The Biden administration is decided to remove combustion engine automobiles from federal fleets, and it is not thrilled that one company could be holding it again. According to The Washington Post, the Environmental Protection Agency and White House Council on Environmental Quality have despatched letters to the US Postal Service urging it to rethink a proposal to largely purchase gas-powered next-gen supply vans in a mission value as much as $11.3 billion. The present technique is a “lost opportunity” to extra drastically cut back the carbon footprint of one of many world’s largest authorities fleets, EPA affiliate coverage administrator Vicki Arroyo wrote.
Only 10 p.c of the USPS’ new vans could be electrical beneath the prevailing proposal, and the general effort would solely enhance the fleet’s gasoline economic system by 0.4MPG. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy beforehand claimed the Postal Service could not afford extra electrical mail automobiles, and has argued his company must concentrate on fundamental infrastructure enhancements over expertise. The USPS is required by legislation to be self-sufficient, and may’t merely request authorities funds.
There could also be an uphill battle to make any modifications. DeJoy has staunchly refused to change the buying plan, and the USPS rejected California officers’ January twenty eighth request for a public listening to on the plans. The service additionally largely ignored EPA recommendation when it created the evaluation guiding its plan. The environmental regulator accused the USPS of utilizing “biased” estimates that most well-liked gas-based vans. The mail establishment reportedly assumed battery and gasoline costs would stay static even a long time later, and that the prevailing charging infrastructure would not develop. It additional overestimated the emissions from plug-in automobiles, in response to the EPA.
The Postal Service could be pressured to vary regardless. The EPA has the choice of referring its disagreements to the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which may mediate disputes like this. The letters gave the USPS a final likelihood to voluntarily rethink its proposal earlier than the Council stepped in, sources for The Post claimed. Environmental teams are additionally more likely to sue if the gas-centric plan strikes forward, and the legislation agency Earthjustice informed The Post the USPS may lose when its proposal usually lacks supporting proof. You might properly see a transition towards mail-carrying EVs, even when the transition is especially messy.
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