WA and OR sue USPS in push for electric mail trucks

Washington and Oregon are suing the U.S. Postal Service for prioritizing gas-powered mail delivery trucks over electric ones.

16 states in all filed suit against the postal service today.

At issue is a purchase order for thousands of new trucks that the postal service made in February. The agency ordered them from a company not versed in electric vehicles, according to the plaintiffs.

Washington, Oregon, California, New York and other states filed their legal claim against the USPS and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

Attorney Bill Sherman with the Washington Attorney General's office says USPS ignored environmental policies and pollution-reduction goals.

"This is a big purchasing decision by the federal government," says Sherman, noting that these are vehicles that are going to be on Washington roads and streets for decades.

"So we are going to be living with the consequences of that decision, breathing the emissions or dealing with these vehicles on the road for a very long time and so it really matters to us," says Sherman.

He says the agency did not complete a thorough environmental review of its vehicle purchase. The states argue that USPS ignored the effects of continued poor air quality on already polluted communities, and didn't consider Washington state's climate policies.

A postal service spokesperson says the agency "conducted a robust and thorough review and fully complied" with all of their legal obligations.