Gem State Roundup

Have ideas on where EV charging stations should go in Idaho? ITD wants to hear from you.

By: - June 12, 2022 10:42 am
electric vehicle parking and charging station

In this file photo, electric vehicles are displayed before a news conference with White House Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about the American Jobs Plan and to highlight electric vehicles at Union Station near Capitol Hill on April 22, 2021, in Washington, D.C. The Biden administration proposed over $170 billion in spending to boost the production of zero-emission buses and cars and increase the number of EV charging stations. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Idahoans are encouraged to give feedback at seven public meetings held throughout Idaho in June and July on future placement of electric vehicle charging stations in the Gem State. Residents can also fill out a brief online survey to offer input.

The project, which is led by the Idaho Transportation Department, is being conducted in partnership with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Idaho Office of Energy and Mineral Resources.

“This collaborative effort aligns with the Federal Highway Administration’s recent announcement of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, an initiative to fund strategically placed charging stations to establish an interconnected network for EV cross-country travel,” an ITD press release said.

Officials are seeking feedback on where electric vehicle charging stations should be built, including comments on where locations should be placed near Idaho’s interstates and state highways.

Once the feedback is compiled, ITD will present its findings and strategic plan to the Federal Highway Administration to help guide future EV infrastructure rollout, the press release said.

The Idaho Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan is expected to be approved sometime after Sept. 30. Once approved, Idaho is anticipated to receive $4.4 million for the project in the first year, then $6.3 annually the following four years throughout the duration of the five-year project, according to the ITD press release. That funding will be used to administer grants and agreements for placing charging stations across Idaho. The guidance for eligible projects can be found here. Grant applications for charging station infrastructure could be opened as early as fall 2022.

The public is invited to learn more about the program and share their ideas at one of the seven upcoming public meetings scheduled throughout the state:

IDAHO FALLS

Monday, June 13 | 4 p.m. MT

Idaho Falls Library Rooms 1 & 2

457 W. Broadway St.

FORT HALL

Tuesday, June 14 | 12 p.m. MT

Shoshone Bannock Resort & Casino

777 Bannock Trail

TWIN FALLS

Tuesday, June 21 | 12 p.m. MT

College of Southern Idaho

Human Services Building #150

North College Road

LEWISTON 

Tuesday, June 28 | 12 p.m. PT

Lewiston Public Library

411 D St.

COEUR D’ ALENE

Wednesday, June 29 | 12 p.m. PT

ITD District 1 Office

600 W Prairie Ave. 

GARDEN CITY

Wednesday, July 6 | 5 p.m. MT

Garden City City Hall

6015 Glenwood St.

VIRTUAL MEETING

Virtual Public Meeting (Zoom hosted), July 13 | 11 a.m. MT

Register in advance for this meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

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Christina Lords
Christina Lords

Christina Lords is the editor-in-chief of the Idaho Capital Sun and has been a professional journalist covering local and state government since graduating from the University of Idaho in 2009. A Pocatello native, Lords is a fifth-generation Idahoan who served as a reporter at the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and the Post Register in Idaho Falls and served as assistant editor for the Idaho Press in Nampa. She also led the Idaho Statesman in Boise for two years before turning to nonprofit journalism.

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