UTCA STATEMENT ON DIEGNAN/CALABRESE LEGISLATION TO DELAY ZERO-EMISSION SALES MANDATE

Wall – Utility and Transportation Contractors Association (UTCA) Executive Director David Rible issued the following statement today regarding proposed legislation by Senator Patrick Diegnan and Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese that would delay New Jersey’s zero-emissions vehicle mandate for two years:

“We fully support Senator Diegnan and Assemblyman Calabrese and their efforts to delay the state’s zero-emission sales mandate, a necessary action we’ve been pushing for months. While the principle of zero-emission vehicles is a good one, the reality of the world we live in is quite different. The investments and technology necessary to make this possible on a broad scale simply do not exist. We can wish that they did…but they don’t.

“Our members, who rely heavily on trucks, would face immediate hardships if the mandate is not delayed. These include inadequate charging infrastructure and contending with operational limitations, such as smaller payloads and downtime for charging. Moreover, contractors will almost certainly be unable to secure both internal combustion engines and ZEV trucks, given the average 18-month wait for delivery.

“Many other states have chosen not take this action because they recognize the consequences. New Jersey should learn from them and delay this mandate. We look forward to working with Senator Diegnan and Assemblyman Calabrese to make this a reality.”

About UTCA

UTCA of New Jersey is a non-profit trade association headquartered in Wall, New Jersey. UTCA represents approximately 1,000 member firms in the public and private sectors, active in all phases of heavy, highway, utility, and marine construction, as well as site work including remediation of brownfields and contaminated sites. For more information, log on to http://www.utcanj.org and follow on Twitter @UTCANJ.