Agency: most federal highway funds secure; NEVI EV charging guidance under federal review

Jana Morris, director of administration and finance for the Agency of Transportation, told a legislative committee that the state continues to have access to core Federal Highway Administration funds and is advancing capital and flood recovery projects, though the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is reviewing guidance for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.

Morris said the agency’s core highway programs have seen no interruption since the federal administration change and that those funds remain obligable. “We have access to all of the funds that you see on the screen. We can obligate them. There's no restrictions,” Morris said.

The committee was briefed on two broad categories of federal money the agency manages: formula-funded core highway programs and discretionary grants. Morris said about 44% of the agency’s federal funding comes via the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). She also said the agency has been coordinating closely with the FHWA division office based in Montpelier as USDOT works through reviews of discretionary awards.

Morris told lawmakers that USDOT Secretary testimony to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee identified roughly 3,200 discretionary grant agreements that were awaiting review when the secretary took office. Those grant agreements have not all been executed; some are slowly moving through the federal review process. “We have not put any of the projects that we're managing on hold. We have continued to advance the work,” she said.

The agency flagged the NEVI program, which finances electric-vehicle fast-charging stations, as the major area of uncertainty. Morris read from the USDOT testimony and summarized: “NEVI was appropriated by Congress, so DOT will implement the law,” but USDOT is rewriting program guidance after finding only 66 chargers had been installed under the previous guidance. In the agency’s federal financial system at the time of the briefing, the NEVI line item was shown in the category labeled “rescinded,” and Morris said that amounts to $15,800,000 being the portion most at risk until new guidance is issued.

Morris added that the agency’s NEVI plan was submitted under the previous guidance and that the state may need to adjust that plan if USDOT issues new rules. “We submitted a state NEVI plan based on the prior guidance. We may need to adjust that to work within the new guidance when it's released,” she said.

Jeremy Reed, the agency’s chief engineer, described the status of several projects on the agency’s list. He said the Winooski Bridge project and some rail-trail resurfacing projects are advancing with the expectation that federal grants will be executed. “Project is moving forward. … we fully expect the grant to, ultimately get executed,” Reed said. Reed also confirmed that the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail resurfacing project is fully obligated and that several other projects have progressed in contracting but may be paused at the construction stage while federal plan approvals are suspended.

Morris and other staff said a small number of NEVI sites could continue because the agency converted some American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to general-fund dollars to advance those contracts. Morris said Bradford, Randolph and Wilmington (and a reference to Staunton) were among locations that could continue because of those conversions and prior contracting work, while other NEVI sites will hold until federal funds or guidance are clarified. The agency also told contractors that completed work would be reimbursed: “Any work that had been completed, we would not leave without being paid,” Morris said.

Committee members asked how staff and legislators could track changes to the funding status. Morris offered to provide updates directly to committee leadership and noted that the Joint Fiscal Office website’s posted statuses did not match the agency’s latest internal presentation; she recommended the agency send updates by email when federal reviews change.

The briefing did not include a committee motion or vote. Agency staff described the current posture as continuing to advance projects under the working assumption that most FHWA funds will be delivered, while preparing to revise plans where USDOT issues new guidance.

Morris closed by saying that the overall picture had improved in recent weeks, but that uncertainty remains for NEVI-specific funding while USDOT revises its guidance. The agency offered to return with further updates as the federal review process progresses.