Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Postal Service finalized its controversial plan to purchase 90 percent gas-powered mail trucks for its fleet, a direct affront to the Biden administration’s climate commitments.
Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) sent letters to the Postal Service urging the agency to reconsider its plan and to conduct a new, more thorough technical analysis. The EPA also asked the Postal Service to hold a public hearing on its fleet modernization plan.
USPS operates about 230,000 vehicles, roughly one third of the entire government fleet. Postal delivery trucks are the perfect use case for electric vehicles, and the benefits are wide-reaching. The vehicles don’t travel far distances on any given day, they sit idle overnight when they can charge, and they travel through neighborhoods across the country exposing people to air pollution.
In response to today’s announcement from USPS, Katherine García, Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All Director, released the following statement:
“USPS is clinging to a polluting past with its inexcusable and shortsighted dirty fleet plan, a decision that will have consequences for decades to come.
"The Biden administration, Congress, environmental and public health groups, and air regulators have made it clear that electrifying the Postal Service must be a top priority for climate and public health. Refusing to hold a public hearing on such a flawed and controversial plan speaks volumes about the ill intentions of Postmaster Louis DeJoy.
“There should be no reason this plan is moving forward in 2022.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.