Posts – Page 40 – Environmental Technical Assistance Program Newsletter

Environmental News Highlights – March 16, 2022

EPA Proposes New Emission Rules for Trucks, Engines

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to introduce stricter heavy-duty vehicle and engine emission rules starting in model year 2027.

[Above photo by the Missouri DOT]

The proposed standards would reduce emissions of smog- and soot-forming nitrogen oxides or NOx from heavy-duty gasoline and diesel engines, EPA said, while updating commercial vehicle greenhouse gas or GHG standards in certain categories.

Those GHG revisions focus on “subsectors” of the transportation industry where “electrification is advancing at a more rapid pace,” the agency said, such as school buses, transit buses, commercial delivery trucks, and short-haul tractors.

[Editor’s note: The U.S. Department of Energy released a 69-page study on March 7 compiled by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory purportedly showing that, by 2030, nearly half of medium- and heavy-duty trucks will be cheaper to buy, operate, and maintain as zero-emissions models versus traditional diesel-powered units.]

In a separate action, EPA said it plans to establish new GHG emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles as soon as model year 2030 – and action it said would “more comprehensively address” the long-term trend towards zero-emissions vehicles across the heavy-duty vehicle sector.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan noted in a statement that the proposed rule would help “chart a path” to increase the use of zero-emission models while reducing the exposure of communities comprised of “low income” residents and “people of color” to the pollution that causes respiratory and cardiovascular problems, among other serious health effects.

Consistent with an executive order issued by President Biden in August 2021, the new proposed rule would reduce NOx emissions from trucks by as much as 60 percent in 2045, with benefits exceeding its costs by “billions of dollars,” the EPA said. Those potential benefits include:

Up to 2,100 fewer premature deaths.
Roughly 6,700 fewer hospital admissions and emergency department visits.
Some 18,000 fewer cases of asthma onset in children.
About 3.1 million fewer cases of asthma symptoms and allergic rhinitis symptoms.
Some 78,000 fewer lost days of work.
About 1.1 million fewer lost school days for children.

The EPA added that this rulemaking effort is the “first step” in its longer-term “Clean Trucks Plan” – a series of clean air and climate regulations that the agency said it plans to develop over the next three years to reduce pollution from trucks and buses and to advance the transition to a zero-emissions transportation future.

Several states are creating similar emission reduction plans for vehicles, with state departments of transportation taking an active role in such efforts.

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

That proposed rule would require the Colorado Department of Transportation and the state’s five Metropolitan Planning Organizations to determine total pollution and GHG emissions increase or decrease expected from future transportation projects while taking steps to ensure that total GHG emission levels do not exceed set reduction amounts.

Furthermore, the Colorado DOT – in partnership with the Colorado Energy Office and Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment – recently unveiled the daft of a “Clean Truck Strategy” that seeks to lower greenhouse gas or GHG emissions from heavy- and medium-duty vehicles by at least 45 percent statewide by 2050.

Meanwhile, in January, California introduced a $6.1 billion zero-emission vehicle or ZEV fiscal support package to accelerate the state’s transition to ZEVs and “fight climate change” in the process.

Combined with a $3.9 billion ZEV investment package signed into law in September 2021, California would ultimately outlay $10 billion to support broader ZEV deployment statewide. That spending also dovetails with an executive order issued by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) in September 2020 that requires that all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California by 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles.

Concurrently, the Maryland Transit Administration – a division of the Maryland Department of Transportation – is moving forward to implement the state’s new Zero-Emission Bus Transition Act, which mandates all new buses procured for Maryland’s transit fleet be emission-free beginning in 2023.

The agency said it has committed to converting 50 percent of its bus fleet to zero-emission by 2030 while “seamlessly providing reliable, efficient service throughout the transition and beyond.”

AASHTO Helps Launch EV States Clearinghouse

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently helped establish a free repository of information on electric vehicles available to state agencies. State agencies must create a free account in order to use the clearinghouse, accessed by clicking here.

