Atlanta, GA -- Yesterday, Georgia released its draft plan for the use of the Volkswagen diesel settlement fund money. Sierra Club applauds Georgia’s plan to focus in part on zero-emission electric transit buses (“ZEBs”) in and around the Atlanta area, and encourages Georgia to maximize its investment in electric buses.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Scott Pruitt’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a hearing for the reconsideration -- with intent to repeal -- pollution limits from glider kit trucks (freight trucks with a used engine installed in an otherwise new frame). The repeal would declassify "glider kits" as new vehicles or engines, making them no longer subject to air pollution control requirements. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced his intent to revisit the glider loophole that was just closed in August of 2016.
Boston, MA -- Late yesterday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) released an order in Eversource’s rate case that approves the company’s proposal to significantly accelerate the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in its service territory.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, North Carolina applied for funding to invest in clean transportation solutions from the Volkswagen dieselgate settlement funds. With North Carolina’s application, all 50 states plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico have applied for these funds one day ahead of the December 1 deadline.
Atlanta, GA -- Yesterday, the Atlanta City Council passed ordinance 17-0-1654, which will require all new residential homes and public parking facilities to install the wiring to accommodate the possibility of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The ordinance requires that 20 percent of the spaces in all new commercial and multi-family parking structures and all new residential homes be EV-ready to make it easier for future residents to install EV charging stations.
Today, 13 environmental groups working on clean transportation solutions sent a letter to the United States Postal Service (USPS) urging them to select plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) for the next generation of delivery trucks. A switch to electric delivery trucks will both benefit the health of employees and neighborhood residents by reducing their exposure to harmful emissions, and will cut down on fuel and maintenance costs while helping the Postal Service meet its sustainability goals.
Leading environmental, health, scientific and business organizations today applauded the announcement by seven states and Washington, D.C. of plans to develop a regional policy to reduce carbon pollution from the transportation sector. The move was endorsed today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Acadia Center, Sierra Club, and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and five other groups.
Annapolis, MD -- Today eight Northeastern states and jurisdictions, including Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., announced their plans to share approaches and develop regional policies to enable greater access to clean mobility opportunities, reducing carbon pollution from transportation fuels, creating jobs, and growing their economies.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Environmental Protection Agency reopened -- with intent to repeal -- a portion of the emissions rule for heavy duty trucks. The repeal would declassify "glider kits" as new vehicles or engines, making them no longer subject to air pollution control requirements. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced his intent to revisit the glider loophole that was just closed in August of 2016.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ford, Volkswagen and other automakers should live up to their promises and stop trying to undo popular fuel economy and vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards, known as clean car standards, a coalition of groups said today when announcing its “Forward Not Backward” campaign.
Tulsa, OK - Today, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down H.B. 1449, a bill that sought to implement an annual fee on electric vehicles, ruling the tax unconstitutional because the fee was untethered from a regulatory purpose and simply sought to impose a new financial burden. In August, the Sierra Club filed a state lawsuit in Oklahoma, challenging the legislature’s passage of H.B. 1449. The bill would have established, without justification, a $100 annual fee for the purchase of an electric vehicle and $30 for the purchase of a hybrid vehicle. The arbitrary fee had no connection to the actual costs and benefits of electric vehicles, requiring electric vehicle drivers to pay more than they would in gas taxes and potentially dissuading future electric vehicle buyers.
A recent poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research in Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia found overwhelming support for clean cars standards. While the Trump administration has opened the federal fuel efficiency standards for review, a wide majority of those states’ residents support requiring the auto industry to continue meeting increased fuel efficiency standards that save drivers money at the pump.