You’ve likely heard that several Maine environmental groups petitioned the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) to adopt California’s aggressive Advanced Clean Car and Truck rules for Maine. The goal of the groups Natural Resources Council of Maine, Sierra Club and Conservation Law Foundation is to bypass the Maine Legislature and force their own climate agenda upon Maine’s people.
It’s bad enough these groups and their allies used a little-known provision in state law to hijack the rulemaking process. More alarming, however, is the disregard of what they heard from the public and risk they pose in upending Maine’s entire economy.
One petition seeks to require that zero-emission vehicles (EVs) make up 43% of new passenger vehicle sales in Maine for the 2027 model year — just three years from now — and 82% by 2032. The other looks to increase the sale and use of electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks, similar to rules California adopted last year.
The hearing held by Maine BEP on Aug. 17 drew more than 100 people; and the message from those opposed was clear: Don’t turn Maine into California. I couldn’t agree more.
By the time Maine BEP met Oct. 24 to discuss the new rules, more than a thousand comments had been submitted with 81% in opposition. It was clear the six attending members of the seven-member board had no interest in pursuing the rules for trucks due to the challenges posed by Maine’s geography. However, they directed staff in a 4-2 vote to move ahead with the rules for passenger vehicles.
Currently, EVs make up only 6% of all new car sales in Maine. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that these vehicles cost $4,600 higher on average, according to Kelly Blue Book. Another reason is Maine’s inhospitably cold environment, which cuts EV efficiency down dramatically in the winter months.
If you don’t believe me, just leave your cell phone or laptop out in the car on a cold night. You’ll see the next morning how well it works.
Then there’s the math of whether we can even get enough vehicles to maintain our current demand. If 430 out of every 1,000 vehicles sold have to be EVs, what if we can only get 200? That means car dealers can sell only 265 gas-powered vehicles, according to the rule, leaving cars on the lot and demand unmet.
This unmet demand only leads to two likely outcomes. The first is higher prices for what they can sell — just look at our tight housing industry right now. The other is buyers will be forced to go out of state, leaving Maine dealers in the dust.
There’s also concern about the number of charging stations that need to be added. A trip from Presque Isle to Augusta or even to camp can leave you stranded if you don’t have enough juice or the ability to charge your vehicle.
An auto dealer brought up another point I hadn’t even thought about. Who’s going to repair all these EVs? Maine doesn’t have enough technicians now and many dealers depend upon our community college system for trades training. Standing up a specialized EV repair training in Maine may be years away; and that’s if we can find qualified instructors.
Regardless, let me get to the blatantly obvious here — the end-around of the Legislature. We need to address the ability of environmental groups and their allies to collect just 150 signatures to trigger the rulemaking process. It allows the smallest of groups the ability to bypass the entire legislative process and gives a board of seven the power to upend our free market system.
We should also reverse any rules they pass. Contrary to what board member Bob Duchesne said, seven unelected, unaccountable people should never have the power to drag Maine’s “people kicking and screaming” anywhere, no less harm Maine’s companies and our economy.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