[Above photo by the Ohio DOT]

Called the “EV States Clearinghouse,” it contains a variety of documents such as sample requests for proposals or RFPs, sample contracts, EV infrastructure siting and assessment tools, plus other resources. Those tools and documents can help state agencies deploy the funding for EVs created in the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA – signed into law in November 2021 – which created the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI formula program. That program will allocate $5 billion to states through formula funds over the next five years to build out EV charging infrastructure.

Updates to the EV clearinghouse will continually occur, adding the most recent information on IIJA implementations as well as updates from states as they move through the various stages of EV deployment.

AASHTO helped develop this EV resource in partnership with the National Association of State Energy Officials, ICF, and Atlas Public Policy, with the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory providing support for this initiative.

Environmental News Highlights – March 9, 2022

FEDERAL ACTION

FHWA Submits ‘Complete Streets’ Report to Congress – AASHTO Journal

City Leaders Back Biden in Controversy Over Infrastructure Spending – Route Fifty

High Court Hears Consolidated Clean Air Cases – Engineering News-Record

EPA tosses Trump-era review process for science advisers – E&E News

Buttigieg Defends Infrastructure Law’s Implementation Before US Senate Panel – Transport Topics

COVID-19

US Travel Association, industry groups urge US Government to relax COVID-19 measures for travel – Centre for Aviation

15 Cities With the Biggest Improvement in Air Quality During COVID-19 – MSN

As workers make fewer office trips, commuter rail systems struggle to fill empty seats – Washington Post

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

MARAD Providing $25M in Marine Highway Grants – AASHTO Journal

Louisiana among states opposing ban on LNG rail transport – Greater Baton Rouge Business Report

How Minnesotans Are Creating Infrastructure With Climate Change In Mind – WCCO-TV

Utah railway meets opposition from Colorado over environmental concerns – AP

AIR QUALITY

School Bus Electrification With Sue Gander – AASHTO’s ETAP Podcast

Colorado’s clean truck strategy favors incentives now, regulations later – Colorado Public Radio

Advocates concerned air quality will get worse in Utah – KTVX-TV

Biden administration moves to cut smog-forming pollution from heavy trucks – The Washington Post

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Oregon lawmakers consider environmental justice bill – Oregon Public Broadcasting

Agriculture and environmental justice take priority in California’s climate plan – Agri-Pulse

NATURAL RESOURCES

Alaska Budget Contains Ice Road Maintenance Funds – AASHTO Journal

First, Do No Harm: When endangered species habitats lie in a roadway’s path. – Thinking Transportation (Podcast)

Poor weather conditions present in more than 10% of nation’s fatal crashes in 2020 – WTTG-TV

Effects of noise on marine life – ScienceDaily

America is finally cleaning up its abandoned, leaking oil wells – France24

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Sacramento looks to make Capitol Mall more pedestrian, cyclist friendly – KTXL-TV

Law protecting cyclists, pedestrians goes into effect in New Jersey – WCBS-TV

Raising Crosswalks to Make Deadly Intersections Safer in New York – New York Times

The Radical Roots of Bikesharing – CityLab

To Reduce Traffic Congestion, Increase Local Micromobility – Governing

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

TRB Webinar: Emerging Issues in Priced Managed Lane Networks – TRB

IBTTA Releases New Report on Lessons Learned For Emergency Management During Significant Events That Disrupt Operations – IBTTA (Link to PDF)

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

FY 2022 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Low or No Emission Grant Program and the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program – FTA (Notice of Funding Opportunity)

Approval of State Underground Storage Tank Program Revisions; Hawaii – EPA (Notification of final determination on the State of Hawaii’s application for final approval)

Membership in the National Parks Overflights Advisory Group – FAA (Solicitation of applications)

COVID – 19 Related Relief Concerning International Operations at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, New York LaGuardia Airport, Ronald Reagan – FAA (Notice of proposed extension of a limited, conditional waiver of the minimum slot usage requirement for international operations only)

Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council; Public Teleconference/Web Meeting – Fish and Wildlife Service (Notice)

Draft Revised Management Plan for the Chesapeake Bay Virginia National Estuarine Research Reserve – NOAA (Request for comments)

Evaluation of National Estuarine Research Reserve; Public Meeting; Request for Comments – NOAA (Notice)

Badger State Solar, LLC; Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Public Meeting – Rural Utilities Service (Notice)

Recertification of Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council – Coast Guard (Notice)

Colorado DOT Helps Craft Clean Truck Strategy

The Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado Energy Office, and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment recently unveiled the daft of a “Clean Truck Strategy” that seeks to lower greenhouse gas or GHG emissions from heavy- and medium-duty vehicles by at least 45 percent statewide by 2050.

