric vehicles by the end of 2024 with the addition of 15 new sites funded through the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI Formula Program launched in 2022.

Since 2015, the agency said the number of EVs in Utah has grown by an average of 48 percent year over year – and the rate of growth is climbing. To meet this increasing need, the Utah DOT – together with the Utah Office of Energy Development – identified 15 strategic sites for EV fast chargers on major state roads. In response, private entities submitted 75 applications to match their private fund with NEVI funding.

Meanwhile, the Maryland Department of Transportation introduced a new tool in June to help local governments and agencies dip into $2.5 billion in federal grants to build an electric vehicle or EV charging network.

The agency’s EV Charger Siting Tool is a map-based website that helps the user select those communities and charging sites in Maryland that have the best chance of securing grants under Federal Highway Administration’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure or CFI discretionary grant program, funded by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA enacted in November 2021.

The tool consolidates geographic data on existing chargers, registered EV users, disadvantaged communities, alternative fuel corridors, and “marginalized and underserved communities targeted for investment to address climate change and clean energy needs,” the Maryland DOT noted.

TxDOT Highlights Work with Native American Tribes

To help honor and preserve Native American history in Texas, the Texas Department of Transportation recently highlighted the cultural resources it developed to further bolster its relationship with the 28 federally-recognized tribes connected to the Lone Star state.

[Above image by TxDOT]

As part of that effort, in early 2023, TxDOT published Texas & Tribes: A Shared Tradition to tell the stories of those tribes and their role in Texas history and culture.

“Every day, TxDOT cultural resources staff learn more about Texas history and the people that made homes here, including Native American history, as part of our environmental planning,” explained Rebekah Dobrasko, TxDOT’s cultural resources director, in a statement. “We wanted to publish ‘Texas & Tribes’ to connect people with Texas history and show how Native American tribes played key roles in our history and culture.”

Little known pieces of history fill this book, as hundreds of different tribes lived in Texas for at least 15,000 years before the arrival of Europeans – including the Caddo, Comanche, Apache, Kiowa, Choctaw, Kickapoo and Tonkawa. Today, TxDOT said communities across the state have incorporated many of the early traditions of those tribes, including transportation routes, culinary practices and ways of life.

“We believe it is critical to work with tribal leaders on this history, because knowing these important cultural stories and historic places can help TxDOT plan to avoid them during our transportation projects,” Dobrasko pointed out. “Sharing and honoring this history is important to tribes, and TxDOT is committed to deepening our relationship with our tribal partners.”

Other state departments of transportation across the country are engaged in similar efforts.

For example, one of the newest “next generation” highway rest areas built and maintained by the Iowa Department of Transportation also doubles as a museum of Native American culture.

Traveling northbound on Interstate 29 in western Iowa, the agency’s newest rest area is nestled near the Loess Hills just west of Glenwood and highlights the history of the Native American tribes of that area and how they are connected to what archaeologists call the “Central Plains Tradition.”

Meanwhile, in September, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation highlighted how federal funding is helping the department create a Tribal Technical Assistance Program or TTAP Center for 65 tribal nations across 30 states.

The Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory or TOPS Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently received a two-year $625,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Wisconsin DOT said it will work with the school to create a TTAP Center to support transportation investments on tribal lands and other tribal initiatives related to training, technical assistance and technology services.

Also, in January 2022, the Colorado Department of Transportation debuted a documentary called “Durango 550: Path of the Ancestral Puebloans” to show how the agency worked with archaeologists and regional Native American tribes to document, study, and ultimately share the discoveries unearthed near Durango in southwest Colorado.

Environmental News Highlights – December 6, 2023

FEDERAL ACTION

AASHTO Holds Winter Meeting on Public Transit Issues -AASHTO Journal

Tackling the Climate Crisis -Department of Interior

Transportation, Infrastructure Move Toward Electrification -Government Technology

Cities can achieve sustainability wins with micro transportation, green infrastructure and climate resilience planning -American City & County

U.S. Department of Transportation Announces New Thought Leadership Series “Up, Up, and Away: Innovations in Advanced Air Mobility -FAA (media release)

COVID-19

Has the pandemic forever changed our walking habits? -Talking Michigan Transportation podcast

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Hawaii DOT Helping with Emergency Stormwater Project -AASHTO Journal

