A judge has granted a partial injunction to states that sued the US Department of Transportation (DOT) when it froze funds allocated as part of the national electric vehicle infrastructure (NEVI) programme.
NEVI is the US$5 billion (£3.63 billion) programme established under the previous president Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that provides states with funding to build fast EV charging stations along major US highways.
In February, the DOT, under new leadership appointed by US president Donald Trump issued a memorandum stating all NEVI guidance dated 11 June 2024 or before was rescinded and it would review the policies underlying the implementation of the NEVI.
It added that it was immediately suspending the approval of all State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment plans for all fiscal years and rescinded prior approval of states’ spending plans.
In May, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Trump administration violated the law when it withheld the funding and said the administration must continue to carry out the statutory requirements of the programme.
Seattle-based judge Tana Lin, who was appointed to the bench by Joe Biden in 2021, has now temporarily blocked the US administration from withholding funds awarded to 14 states, including California, New York, Illinois and Washington.
Following the GAO ruling, a group of states sued the administration. Of them, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, California, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin have been granted an injunction.
Judge Lin found that the District of Columbia, Minnesota and Vermont did not provide evidence that they would suffer immediate harm as a result of the LEVI freeze.
The judge’s injunction unfreezes roughly US$1 billion (£727 million) and will pass on 1 July if it is not appealed.
Plug In America, a nonprofit organisation that advocates for EV charging rollout across the US and in May joined a coalition of nonprofits that sought to join the litigation to represent the interests of their members who rely on full NEVI implementation, said Lin’s decision “underscores just how clearly [the DOT’s LEVI revocation and freeze] violates the law”.
“But this is only a first step. We seek the full, nationwide restoration of NEVI funds so everyone can have the option to go electric, no matter where they live, work, or travel. Many communities that currently lack access to EV charging stations are the same ones already overburdened with air pollution from transportation. Slowing the transition to EVs only prolongs the harm these communities face.
“Unfreezing the NEVI funds is essential for advancing clean, equitable and more affordable transportation, reducing vehicle pollution, and protecting public health, which is why full implementation of the program is so important.”
