The US Postal Service is going through extra than simply stern warnings over its resolution to purchase principally gas-powered mail supply vehicles. Environmental activist teams (together with the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club) and 16 states have filed lawsuits in California and New York State to problem the Postal Service’s Next Generation Delivery Vehicle buying resolution. They argue the USPS’s environmental assessment was flawed and unlawful, ignoring the “decades of pollution” the combustion-engine vehicles would produce.
The USPS allegedly violated the National Environmental Policy Act by committing to purchase 165,000 supply automobiles (simply 10 % of them electrical) with out first conducting a “lawful” environmental assessment. The service solely began its assessment six months after it had signed a contract, based on the California lawsuit. Both fits accuse the USPS of utilizing botched estimates, together with “unrealistically high” battery prices in addition to wildly low gas costs and emissions ranges. They additionally famous that contract recipient Oshkosh Defense has no expertise producing EVs.
The lawsuit additionally identified that the fuel variations of the next-gen automobile weren’t a lot kinder to the local weather than their roughly 30-year-old predecessors. While the 14.7MPG with out air-con beats the sooner fashions’ 8.2MPG, that gas economic system drops to simply 8.6MPG with air-con turned on. Many of the powerplant-independent upgrades revolve round ergonomics, reminiscent of simpler entry to packages.
In a statement to the Associated Press, USPS spokesperson Kim Frum maintained that the group applied a “robust and thorough review” that met NEPA necessities. Previously, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy maintained that the establishment could not afford to purchase extra EVs and wanted to focus on fundamental infrastructure upgrades. Unlike many authorities companies, the Postal Service is legally required to be self-sufficient and might’t request authorities assist to deal with deficits and money owed.
Not that these arguments will essentially assist. If profitable, the lawsuits will halt the truck order till it honors the plaintiffs’ expectations for NEPA and different rules. This does not assure an elevated quantity of EVs, however it will not be stunning if the USPS finally ends up falling extra in keeping with the present White House’s push for zero-emissions automobiles.
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