WASHINGTON — Biden administration officials are pushing the U.S. Postal Service to buy more electric vehicles instead of spending billions on gas-powered models as it replaces its aging fleet.
The efforts, mounted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, follow separate warnings by activists that the Postal Service’s plan to buy mostly conventional delivery trucks downplayed the potential climate benefits of a shift to electric, non-emitting alternatives.
The Postal Service’s plan “represents a crucial lost opportunity to more rapidly reduce the carbon footprint of one of the largest government fleets in the world,” the EPA said in a letter to the agency Wednesday.
EPA Associate Administrator Vicki Arroyo faulted the environmental analysis underlying the Postal Service’s purchase plans, saying it underestimates greenhouse gas emissions, doesn’t disclose economic assumptions and was conducted after a contract for next-generation delivery vehicles was already awarded.
“The agency committed to walk down a path before looking to see where that path was leading,” Brenda Mallory, the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, said in a separate letter to the Postal Service.
The Washington Post earlier reported on the letters.
The missives represent a last-minute intervention by top Biden administration officials as the Postal Service embarks on a massive fleet replacement program. The administration has tangled with the Postal Service and its leader — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy — over the effort.
“This transition to a modern, clean and efficient USPS vehicle fleet is a top priority of the Biden administration,” Mallory said. With the potential for some 70% of the Postal Service fleet to be electrified, she added, the replacement program “presents a critical opportunity to harness modern clean technologies, reduce pollution and sustain competitiveness over the coming decades.”
The USPS said in a statement it believed the concerns stem “from policy disagreements with the Postal Service’s decision, and are not a reflection of the adequacy” of its environmental analysis.
“While we can understand why some who are not responsible for the financial sustainability of the Postal Service might prefer that we acquire more electric vehicles, the law requires us to be self-sufficient,” the agency said.
“For that reason, given our current financial condition, the total cost of ownership of our delivery vehicle fleet must be a part of our analysis,” according to the statement.
The Postal Service said it is willing to accelerate the pace of electrification if it can be done in a way that is not “financially detrimental.”
Under DeJoy, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, the Postal Service last year awarded Oshkosh Corp. its contract for tens of thousands of mail delivery vans and initially said only 10% of the fleet would be electric.
DeJoy, responding to criticism, told Congress last year that he envisions the service moving quickly to electric power. He testified that 10% was only a starting point and that as many as 50% of vehicles might be electric when the first full set of vehicles is ordered.
In a separate letter, DeJoy said the service could commit to having a majority-electric fleet if Congress provides enough support. A representative for the Postal Service did not immediately have a response Wednesday.
The EPA stressed that the Postal Service plan falls short of what private sector competitors are doing, as package-delivery giants such as FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. shift to battery electric vehicles.