[Above photo by the Colorado DOT]

That strategy is part of a package of initiatives undertaken by Governor Jared Polis (D) to improve air quality and reduce emissions while saving money for citizens and small businesses.

The Colorado DOT noted in a statement that heavy- and medium-duty vehicles include semi-trucks, school buses, snowplows, delivery vans, large pick-up trucks, and many different vehicle types in between. The agency added that they are the second-largest source of GHG emissions in the state’s transportation sector, contributing 22 percent of on-road GHG emissions despite being less than 10 percent of all Colorado vehicles.

This new multi-agency strategy seeks to accelerate clean truck adoption to help fight climate change, improve air quality, and help communities “disproportionately impacted” by transportation pollution emissions, Colorado DOT said.

[Editor’s note: At the national level, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new clean air standards for heavy-duty vehicles and engines starting in model year 2027. The proposed standards would reduce emissions of smog- and soot-forming nitrogen oxides or NOx from heavy-duty gasoline and diesel engines while updating GHG standards for select commercial vehicle categories. Overall, the EOA expects its proposed rule to reduce NOx emissions from trucks by as much as 60 percent by 2045.]

The strategy also predicts that owners of medium- and heavy-duty trucks – most of whom are small businesses – could save an estimated $5.8 billion by 2050 from reduced vehicle maintenance costs and fuel cost savings by switching to zero-emission vehicles, the agency noted.

The multi-agency Clean Truck Strategy also includes a “prioritized set” of 34 actions that state agencies will implement to support the transition to zero-emission heavy- and medium-duty vehicles across seven different categories of initiatives, including procurement policies and programs, vehicle incentives and financing, infrastructure planning and investments, utility strategies, workforce development, and regulatory actions.

The plan also relies in part on proposals with the governor’s fiscal year 2023 budget plan, including a new electric school bus incentive program and a clean truck replacement program, alongside new federal funding opportunities to build out electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

As part of this multi-agency clean truck draft, the Colorado DOT said Gov. Polis’ administration is expected by the end of 2022 to submit a request to set a hearing to the state Air Quality Control Commission to consider adopting rules to reduce pollution from diesel vehicles and to further support the transition to zero-emission trucks and buses.

Minnesota DOT Works to ‘Rejuvenate’ Live Snow Fences

The Minnesota Department of Transportation plans to “rejuvenate” seven so-called “living snow fences” in southwest Minnesota as part of a month-long effort to ensure the 20-year-old plantings can survive for another two decades.

[Above photo by the Minnesota DOT]

The agency noted that a “living snow fence” is comprised of trees, shrubs, native grasses, and/or wildflowers to trap snow as it blows across fields, piling it up before it reaches a bridge or roadway.

“Rejuvenation” work includes pruning healthy trees while removing and replacing any dead trees and shrubs. The agency noted it schedules such work on living snow fences between March and April specifically to reduce interference with the state’s bat and bird populations.

“A living snow fence is more than landscaping and highway beautification, it serves a purpose,” explained Dan Gullickson, Minnesota DOT’s blowing snow control shared services program supervisor, in a statement.

“We use nature to control blowing snow and rejuvenating these living snow fence sites will safeguard the health and vitality of the plantings,” he added.

The Minnesota DOT said living snow fences offer multiple infrastructure benefits, including:

Prevent the formation of large snowdrifts and icing on roads.
Improve motorist visibility by reducing whiteout conditions due to blowing snow.
Control soil erosion and reduce spring flooding.
Lessen environmental impact by reducing the need to use salt on the roads during winter.

KYTC Prepares to do Battle with ‘Noxious Weeds’

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is gearing up to control the growth of noxious and nuisance weeds along roadsides throughout the state starting in April.