Connecticut Moves To Soften EV Mandate –ClearTechnica

San Diegans love their cars. SANDAG wants employers to encourage a different way to commute –inewssource

Massachusetts launches ResilientCoast initiative -WCVB-TV

Detroit touts first wireless-charging public road for electric vehicles in US -Detroit Free Press

New York City redesigning thousands of intersections to make them safer for pedestrians -WCBS-TV

AIR QUALITY

Railroads take on EPA’s pollution-reporting proposal –Freightwaves

Air pollution from heavy traffic can raise blood pressure, researchers say -Medical News Today

Reaching for air: How a historic mistake led to Salt Lake City’s pollution nightmare -KUER Radio/Salt Lake Tribune

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE/EQUITY

Republicans’ EJ battle plan –Axios

Where Is Noise Pollution The Worst? Redlined Neighborhoods –Grist

Braille signage installed on all 8,400+ bus stops in Metro Vancouver, BC -TransLink (blog)

Biden-⁠Harris Administration Continues to Accelerate Environmental Justice in Disadvantaged Communities through the President’s Investing in America Agenda -White House (media release)

NATURAL RESOURCES

Florida’s coral reefs are recovering after record high ocean temperatures –NPR

Feds give grant to study wildlife crossings in Virginia -Cardinal News

CULTURAL RESOURCES

NCDOT Seeks Entries for Yearly Aviation Art Contest -AASHTO Journal

Crossing paths: New photography project takes aim at the impacts of transportation on wildlife -Canadian Geographic

America’s last lighthouse keeper is retiring. She, and her light, are ready. -Christian Science Monitor

Honoring Native American Heritage Month -Voices for Public Transportation (blog)

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

DC could ban cars in 3 corridors and create pedestrian zones -WTOP Radio

Walkers and cyclists added to Nebraska’s road safety plan for the first time -Omaha World-Herald

Key stretch of Adirondack Rail Trail is complete between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid -Adirondack Explorer

Santa Barbara, California Public Library Helping People Try E-Bikes For Free -Yale Climate Connections

NTSB to Hold Summit on Pilot Mental Health -NTSB (media release)

TRB RESOURCES/RESEARCH/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Exploring the Future of Public Transportation Research: A National Online Dialogue –FTA

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Fiscal Year 2024 Competitive Funding Opportunity: All Stations Accessibility Program -FTA (Notice of funding opportunity)

Notice of Availability and Extension of Comment Period for the Preliminary Designation of Certain Stormwater Discharges Within Two Watersheds in Los Angeles County, California Under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System of the Clean Water Act –EPA (Notice)

Federal Land Managers’ Air Quality Related Values Work Group (FLAG); Draft Addendum to 2010 Phase 1 Report -Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service (Notice of availability)

Request for Information on the Coast Guard Implementation of a Western Alaska Oil Spill Planning Criteria Program -Coast Guard (Request for information)

Forest Service Manual 2000 National Forest Resource Management; Chapter 2040 National Forest System Monitoring -Forest Service (Notice of availability for public comment)

Notice of Availability of a Joint Record of Decision for the Proposed Empire Offshore Wind Projects -Bureau of Ocean Energy and National Marine Fisheries Service (Notice)

Decommissioning and Disposition of the National Historic Landmark Nuclear Ship Savannah; Notice of Site Visit -Maritime Administration (Notice)

FHWA Issues Finalized GHG Performance Measurement Rule

The Federal Highway Administration recently issued a finalized performance measurement rule to provide state departments of transportation and Metropolitan Planning Organizations with a “national framework” for tracking transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions GHGs, along with the requirement to set their own targets for GHG reduction.

[Above image by FHWA]

Entitled “National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measure,” FHWA’s final GHG performance rule – located in the Federal Register under docket number FHWA-2021-0004 – largely retains what the agency issued in its notice of proposed rulemaking in July 2022, which required state DOTs and MPOs to establish declining carbon dioxide (CO2) targets for the GHG measure on the 223,668-mile National Highway System (NHS) and report on progress toward the achievement of those targets.

The final rule defines the GHG measure to be the percent change in on-road tailpipe CO2 emissions on the NHS, relative to the reference year of 2022 instead of 2021 – a recommendation the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials submitted to FHWA in its commentary on the GHG performance measure.

