Sandy transit officials say electric buses due in May face federal review delays, staff seeking scope change to preserve funding

Sandy transit officials told the city advisory board that three electric buses scheduled to arrive in May may be delayed after federal environmental-review requirements forced additional studies and design work.

The issue stems from a federal grant that covers both vehicles and infrastructure upgrades at the transit operations site. Staff said the project requires a new documented categorical exclusion (DCE) under NEPA, a cultural‑resources analysis, geotechnical testing at 30% design, and hazardous‑materials sampling on the site before construction and chargers can proceed. Those additional steps have pushed the project schedule back months and risked the loss of federal funds tied to an ODOT deadline.

Why it matters: the electric fleet and charger infrastructure are central to the city’s plan to modernize the transit fleet and reduce local operating costs over time. Losing or delaying the federal funding would affect the delivery timeline for vehicles and the readiness of on‑site chargers, and could require interim charging arrangements.

Transit Director Andy Howell summarized the situation for the board. “We have 3 electric buses that are supposed to arrive in May,” Howell said. He told the board the project had been subject to federal and state rule changes and that, after back‑and‑forth with a consultant and federal reviewers, staff submitted a revised DCE and other requested documents last week.

Howell described the specific studies required: a geotechnical investigation once the design reached 30% completion, a cultural analysis that requires a 30‑day permit and on‑site test pits, and hazardous‑materials soil testing. Those steps, staff said, are now scheduled to begin in April if permits and subcontractors can be secured.

ODOT told the city the NEPA package needed to be completed and submitted by March 6 to preserve the federal grant tied to vehicle and charger work. Howell said the city asked ODOT to change the grant scope to purchase buses only and remove chargers from the immediate scope so the buses can be accepted without the full infrastructure approvals. Howell told the board the city can temporarily use chargers at off‑site locations (Fred Meyer) or borrow a portable charger from Wilsonville while infrastructure is installed.

Federal and grant figures discussed in the meeting: staff said the infrastructure upgrade grant is about $465,000. Howell also referenced the larger vehicle project funding as “roughly $2.8 million,” and said the exact total was not fully specified in the meeting discussion.

Howell said the operations site will require a new transformer and new service from Portland General Electric as part of the charger work and that the city is participating in PGE’s fleet partner program. He also described a separate, longer‑range architectural and engineering design for a replacement operations building on the property; that building required rezoning to a lighter industrial designation (Industrial 2) and will include dispatch, driver facilities and maintenance space once built.

Howell characterized the city’s approach as a pragmatic effort to preserve federal funds: “We’re rolling the dice a little bit that ODOT’s gonna come through,” he told the board, and said staff would proceed with the buses they can accept while continuing required environmental studies for the chargers and facility work.

Board members asked about the risk of losing previously purchased chargers and about whether past property purchases would block future federal funding; Howell said projects that used federal money without prior NEPA may be ineligible for later federal funding and gave examples of other agencies that lost funding when NEPA steps were not completed in the correct order.

Ending: Howell said staff expected the cultural‑resources work and hazardous‑materials testing to start in April and hoped to have paperwork in order by late April or May. He asked the board to “cross your fingers” that ODOT and federal reviewers would allow the city to preserve the vehicle funding while the charger and facility work proceeds.