Environmental organizations on Thursday moved to join a lawsuit filed by Washington and other states against the Trump administration’s freeze of billions of dollars of funding approved by Congress to build a network of electric vehicle chargers along major highways.
Congress provided $5 billion to build the network as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021.
President Donald Trump in the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order signed on the first day of his second term outlined policies including eliminating the “electric vehicle mandate” and directing agencies to “immediately pause” sending out funds from the infrastructure law, including for electric vehicle charging.
In early February, the Trump administration sent letters to states notifying them of the suspension of the charging infrastructure program and cancellation of state plans that had already been approved.
In the Thursday filing, the nonprofits are seeking to join a lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle on May 7 by Washington and 15 other states plus the District of Columbia.
The groups — the Sierra Club, Climate Solutions, Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Plug In America, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, CleanAIRE NC, the West End Revitalization Association and the Southern Environmental Law Center — seek restoration of funding nationwide to build the charging stations.
“We want a seat at the table, and the law gives us that,” said Jan Hasselman, senior attorney with the Earthjustice law firm in Seattle. “If there could be a settlement negotiated, we want to be part of that. The court has to shape a remedy … We want to be part of that so we have the full national perspective on the question, and not a regional one or not a partial one.”
The fast-charging network funded by the program was expected to boost the adoption of electric vehicles, the complaint says.
The federal government has withheld more than $2.74 billion in the congressionally appropriated funds, according to the groups’ complaint. These funds were slated to cover the bulk of costs for fast chargers along highways, “ensuring … reliable charging stations located at least every 50 miles,” in targeted areas.
Absent the federal funding, states have halted development of the chargers, the complaint says.
Washington was set to get $71 million to build electric car infrastructure, according to the states’ lawsuit, but most of it is being withheld.
The state had hoped to expand charging on Interstate 5 and other highways, according to reporting by the Washington State Standard, but has had to stop work related to the program. It received 40 proposals, according to the lawsuit, but without federal funding the state has not been able to award a contract for the work.
Washington has vehicle standards that require an increasing percentage of the vehicles sold in the state to be zero emissions, starting this year. State law mandates that all new passenger vehicles sold by 2035 have to be plug-in hybrid or fully electric, and Washington drivers have been fast to adopt these vehicles.
“Suspending the program delays critical investments, widens infrastructure disparities, and sends the message that once again, the taxpayers who’ve been left behind the longest will be the last to benefit,” Omega Wilson, co-director of the West End Revitalization Association, said in a statement.
The environmental groups have members who wish to purchase electric cars, but are waiting for the expansion of the fast-charging network, others who have had to forgo or alter travel plans, or experienced challenges because of the existing limitations on the charging network, the groups’ complaint says, in addition to members who are overburdened by highway-related air pollution, and would see improvements with the increased use of electric vehicles.
“Without (federally funded charging) stations, members confronting climate-related disasters may be left without the dependable infrastructure that is necessary for emergency travel,” the complaint says.
Material from The Seattle Times archives was used in this story.
