States siphoned away $750 million in infrastructure law climate funds

[mahatmakanejeeves]

TRANSPORTATION

States siphoned away $750 million in infrastructure law climate funds

The 2021 law created two new climate-related programs to tackle emissions and protect roads, but states are free to use half the money for other projects

By Ian Duncan
July 27, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

With $14 billion in new federal funding, the infrastructure law was supposed to jolt efforts to protect the U.S. highway network from a changing climate and curb carbon emissions that are warming the planet. New records show the effort is off to an unsteady start as hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent elsewhere.

Last year, 38 states made use of a provision in the law to shift about $755 million to general-purpose highway construction accounts, according to Federal Highway Administration records. The sum is more than one-quarter of the total annual amount made available to states in two new climate-related programs.

California shifted $97 million to pay for safety projects. New York moved $36 million to fund what officials called the state’s “core capital program.” Arizona said it used $20 million for its five-year highway construction program, largely for “pavement preservation,” and Louisiana used $8.2 million to fund roundabouts near an outlet mall. ... Five states couldn’t account for how the money was used after it was transferred.

The nibbling away of climate funding highlights a fundamental tension in the 2021 law, which was crafted to secure bipartisan support. Protections to long-standing flexibility in how states use federal highway funding are hampering efforts by Democrats and the Biden administration to make progress on environmental goals. Amid clashes over federal guidance, the financial transfers from two climate programs — coming as weather events batter the nation’s infrastructure with increased intensity — illustrate how states have wide latitude to discount the wishes of leaders in Washington.

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Ian Duncan is a reporter covering federal transportation agencies and the politics of transportation. He previously worked at the Baltimore Sun for seven years, covering city hall, the military and criminal justice. He was part of the Sun's team covering Freddie Gray's death in 2015 and then-Mayor Catherine Pugh's Healthy Holly books scandal. Twitter https://twitter.com/iduncan

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I wish they'd lend me $2 million.

I would make payments. But it would change my life and ability to contribute to beneficial societal changes. PPP loans were a great idea if they had been applied to the people.