[Above photo by the KYTC]

KYTC is targeting targets 11 noxious weeds with this effort: Johnson grass, giant foxtail, Canada thistle, nodding thistle, common teasel, multiflora rose, Amur honeysuckle, poison hemlock, marestail, Japanese knotweed, and kudzu.

KYTC added that local property owners may file a request that highway crews treat select nuisance weeds found on adjacent state-owned rights of way as well. To request weed treatment request submit a written application to the local KYTC highway district office, the agency added.

“Weeds are more than a nuisance-they pose safety concerns,” explained KYTC Secretary Jim Gray in a statement.

“Actively treating the weeds on state-maintained property enhances driver visibility near roadways, prevents damage to ditches and drains, and minimizes the presence of plants that attract deer near highways,” he said.

Noxious weeds often invade and destroy the roadside turf grass, leaving those areas vulnerable to erosion, KYTC added. They can also smother native plants through rapid reproduction and long-term persistence.

Twenty years ago, the Federal Highway Administration published a compendium of resources aimed at removing invasive species of plants that might take root along roadways nationwide. They can cause “significant changes” to local ecosystems, upsetting ecological balances and causing economic harm to the country’s agricultural and recreational sectors.

Environmental News Highlights – March 2, 2022

FEDERAL ACTION

AASHTO Reps Share Infrastructure Insights at Hearing – AASHTO Journal

Governors Propose Big Transportation Investments – AASHTO Journal

Driving on the Right: America’s Polarized Transportation Policy – Governing

Will the Supreme Court Frustrate Efforts to Slow Climate Change? – New York Times (Opinion)

FTA Announces More Than $45 Million in Passenger Ferry Grant Awards to 11 States and Territories to Improve Public Transportation – FTA (Media release)

Application Process Opens for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funds to Build Safe, Sustainable and Accessible Airport Terminals – FAA (Media release)

COVID-19

Why traffic deaths spiked more in the U.S. during COVID – Axios

NEPA

Feds predict NEPA delays after court nixes climate metric – E&E News

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

MOU Seeks to Expand National EV Charging Network – AASHTO Journal

White House Infrastructure Webinars – National Governors Association

Maui Is Getting Ready To Move Part Of A Major Highway Due To Climate Change – Honolulu Civil Beat

How can states build resilience to sea level rise? Look to Louisiana – The Hill

How damaged concrete pipes are helping artificial reefs off NC coast – WNCN-TV

A highway paved with recycled diapers may change the cloth vs. disposables debate – Washington Post

Biden team seeks port revival plans as it spends infrastructure cash – Reuters

AIR QUALITY

Maine ferry service to replace vessel with low emission tech – WCSH-TV

Why California’s Power to Regulate Auto Pollution Matters Nationwide – Route Fifty

The Other Crisis at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Rising Air Pollution – Time

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Peduto administration pushed modern private transportation, development that hurt public transit, study says – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Program Brings Previously Unheard Voices To Portland, Maine-Area Transportation Boards – Portland Press Herald

NATURAL RESOURCES

Caltrans Awards $312M for Beautification Projects – AASHTO Journal

U.S. Chamber Letter on 2022 Water Policy Priorities – US Chamber of Commerce

Goat grazing pilot project wraps on Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line – Santa Cruz Sentinel

Major hurdle cleared in plan to demolish 4 California dams – Bradenton Herald

HEALTH AND HUMAN ENVIRONMENT/ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

New D.C. Council Bill Would Adopt ‘Idaho Stop,’ Allowing Cyclists To Treat Stop Signs As Yield Signs – DCist

Bike lanes, better lighting and new sidewalks coming to parts of Northern Virginia – WTOP Radio

House keeps alive $10M ‘active transport’ funds for paths, sidewalks – WyoFile

Philadelphia confronts mounting pedestrian deaths as rise in reckless driving hits national tipping point – PhillyVoice

Some Say City’s Actions Don’t Match Rhetoric on Pedestrian Safety – Columbus Underground

NDOT’s WalknBike update to create safer streets for Nashville pedestrians and bikers – WZTV-TV

Metro transportation trend report shows biking bright spots, but also red flags for key goals – Bike Portland

Governor Justice announces over $8.3 million in Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails grants, benefitting dozens of communities across state – West Virginia Governor’s Office (Media release)