As a result, state DOTs must establish targets no later than February 1, 2024, with MPOs required to establish targets no later than 180 days after the state DOT.

FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt emphasized that this new tool will play a key role in the Biden administration’s effort to cut U.S. carbon pollution in half by 2030.

“Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and reducing emissions from that sector while ensuring our economy works for everyday Americans is critical to addressing the climate crisis,” he noted in a statement. “We don’t expect state DOTs and MPOs to solve a problem this large on their own, which is why this performance measure does not impose penalties for those who miss their targets.”

AASHTO noted in its commentary on the proposed rule that state DOTs “recognize the urgency and need to address and mitigate climate change given its harmful impacts to both the natural and built environment” and thus “strongly support” FHWA’s overall goal and intent of reducing GHGs.

AASHTO further noted that, regardless of FHWA’s GHG measure, all state DOTs are “addressing extreme weather impacts” as part of their transportation asset management plans which serve to guide their investment decisions.

“In addition, many states are developing resilience improvement plans to holistically understand how they can make the transportation infrastructure more resilient to withstand the effects of extreme weather and climate change,” the organization added.

That being said, AASHTO also noted that not all state DOTs have the same ability to directly affect the reduction in GHG emissions, nor do they have control over certain strategies and tactics that may look promising for reducing GHG emissions.

“These strategies and actions will vary by state and, like other state and federal transportation goals, require different approaches appropriate to the specific state context,” the organization noted.

In addition, AASHTO had expressed in its 2022 comments that it does not agree FHWA was provided the necessary legal authority by Congress to establish this particular performance measure, as the approach to establishing the GHG rule could lead to the establishment of new and additional performance measures without explicit Congressional authorization in the future.

Beyond the development of FHWA’s regulation, several states have been engaging in their own carbon-reduction efforts.

For example, in August 2021, the Colorado Transportation Commission proposed new transportation pollution reduction planning standards on August 16 that seek to cut greenhouse gas or GHG emissions from the state’s transportation sector while improving statewide air quality and reducing smog.

Known as the “Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Planning Standard,” that rule aims to “shape” how state and local governments plan projects to ensure future transportation infrastructure supports cleaner air and fights climate change, all while providing more “travel options” to Colorado residents.

As part of that effort, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado Energy Office, and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment developed a “Clean Truck Strategy” in March 2022 that seeks to lower greenhouse gas or GHG emissions from heavy- and medium-duty vehicles by at least 45 percent statewide by 2050.

Meanwhile, the Indiana Department of Transportation issued a Carbon Reduction Strategy document in December 2022. That plan recognizes that, while expected economic growth and heavy freight activity across the state are just some of the headwinds the agency will face in achieving its CO2 reduction objectives, technological advances and deepening partnerships with MPOs, logistics industry, transit agencies and other key stakeholders should help cut GHG emissions across Indiana’s transportation system.

Utah Aims to Double EV Fast Charging Capacity in 2024

The Utah Department of Transportation plans to double the state’s current fast charging capacity for electric vehicles by the end of 2024 with the addition of 15 new sites funded through the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI Formula Program launched in 2022.

[Above image by Utah DOT]

[Editor’s note: The Federal Highway Administration issued final approvals for EV infrastructure deployment plans submitted by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in September 2022; plans required in order to access NEVI funding. All of those plans were updated in 2023 to include details regarding ongoing transportation electrification projects.]

The agency – which awarded NEVI program grants for those 15 sites in mid-November – said that fast charging site expansion should allow EV owners to travel anywhere along Utah’s interstates, US-6, and US-191.

“The future is coming, and these 15 new fast charging sites will ensure Utah will be ready for it,” explained Utah DOT Executive Director Carlos Braceras in a statement. “Building out the statewide charging network really opens the door to let Utahns choose to travel where they want, when they want, in the way they want.”

He noted that creating a charging network of this magnitude requires a team effort between the federal government, the state of Utah and private businesses. Utah is receiving about $36 million in federal funding, and – when combined with a minimum 20 percent private match – the program is expected to invest a total of $43 million in the state’s EV charging network.

