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USDOT review and rescinded NEVI funding put several Vermont discretionary projects at risk, AOT tells senators
Summary
Vermont Agency of Transportation officials told the Senate Transportation Committee on March 18 that a U.S. Department of Transportation directive to review discretionary awards not yet fully obligated could delay or rescope a set of Vermont projects, and that NEVI electric‑vehicle charging awards have been placed on hold.
Michelle Boomhower, commissioner at the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and other AOT officials briefed the Senate Transportation Committee on March 18 about federal actions affecting discretionary grants and the state’s electric-vehicle charging program.
Boomhower said core formula programs "are intact" at present but that a March 10 memorandum from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (referenced in the briefing as Secretary Duffy in the transcript) directed a review of grants or grant phases that are not fully obligated. AOT said the review looks for specified elements—equity, diversity and inclusion activities, climate change and environmental justice elements, gender-specific references, bicycle- and pedestrian-specific projects, and electric-vehicle infrastructure—and may rescope awards before obligation.
Boomhower warned that projects not yet obligated could be delayed or rescoped. AOT provided a conservative estimate of discretionary and general-fund awards at risk and identified specific projects that may be affected, including NEVI-funded charging stations awarded to Vermont but placed on hold after the department said the program’s funding was rescinded. The agency listed about $8.6 million of NEVI awards and additional discretionary grants that are on hold; Bradford’s NEVI site was completed and is the only site where operations had begun, AOT said.
Patrick Vergheen, AOT, told the committee that of the NEVI solicitations AOT managed, six projects reached contract and were able to get under contract; contracts carried clauses allowing AOT to cancel if federal funding becomes unavailable. AOT said contractors have been told not to incur unreimbursed expenses until federal obligation is confirmed.
Committee members pressed whether the state could challenge the federal action; Boomhower said the attorney general’s office is coordinating any legal response and that the agency itself does not lead litigation. Senators asked for copies of the USDOT memorandum; AOT said the memo would be posted and that the agency would return with updates as federal guidance evolves.
AOT officials also noted local-business impacts: firms preparing to deliver NEVI and discretionary-grant work may have scaled staffing for a pipeline that could be delayed. Several senators requested further briefings on what state funding options or alternate procurement could look like if federal awards are canceled or rescoped.
