The Trump administration has finally issued new guidance that states can use to allocate $5 billion in funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, after spending months withholding the money. A coalition of states sued over the funding freeze in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which was one of the administration’s many attempts to block funding appropriated by Congress at the start of Donald Trump’s second term. A judge ruled in June that those states were likely to succeed and issued an injunction against the administration’s spending freeze.
The Department of Transportation (DOT), led by former MTV personality Sean Duffy, has criticized the states for taking too long to spend the money. As of May, around 84% of the $5 billion—authorized as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—remained unspent, with only a few dozen chargers built.
Duffy and the DOT claimed the funding was only paused during a “review process” to ensure the NEVI program aligned with the administration’s priorities. A new press release issued Monday outlines the changes.
Unsurprisingly, the new guidance focuses on simplifying the review process for charging stations. States will no longer have to consider consumer protections, emergency evacuation plans, environmental siting, and other previously required steps before construction begins. The DOT has also removed requirements that a certain percentage of charging stations be built in rural, underserved, or disadvantaged communities.
Additionally, the DOT eliminated language requiring proposals to demonstrate how they would promote strong labor, safety training, and installation standards. Language encouraging opportunities for minority- and women-owned small businesses was also removed.