Congress Must Require Postal Service to Halt Polluting Vehicle Purchase Contract
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sixteen states alongside the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, National Resource Defense Council, EarthJustice, and United Auto Workers collectively filed three lawsuits today against the U.S. Postal Service. The lawsuits ask the court to halt the Postal Service’s plans to purchase polluting gas-powered trucks until a complete environmental review can be completed. Zach Brown, advocacy associate for Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“Given the rare chance to modernize our postal fleet, the Postal Service’s current plan to continue relying on air-polluting gas-powered trucks is inexcusable. Inaccurate, deeply flawed environmental impact studies were used to defend this purchase. In light of the details revealed in the filings, Congress must now come together to pass legislation to require the Postal Service to end its toxic contract with Oshkosh Defense, conduct a thorough environmental impact study, and support full electrification of our postal fleet.
“Studies have shown that full electrification of the postal fleet would provide substantial long-term savings by reducing maintenance costs and relying on electric power, which is cheaper than gasoline. Congressional action to increase the number of electric postal trucks on the road would be both a smart environmental decision and a wise financial decision as well.”