In this first phase of the program, about $17.5 million will be invested in providing the traveling public with access to fast EV charging every 50 miles along Utah’s interstate highways. No state taxpayer dollars are being used in this phase, as Utah DOT is entering into public-private partnerships to implement the project.

State departments of transportation across the country are engaged in a variety of efforts to support broader deployment of EVs.

For example, the Vermont Agency of Transportation is encouraging businesses, municipalities, and nonprofits to purchase or lease electric fleet vehicles by offering up to $5,000 in rebates for each plug-in EV that replaces an internal combustion engine-powered vehicle.

Concurrently, the North Carolina Department of Transportation is helping support the launch of the state’s first electric aircraft charging hub in early 2024 at Raleigh Executive Jetport in Sanford; a hub designed to be “multimodal” so it can charge not only electric aircraft but electric cars and trucks as well.

Meanwhile, Oregon residents living in multifamily homes as well as motorists near public parking areas may soon have better access to electric vehicle or EV charging stations, thanks to the new Community Charging Rebates Program being rolled out by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Environmental News Highlights – November 29, 2023

FEDERAL ACTION

State DOTs Win Top Prizes in America’s Transportation Awards Competition -AASHTO Journal

Fifth National Climate Assessment -US Global Change Research Program

Biden administration proposes limiting environmental reviews to speed up renewables -The Hill

NYC Congestion Pricing Could Unleash a Transportation Revolution –CityLab

Most Americans still have to commute every day. Here’s how that experience has changed. -New York Times

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

How one city funds climate resilience, a dollar at a time -Route Fifty

Port of Seattle moves forward on electrification -National Fisherman

Retired Wind Turbine Blades Live on as Park Benches and Picnic Tables -Bloomberg Green

Minnesota’s Metro Transit Using Rainwater To Clean Buses At New Garage -KMSP-TV

AIR QUALITY

So Thieves Nabbed Your Catalytic Converter. Here’s Where It Ended Up. -New York Times

Researchers Explore Hydrogen Power for Railways -Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review (pdf)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE/EQUITY

The best and worst states for green, equitable transportation -Route Fifty

L.A. Agencies Sign Equity in Infrastructure Project Pledge and Launch ‘California Plan’ -Los Angeles Sentinel

85% of Rural Residents Have Reasonable Access to Intercity Transportation; Lack of Reasonable Access Falls Disproportionately on Low-Income Households -Bureau of Transportation Statistics (media release)

FTA Announces Nearly $5 Million Funding Opportunity to Improve Transit Access for Older Adults, People with Disabilities, and Low-Income Individuals -FTA (media release)

EPA Announces $2 Billion to Fund Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants as Part of Investing in America Agenda -EPA (media release)

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Truck hits Pennsylvania covered bridge that dates back to 1800s -WBAL-TV

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

San Diego votes to advance rolling back scooter laws after Bird pulls from city –KSWB

Chattanooga is reducing traffic lanes and adding bike lanes to more city streets -Chattanooga Times Free Press

Fighting loneliness with free transportation in Saco, Maine -WCSH-TV

Interactive map shows crash data between motorists and pedestrians, cyclists in Providence -Providence Business Journal

Commuter Dividend: The Economic Value of Commuters for City and Suburbs in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut Region -Regional Plan Association

TRB RESOURCES/RESEARCH/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Methods to Manage Tree Growth Near Airports –ACRP

How New Corporate Environmental Standards Will Impact Airports –ACRP

TRB’s involvement in research on Resilience from 2021-2023 -TRB (pdf)

TRB Webinar: Sustainable and Low-Carbon Solutions for Asphalt Pavements –NCHRP

TRB Webinar: Accessible Floating Bus Stops –TRB

TRB Webinar: Advancing Equity in Travel Experience – The Role of Gender and Identity –TRB

TRB Webinar: Climate Resilient Design for Culverts and Pavements –TRB

Navigating the 4-day Commute: Redesigning Employee Shuttle Programs -Association for Commuter Transportation (webinar)

Should Cities Tax Uber and Lyft? –SSRN

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Fiscal Year 2024 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility (ICAM) Pilot Program -FTA (Notice)

Safety Advisory 2023–07; Review and Implement New Predictive Weather Modeling and Proactive Safety Processes Across the National Rail Network To Prevent Weather-Related Accidents and Incidents -FRA (Notice)

