Pignatelli joins 37 state legislators in pushing for electric vehicles, charging infrastructure
Boston — Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D- Lenox, joined 37 other legislators who weighed in last week on the allocation of $75 million that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is scheduled to receive from the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund. Members urged the Department of Environmental Protection, which is charged with dispensing the money, to invest in electric vehicle charging infrastructure and invest the balance of the funds in fully electric transit and school buses.
The money will be received as part of a multi-state settlement with Volkswagen after it used a computer system that ran emissions controls during testing but not during normal vehicle operation. Emissions from those vehicles were 15–40 times the federal Environmental Protection Agency compliance level. Volkswagen has agreed to spend nearly $15 billion on remedial action, including $2.9 billion to be divided among participating states and territories.
In supporting electric vehicle charging infrastructure, legislators argued that charging stations need to become common across the state to give drivers convenient access to charging, overcome “range anxiety,” and raise public awareness about the practicability and feasibility of purchasing electric vehicles. With a focus on equity, legislators pushed for EV charging at workplaces and multi-unit dwellings, locations more likely to be used by people of modest means without access to charging at home because they lack off-street parking.
Legislators urged the department to dedicate substantial amounts of funding to upgrade transit and school bus fleets to fully electric vehicles. While newer diesel and compressed natural gas vehicles emit lower levels of nitrogen oxide gases than older models, electric buses emit no NOx at all and would improve air quality in areas that are heavily reliant on public transportation. Though electric buses have higher sticker prices, they have lower lifetime maintenance costs.
The DEP is in the midst of a stakeholder process to seek further input from the public on projects to fund. To submit comments, visit https://www.mass.gov/guides/volkswagen-diesel-settlements-environmental-mitigation.