Sneak Preview: FHWA EV Standards Require Data Submissions
(The following was excerpted from a recent Federal Grants Compliance Expert article.) The Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently issued electric vehicle (EV) standards that call for annual, quarterly and specific one-time reporting by states and other direct recipients funded under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program and other FHWA discretionary grant projects to construct publicly accessible EV chargers.
The data reporting requirements are part of an FHWA final rule issued in the Feb. 28 Federal Register that also established minimum standards for the installation, operation or maintenance of EV charging infrastructure; the interoperability of EV charging infrastructure; traffic control devices or on-premises signage acquired, installed or operated in concert with EV charging infrastructure; network connectivity of EV charging infrastructure; and information on publicly available EV charging infrastructure locations, pricing, real-time availability and accessibility through mapping applications. The final rule, which added new provisions at 23 C.F.R. Part 680, will become effective March 30.
The standards were required under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58), which, according to the final rule, provided $5 billion under the NEVI program to states “to strategically deploy EV charging infrastructure and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access and reliability.” This final rule enables states or other designated recipients to implement federally funded charging station projects in a uniform way to provide a convenient, accessible, reliable and equitable charging network across the country that all EVs can use regardless of vehicle brand.
According to FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt: “This is a critical step in building a seamless national network with common requirements for EV charging that will support the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, help build [an environment for] clean energy, and ensure those technologies and products are made here in America.”
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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