INDIANAPOLIS– The Indiana Alliance for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and Economic Opportunities Development (“the Alliance”) published a 21st Century “Indiana Electric Vehicle Charging Neighbor-Hood Green Book,” sharing their equity guidance, communication efforts, and site recommendations for Indiana’s roll-out of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (“NEVI”) program, funded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
Through the NEVI program, Indiana has already received nearly $100 million in federal funding. This opportunity comes with a responsibility to deliver 40% of federally funded benefits to those communities traditionally left behind in our country’s infrastructure projects, deemed “disadvantaged communities” (DACs) or “Justice 40 communities,” in reference to the Administration’s 2020 executive order.
“It should be the case that compliance with Justice 40 means Indiana agencies, including the Department of Transportation (INDOT) and the Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), are engaging with these communities and listening to their needs – as well as ensuring policies and appropriations are responsive to those needs and recommendations,” said Denise Abdul-Rahman, Alliance Founder. “This has not happened.”
“The Administration has been clear from day one that this historic federal funding must benefit underserved communities in each state, including Indiana’s BIPOC communities that have been left out of and harmed by previous transportation infrastructure projects,” she added. “For the last two years, we have modeled what equitable program design looks like, meeting with these communities, listening to their needs, and advocating for responsive policies, but state agencies keep insisting their way is working.”
As explained in detail in the Green Book, INDOT has, at best, engaged in a box-checking exercise when it comes to the crucial matter of ensuring that impacted communities have a say in how programs like NEVI are implemented and that there is transparency in how state agencies incorporate that essential feedback. Instead, Indiana has held meaningless meetings, effectively excluding community members from attendance and discounting the written comments and analyses provided by the Alliance at every turn.
In this Green Book, the Alliance has proposed 38 sites for EV charging stations across the state of Indiana that would effectively serve disadvantaged communities. Thirteen of the locations comply with NEVI requirements, and all 38 comply with CFI Round 2. Rather than award bids exclusively to large corporations, as INDOT has done so far, state agencies should incorporate the well-placed suggestions from the Alliance and contract with minority-owned business enterprises to do the construction.
Indiana has an opportunity to engage in transformative and equitable policymaking, but it can and must do better to actually accomplish those ends.
A proposed partnership between the Alliance and the lead agency, IDEM, for a Charging Fuel Infrastructure Round 2 Discretionary Grant has garnered support from 26 organizations. The Federal Highway Administration has recommended this partnership, marking a significant first step. However, with the proposal submission deadline approaching on September 11th, no response has been received from IDEM yet. Embracing the Alliance’s partnership, providing a community benefit, and executing the Indiana Electric Vehicle Charging Neighbor-Hood Green Book recommendations is crucial for reshaping the state’s environmental legacy.
