37262 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

55See rule 38a–1 under the Investment Company 

Act. 

1Refer to ‘‘DOT Funding and Financing Programs 

with EV Eligibilities’’ chart on pages 10–11 in the 

NEVI Formula Program Guidance, found at: https:// 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/alternative_fuel_

corridors/nominations/90d_nevi_formula_program_

guidance.pdf. 

registered investment company to come 

into compliance with these provisions? 

Are there measures we can take to assist 

with the transition? Are there provisions 

of the Investment Company Act that 

present unique challenges for providers? 

39. Rule 38a–1 under the Investment 

Company Act requires a fund’s board, 

including a majority of its independent 

directors, to approve policies and 

procedures reasonably designed to 

prevent violation of the Federal 

securities laws by the fund and certain 

service providers.55 To what extent do 

funds currently extend their compliance 

program to information providers, 

where such entity is not considered an 

investment adviser or one of the rule’s 

other named service providers 

(principal underwriters, administrators 

and transfer agents)? Does this analysis 

differ depending on the provider? 

Should we amend Rule 38a–1 to 

incorporate information providers 

within a fund’s compliance program, 

rather than requiring registration of 

information providers as investment 

advisers? What would be the costs and 

benefits of such an approach? 

40. In circumstances where a fund’s 

adviser contracts with an information 

provider, how much information is 

provided to the fund’s board regarding 

the providers on an ongoing basis? Do 

fund boards approve the engagement of 

providers in these circumstances? Does 

this differ depending on the provider? 

General Request for Comment 

This request for comment is not 

intended to limit the scope of 

comments, views, issues, or approaches 

to be considered. In addition to 

information providers, investment 

advisers and investment companies, 

advisory clients and other investors, we 

welcome comment from other market 

participants and particularly welcome 

statistical, empirical, and other data 

from commenters that may support their 

views or support or refute the views or 

issues raised by other commenters. 

By the Commission. 

Dated: June 15, 2022. 

Vanessa A. Countryman, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13307 Filed 6–21–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

23 CFR Part 680 

[Docket No. FHWA–2022–0008] 

RIN 2125–AG10 

National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure 

Formula Program 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM); request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA proposes to 

establish regulations setting minimum 

standards and requirements for projects 

funded under the National Electric 

Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula 

Program and projects for the 

construction of publicly accessible 

electric vehicle (EV) chargers under 

certain statutory authorities. The 

standards and requirements proposed 

would apply to the installation, 

operation, or maintenance of EV 

charging infrastructure; the 

interoperability of EV charging 

infrastructure; traffic control device or 

on-premises signage acquired, installed, 

or operated in concert with EV charging 

infrastructure; data, including the 

format and schedule for the submission 

of such data; network connectivity of EV 

charging infrastructure; and information 

on publicly available EV charging 

infrastructure locations, pricing, realtime availability, and accessibility 

through mapping applications. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before August 22, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not 

duplicate your docket submissions, 

please submit comments by only one of 

the following means: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590. 

• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, 

West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The telephone 

number is (202) 366–9329. 

All submissions should include the 

agency name and the docket number 

that appears in the heading of this 

document or the Regulation Identifier 

Number (RIN) for the rulemaking. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Gary Jensen, Office of Natural 

Environment, (202) 366–2048, or via 

email at Gary.Jensen@dot.gov, or Ms. 

Dawn Horan, Office of the Chief 

Counsel (HCC–30), (202) 366–9615, or 

via email at Dawn.M.Horan@dot.gov. 

Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access and Filing 

This document and all comments 

received may be viewed online through 

the Federal eRulemaking portal at 

www.regulations.gov using the docket 

number listed above. Electronic retrieval 

help and guidelines are also available at 

www.regulations.gov. An electronic 

copy of this document may also be 

downloaded from the Office of the 

Federal Register’s website at 

www.FederalRegister.gov and the 

Government Publishing Office’s website 

at www.GovInfo.gov. 

All comments received before the 

close of business on the comment 

closing date indicated above will be 

considered and will be available for 

examination in the docket at the above 

address. Comments received after the 

comment closing date will be filed in 

the docket and will be considered to the 

extent practicable. In addition to late 

comments, FHWA will also continue to 

file relevant information in the docket 

as it becomes available after the 

comment period closing date and 

interested persons should continue to 

examine the docket for new material. A 

final rule may be published at any time 

after close of the comment period and 

after FHWA has had the opportunity to 

review the comments submitted. 

Executive Summary 

The FHWA proposes to establish 

regulations that would set minimum 

standards and requirements for projects 

funded under the NEVI Formula 

Program and projects for the 

construction of publicly accessible EV 

chargers funded under title 23, United 

States Code.1 The FHWA is directed by 

Paragraph (2) under the Highway 

Infrastructure Program heading in title 

VIII of division J of the Bipartisan 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2022 / Proposed Rules 37263 

Infrastructure Law (BIL) (enacted as the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) 

(Pub. L. 117–58) (Nov. 15, 2021) to 

create minimum standards and 

requirements for NEVI-funded projects. 

