
$71 million program for EV charging stations in Eastern Washington suspended after Federal memo
On Thursday, Emily Biondi, associate administrator of the Office of Planning, Environment and Realty at the Federal Highway Administration, notified the heads of state transportation departments throughout the country that the new leadership at the agency has "decided to review the policies underlying the implementation" of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.
The program, included in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was set to distribute $5 billion to states to "strategically deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability," according to the Federal Highway Administration.
"Effective immediately, no new obligations may occur under the NEVI Formula Program until the updated final NEVI Formula Program Guidance is issued and new State plans are submitted and approved," Biondi wrote Thursday.
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, the directive halts $102 million that was meant for Washington.
"WSDOT doesn't spend the money itself, we award it to grant applicants for programs and projects," Barbara LaBoe, acting deputy communications director for the agency, wrote in an email.
As of Friday, WSDOT is seeking additional information about the specifics of the suspension.
WSDOT has suspended two programs that total more than $90 million.
One program would award grant funds to install electric vehicle charging stations alongside fuel corridors in the state, which WSDOT was set to receive and distribute $71 million in the program.
While applications for the program were due by the end of January, the agency has not distributed funds due to a "lack of clarity" around the federal funding.
According to the request for proposal for the program, WSDOT had identified five priority "Alternative Fuel Corridors" in the state, most of which would have filled gaps in charging stations for motorists driving to or through the Spokane area, and planned to install between 14 and 19 fueling stations along the corridors throughout the state.
"WSDOT is tracking existing and planned stations that meet port, power, and distance requirements to ensure deploying NEVI infrastructure meets the most critical gaps on our Interstates and US Routes," the request for proposal states.
WSDOT has identified U.S. Highway 195from Spokane to the Idaho border, U.S. Highway 395 from Spokane to the Canadian border, U.S. Highway 2 from Leavenworth to Newport and Interstate 90 from Seattle to the Idaho border as priority alternative fuel corridors in the program. Under the program, grants would have covered up to 80% of the project costs, with applicants required to cover at least 20%.
WSDOT has also paused a program to install medium- and heavy-duty truck charging and hydrogen refueling stations along Interstate 5 and at transportation hubs. The project, which was part of a tri-state grant also awarded to California and Oregon, was in the planning phase. Grants for the project totaled $102 million, with WSDOT receiving $21.1 million.
As of Friday, WSDOT plans to proceed with a $10.1 million grant program to repair electric vehicle charging equipment in the state. According to information from the Federal Highway Administration, the program will fix 560 charging stations in the state. WSDOT said the entirety of the spending in the program has already been authorized.
In her memo, Biondi wrote that "reimbursement of existing obligations will be allowed in order to not disrupt current financial commitments."
The WSDOT was one of 14 state departments of transportation and 10 local entities awarded competitive funding.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Epoch Times
a day ago
- Epoch Times
Transportation Department Makes DEI Revisions in EV Charging Infrastructure Funding Rules
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveiled revised guidance for an electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure federal funding program, removing several diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements, the Department of Transportation (DOT) said in an Aug. 11 statement. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program had allocated $5 billion to states for developing an interconnected network of fast chargers across the United States.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Wreck on Tacoma Narrows bridge is snarling traffic on Monday evening
A collision was blocking three lanes of the westbound Tacoma Narrows bridge Monday evening. The wreck occurred about 7:35 p.m. near the east end of the bridge, the Washington Department of Transportation reported. Traffic on westbound State Route 16 approaching the bridge was quickly backing up, according the WSDOT's real-time traffic map.

Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
Trump administration pledges to keep, streamline much-maligned EV charger program
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration, months after signaling it might gut the effort completely, unveiled plans on Monday to expedite a Biden-era program focused on building public electric vehicle chargers nationwide. The U.S. Department of Transportation said it would alter requirements in the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, or NEVI, to provide more flexibility to states and 'slash red tape' left by the previous administration. 'The Biden-Buttigieg Administration failed to deliver EV chargers despite their promises. Our revised NEVI guidance slashes red tape and makes it easier for states to efficiently build out this infrastructure,' said Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy, referring to his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg. 'While I don't agree with subsidizing green energy, we will respect Congress' will and make sure this program uses federal resources efficiently.' The move is a surprising reversal following months of work by President Donald Trump and his allies to roll back pro-EV initiatives in the federal government. Now, instead of nixing NEVI, the Trump administration has pledged to improve a program that became a bipartisan symbol of sluggish bureaucracy under the Biden administration. 'If Congress is requiring the federal government to support charging stations, let's cut the waste and do it right,' Duffy added. NEVI was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by Democratic President Joe Biden in November 2021. It offered an infusion of $5 billion to states to build out their charger networks as electric vehicles become more common, with Michigan getting $110 million through fiscal year 2026. The law also included a separate $2.5 billion grant program issued on a discretionary basis to cities, rural areas and major transportation corridors. Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike criticized the program after it produced only a handful of completed, functional charger stations within the first three years of the program. 'That's pathetic,' U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said in a May 2024 hearing. 'That is a vast administrative failure.' A recent update showed progress. The federal programs yielded 384 charging ports by April 2025, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report. But even as projects and investments started to yield more results, the Trump administration fought for months to put - and keep - the program on hold. Trump, in an executive order signed the day he returned to office, called out NEVI in a section on 'Terminating the Green New Deal.' His Department of Transportation then suspended the program in February, though the agency noted a goal of providing updated guidance later in the year. NEVI had about $2.7 billion remaining in unobligated funds at the time, according to the Federal Highway Administration. The GAO, a nonpartisan agency within Congress, issued an opinion in May finding that the Trump administration was breaking the law by withholding charger funds. The opinion was not binding, but it served as an important signal that federal courts might reach a similar conclusion and force the DOT to resume the program, according to the nonpartisan Eno Center for Transportation. The White House's Office of Management and Budget then instructed the DOT to disregard the opinion and continue its suspension of the NEVI program. But the Trump administration now appears to be ending its NEVI fight, instead vowing to make it easier for states to address a lag in public charging infrastructure that has slowed EV adoption in the United States. The Transportation Department said Monday it would minimize onerous requirements and simplify the federal approval process for state plans. For example, the new guidance removes an order for states to ensure 'the deployment, installation, operation, and use of EV charging infrastructure achieves equitable and fair distribution of benefits and services.' The new guidance also removes a requirement for states to explain how their NEVI implementation would encourage participation from small businesses, including minority-owned and women-owned small businesses. The guidance also minimizes requirements for states to consider 'electric grid integration and renewable energy.' States will be required to submit new plans to the Department of Transportation within 30 days. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.