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement To Reconsider a Highway Right-of-Way Application and Associated Amendment of an Incidental Take Permit, Washington County, Utah -Fish and Wildlife Service (Notice of intent)

Adoption and Submittal of State Plans for Designated Facilities: Implementing Regulations Under Clean Air Act Section 111(d) -EPA (Final rule)

Release of Achieving Health and Environmental Protection Through EPA’s Meaningful Involvement Policy -EPA (Draft policy; Notice of availability)

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council; Notification of Public Meeting -EPA (Notice)

White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council; Notification of Virtual Public Meeting -EPA (Notice)

National and Governmental Advisory Committees to the U.S. Representative to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) -EPA (Notice of meeting)

Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) and Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee (SCAS); Meeting -EPA (Notification of public meeting)

Environmental Justice Scorecard -Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (Request for information)

Multi-Year Certificate of Documentation for Recreational Vessel Owners -Coast Guard (Final rule)

Recreational Boating Safety Projects, Programs, and Activities Funded Under Provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; Fiscal Year 2023 -Coast Guard (Notice)

National Boating Safety Advisory Committee; Vacancies -Coast Guard (Request for applications)

Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board -Forest Service (Notice of meeting)

ETAP Podcast: Examining Reconnecting Community Projects

The third episode of a four-part Environmental Technical Assistance Program or ETAP podcast series focuses on the crucial connections required between planners, policymakers, and local communities to make active transportation systems more attractive, equitable, and inclusive for all users. (To listen to the first and second episodes, click here and here, respectively.)

[Above image by AASHTO]

The ETAP podcast – part of a technical service program for state departments of transportation provided by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials – explores a wide array of environmental topics that affect transportation and infrastructure programs.

This episode of the ETAP podcast delves into the recent “Reconnecting Communities Summit” that attracted representatives from 150 communities nationwide.

ReConnect Rondo hosted this event – held in St. Paul, MN, October 12-14 – which featured presentations by national and local transportation industry leaders and workshops discussing vital issues such as project fund development, transportation equity and environmental impact.

The AASHTO Center for Environmental Excellence – operated by AASHTO in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration – worked with the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials to help sponsor the “Reconnecting Communities Summit.”

This episode showcases interviews with summit attendees who have either secured grants, applied for them or are engaged in initiatives aiming to create a brighter future for their residents through community reconnection efforts.

The podcast features Heather McLauglin-Kolb with the Salt Lake City Division of Transportation and Cayce James with the City of Seattle. Additional speakers include J.T. Flowers, representing the Albina Vision Trust; Gretchen Chavez with the California Department of Transportation; and Lauren Hood, co-chair of Detroit’s Reparations Task Force. To listen to the full podcast, click here.

VTrans Offers Businesses & Others EV Fleet Savings

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is encouraging businesses, municipalities, and nonprofits to purchase or lease electric fleet vehicles by offering up to $5,000 in rebates for each plug-in EV that replaces an internal combustion engine-powered vehicle.

[Above photo by VTrans]

The “Electrify Your Fleet” program is making $500,000 available to fleet owners to “help create a robust market in our state of used electric vehicles so that more EVs will be available more affordably,” explained VTrans Secretary Joe Flynn in a news release.

The state-funded program will make it easier for businesses, municipalities, and nonprofits to buy or lease EVs, “realizing long- term cost-savings, reduce climate impacts, keep more money in the local economy, and better serve customers, clients, and citizens,” he added.

The agency said 40 percent of that funding is earmarked for Vermont applicants who are from or who serve historically underserved communities. While most applicants will be capped at $2,500 per EV, nonprofits that provide Vermonters with transportation alternatives to personal vehicle ownership can get up to a $5,000 rebate per EV.

The amount of the rebate cannot exceed 25 percent of the vehicle purchased or leased. By combining the “Electrify Your Fleet” program benefits with local utility rebates and federal tax cuts for clean commercial vehicles, applicants can save as much as $10,000 per EV, according to VTrans.

The department added that it kicked off the program as one way to “electrify the transportation sector” and “accelerate the retirement of internal combustion engine vehicles.” By helping to reduce fossil-fueled transportation, which is the state’s largest contributor of carbon emissions, Vermont municipalities and business entities can “enjoy the benefits of cleaner transportation options,” VTrans pointed out.

