Letter to Marie Therese Dominguez, New York Commissioner of Transportation - Clarke and Torres Lead Letter Calling on New York State to Include the Needs of Underserved Communities in Its EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan

Letter

Dear Commissioner Dominguez:

On behalf of our constituents throughout New York State, we write urging you to consider the needs of our communities as you develop the state's EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan. The rapid deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure is vital to achieving our state's climate goals, but this process must unfold equitably so that all our communities can benefit from a clean transportation future.

The recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act--also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law--created a first-of-its-kind National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program to provide funding to states for the purpose of building out a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors and other publicly accessible locations. In the first year of funding under this new program, New York State is set to receive nearly $26 million. As part of its initial implementation, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has requested each state submit an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan before they can access these funds.

The funding provided by the NEVI Formula Program will be crucial to ensuring that our state meet its greenhouse gas and pollution reduction mandates codified in the historic Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The transportation sector is responsible for the single largest share of climate-warming emissions in New York State, accounting for a total of 47% of statewide energy-related CO2 emissions. New York State also has more transportation sector diesel emissions than any other state, exposing millions of New Yorkers to carcinogenic exhaust and other harmful pollutants. And unlike other sectors such as electricity generation, emissions from transportation are continuing to rise. In addition, many of the burdens from our dirty transportation system have been historically and disproportionately borne by disadvantaged communities of color.

Electrifying our transportation system, combined with a continued shift to renewable energy generation within the power sector, will set us on the path towards a clean energy economy. This will also create thousands of green jobs throughout New York State and significantly reduce local air pollution that has overburdened environmental justice communities and contributed to disproportionately high rates of asthma and other serious health conditions within low-income communities and communities of color.

However, unless we are intentional in our planning, the same communities who have the most to gain from a clean transportation sector will be among the last to experience its benefits. We have witnessed this time and time again with the arrival of new clean technologies, which is why equity must be prioritized from the onset in our state's deployment of EV charging infrastructure. Charging must not only be built out along highways for the purpose of long-distance travel, but also throughout underserved communities who lack access to private parking spaces and the ability to install at-home chargers. If we do not address this issue now, the severe lack of publicly accessible charging stations in our districts will pose a major barrier to equitable EV adoption and use for personal vehicles, ride-share services and commercial fleets.

We understand that current USDOT guidance limits the initial program funding to use around designated Alternative Fuel Corridors, however we urge you to work creatively and purposefully within those confines as you develop an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan to ensure that our state's deployment of EV charging technology does not perpetuate the charging divide that hampers our constituents' ability to join in the clean transportation revolution.

Thank you for your consideration of our request.

Sincerely,