TRB RESOURCES/ANNOUNCEMENTS

Nominations Sought for America’s Transportation Awards – AASHTO Journal

Enhancing Pedestrian Volume Estimation and Developing HCM Pedestrian Methodologies for Safe and Sustainable Communities – NCHRP

TRB Webinar: Implementing and Evaluating Wildlife Crossings – TRB

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool Beta Version – Council on Environmental Quality (Request for information)

Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit – EPA (Notice; request for public comment)

Reconciliation of Derogatory Geographic Names Tribal Consultation – Geological Survey (Notice of tribal consultations)

Reconciliation of Derogatory Geographic Names – Geological Survey (Notice with public comments)

Alaska Budget Contains Ice Road Maintenance Funds

The fiscal year 2023 state budget proposed by Governor Michael Dunleavy (R) contains maintenance funding for the Dick Nash Memorial ice road that will help tribal transportation departments maintain the frozen Kuskokwim for travel in the 2022/2023 winter season.

[Above photo by the Alaska DOT&PF]

By contrast, in 2021, contributions from community stakeholders covered half of the ice road’s maintenance costs. However, as heating oil delivery and diesel costs are now over $6 per gallon in the region – and the state is experiencing a funding surplus based in part on high oil prices – Governor Dunleavy said in a statement that he believes it is “only right” to provide community relief where possible.

That is why, in addition to the proposed funding in his FY 2023 budget, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities plans to recover any remaining maintenance costs via federal surface transportation funding during the 2022/2023 winter season, Gov. Dunleavy said.

The Kuskokwim ice road – which can stretch up to 300 miles long – serves 17 villages and helps Alaskan rural communities move goods and services during winter months. They are a safe alternative when poor weather prevents airplanes from flying, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, and proved an efficient way to distribute COVID-19 vaccines.

Maintaining ice roads goes beyond plowing snow and placing reflectors. For example, the ice road crew serving the Village of Napaimute has developed a cell phone application to measure ice thickness. That application integrates ice-penetrating radar with traditional Native knowledge and local observations into an easy-to-access cell phone data format.

“I had the opportunity to travel the Kuskokwim Ice Road for the first time on a recent visit to the Villages of Napakiak and Napaskiak,” the governor said. “All those hundreds of miles of drivable ice are truly an Alaskan feat … and I heard from many residents about the importance of the road during the winter months for health, safety, commerce, and recreation. I’m glad we have identified funding to cover this expense from existing authorities.”

North Carolina Testing Light Pole EV Charging Technology

Governor Roy Cooper (D) recently toured PoleVolt – a new electric vehicle charging station in Charlotte created by a partnership between the City of Charlotte, Duke Energy, Centralina Regional Council and UNC Charlotte – that uses existing streetlights to provide free universal curbside charging for electric vehicles.

[Above photo via the North Carolina Governor’s Office]

PoleVolt – created through a partnership with the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center at UNC Charlotte, the City of Charlotte, the Centralina Regional Council, and Duke Energy – received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Lessons learned from this project about intentional planning and streamlined local government development review processes should help foster similar projects and help expand curbside EV charging infrastructure more broadly statewide.

The project is also in line with Executive Order No. 246 signed by the governor in January that directs the North Carolina Department of Transportation to work with public and private sectors to create a Clean Transportation Plan to guide the establishment of “a cleaner and more resilient” state transportation system.

The order also “underscores” the importance of emphasizing environmental justice and equity in the state’s transition to a clean economy, the governor said.

“The transition by vehicle manufacturers to electric vehicles is upon us and this station is just one example of how North Carolina is getting ready,” Gov. Cooper explained in a statement. “The quicker we move the more affordable electric vehicles will become for everyday people. Our state is moving toward an equitable clean energy economy and public-private partnerships like this one will help make that happen.”

To help foster the development and deployment of similar projects, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the National Association of State Energy Officials, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Department of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding on February 23.

Jim Tymon, AASHTO’s executive director, explained in a statement at the time that this MOU provides a “framework for collaboration” in response to the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program established by USDOT and DOE on February 10 to build and operate a nationwide network of EV charging stations.