Rebate recipients must “demonstrate that the incentives will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their fleet operations,” the agency said, with fleet owners required to keep the EVs for at least two years and agree to sell them through Vermont’s income-eligible incentive program for used vehicles.

The rebates also can be applied to electric bikes, electric motorcycles, and electric snowmobiles, VTrans stressed.

The program is scheduled to conclude in June 2024, but the agency said it may extend the program if more funding becomes available.

Many state departments of transportation across the country are engaged in similar efforts to help people, communities, and businesses accelerate the transition to EVs:

The Oregon Department of Transportation has a community charging rebates program to defray the costs of Level 2 and Level 1 charging stations.
The Maryland Department of Transportation has developed a tool to help local governments and agencies access $2.5 billion in federal grants to build an EV charging network.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is supporting a new multi-modal electric charging hub at a Raleigh airport.

Environmental News Highlights – November 15, 2023

FEDERAL ACTION

Longest Serving USDOT Deputy Secretary Passes Away -AASHTO Journal

White House, Lawmakers Evaluate IIJA on Second Anniversary -Transport Topics

White House Regulation Plan Sets Path for Tougher Climate Rules -Bloomberg Law

Charging Forward: A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Urban Electric Mobility Infrastructure -U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (link to pdf)

Transit’s physical cliff: Climate change -Transportation for America (blog)

COVID-19

CDC expands testing of international air traveler samples to include flu, RSV, and other respiratory viruses -Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (media release)

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Indiana DOT Issues $91M in Community Crossings Grants -AASHTO Journal

Maryland transportation panel considers whether to recommend new fees for electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as higher tolls -WUSA-TV

Cities Experiment With Pedal-Powered Delivery Policies -Government Technology

Bottles to bridges: Glass-based concrete makes for a greener crossing -New Atlas

Parking garages are a huge wasted heat source -Anthropocene

Can Solar Panels in Highway ROW Be the Next Big Step in Renewable Energy? -Thinking Transportation (podcast)

AIR QUALITY

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Transportation Planning -FHWA Innovator

Midwest pollution spiked dramatically this summer because of Canadian wildfires. Now officials may erase those days from the books. -Chicago Tribune

Texas could spend federal funds meant to cut carbon emissions on highway projects -Texas Tribune

START Lab expansion aims to make aviation greener -Penn State University

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE/EQUITY

North Carolina DOT Official On Using AI And Cloud-Based Apps To Advance Transportation Equity -StateScoop

Illinois RTA provides 25,000 $20 transit passes to be distributed to survivors of domestic violence -Regional Transportation Authority (blog)

Apple And The EPA Take On The Future Of Environmental Policy -Forbes (contributed content)

NATURAL RESOURCES

Alaska Expands Reach of Unmanned Aerial systems in Remote Locations and Extreme Conditions -FHWA Innovator

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Historical Markers To Commemorate Saratoga Springs Cycling History -Saratoga Today

Want to save our cities? Look to San Francisco’s iconic survivor: the Ferry Building -Los Angeles Times

Forest County Potawatomi unveil dual language highway signs in Wisconsin -Wisconsin Law Journal

Does Anyone Know How to Behave on the Subway Anymore? -New York Times

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Officials seek feedback on plan to make Oklahoma streets more friendly for cyclists, walkers -Oklahoma Voice

Tensions Flare as Southern California Surf Communities Fight over E-Bikes –Surfer

Arroyofest returns to advocate active transportation -Talon Marks

Southmont, PA one of nine communities to win state’s ‘active transportation’ grant -Tribune-Democrat

Bike Utah: The e-bike revolution is here. That’s a good thing. -Salt Lake Tribune

TRB RESOURCES/RESEARCH/ANNOUNCEMENTS

What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options to Support Transportation? Results from Year Fourteen of a National Survey -Mineta Transportation Institute

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Locomotives and Locomotive Engines; Preemption of State and Local Regulations -EPA (Final rule)

Biannual Request for Information on the Status of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger Industry -FHWA (Notice)

Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC): Notice of Meeting -EPA (Notice)

Hazardous Materials: Public Meeting Notice for the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety Research, Development & Technology Virtual Forum -Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (Notice)

Request for Information: National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy -National Science Foundation (Notice)