As outlined in statute, the purpose of 

the NEVI Formula Program is to 

‘‘provide funding to States to 

strategically deploy EV charging 

infrastructure and to establish an 

interconnected network to facilitate data 

collection, access, and reliability.’’ This 

purpose would be satisfied by creating 

a convenient, affordable, reliable, and 

equitable network of chargers 

throughout the country. Currently, there 

are no national standards for the 

installation, operation, or maintenance 

of EV charging stations, and wide 

disparities exists among EV charging 

stations in key components, such as 

operational practices, payment methods, 

site organization, display of price to 

charge, speed and power of chargers, 

and information communicated about 

the availability and functioning of each 

charging station. The FHWA is directed 

by Section 11129 of BIL, which amends 

23 U.S.C. 109, by adding a requirement 

that EV charging station standards apply 

to all projects that install EV charging 

infrastructure using funds provided 

under title 23, United States Code. This 

proposed rule does not conflict with or 

supersede other title 23, United States 

Code statutory requirements or their 

implementing regulations. This 

regulation would enable States to 

implement federally-funded charging 

station projects in a standardized 

fashion across a national EV charging 

network that can be utilized by all EVs 

regardless of vehicle brand. Such 

standards would provide consumers 

with reliable expectations for travel in 

an electric vehicle across and 

throughout the United States and 

support a national workforce skilled and 

trained in EVSE installation and 

maintenance. 

The BIL specifically required that 

minimum standards and requirements 

be developed related to six areas: 

(1) Installation, operation, and 

maintenance by qualified technicians of 

EV infrastructure. 

The FHWA proposes to require 

general consistency with regard to the 

installation, operation, and maintenance 

and technician qualifications of the 

NEVI Formula Program projects and 

projects for the construction of publicly 

accessible EV chargers that are funded 

under title 23, United States Code. In 

terms of standards for the installation, 

operation, and maintenance of EVSE, 

charging stations would be required to 

contain a minimum number and type of 

chargers capable of supplying electrical 

charge through prescribed standard 

charging ports. This regulation would 

further specify the required minimum 

density of provided chargers, payment 

methods, and requirements for customer 

support services. In terms of technician 

qualifications, the guidance would 

provide minimum skill, training, and 

certification standards for technicians 

installing, operating, and maintaining 

EVSE to ensure consistency around 

quality installation and safety across the 

network. These proposed requirements 

would provide the traveling public with 

reliable expectations for their EV 

charging experience anywhere that 

NEVI Formula funds or title 23, United 

States Code funds are used to construct 

EV charging infrastructure. In addition 

to proposed requirements that would be 

customer-facing, a series of additional 

proposed requirements would provide 

less visible, yet critical, standardization 

and uniformity for how charging 

stations would be installed, maintained, 

and operated. These types of proposed 

requirements would address topics such 

as the certification of charging 

equipment, security, long-term 

stewardship, the qualifications of 

technicians installing and maintaining 

charging stations, and the privacy of 

customer data conveyed. There is also 

proposed language to explain what the 

NEVI program income can be used for 

when there is net income from the sale, 

use, lease, or lease renewal of real 

property acquired with NEVI Formula 

Program funds, or when there is income 

or revenue earned from the operation of 

the EV charging station. 

(2) Interoperability of EV charging 

infrastructure. 

The proposed requirements relating to 

interoperability similarly address less 

visible standardization along the 

national EV charging network. The 

FHWA proposes a seamless national 

network of EV charging infrastructure 

that can communicate and operate on 

the same software platforms from one 

State to another. The FHWA proposes 

interoperability requirements for 

charger-to-EV communication to ensure 

that chargers are capable of the 

communication necessary to perform 

smart charge management and Plug and 

Charge. 

(3) Traffic control devices and onpremise signs acquired, installed, or 

operated. 

The FHWA proposes to address 

requirements about traffic control 

devices and on-premise signs by crossreferencing other existing requirements 

contained in the Manual on Uniform 

Traffic Control Devices for Streets and 

Highways (MUTCD) found at 23 CFR 

part 655 and the Highway Beautification 

regulation at 23 CFR part 750. 

(4) Data requested related to a project 

funded under the NEVI Formula 

Program, including the format and 

schedule for the submission of such 

data. 

The FHWA proposes to outline 

quarterly and annual data submittal 

requirements that are applicable only to 

projects funded under the NEVI 

Formula Program. States would be 

required to submit quarterly data to 

identify charging station use, reliability 

maintenance, and installation cost 

information. On an annual basis, States 

would be required to submit identifying 

information about organizations 

operating, maintaining, or installing 

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment 

(EVSE) along with information about 

any certifications of these entities 

through State or local business 

opportunity certification programs. 

Finally, States would be required to 

submit an annual report describing the 

community engagement activities 

conducted in accordance with their 

approved State EV Infrastructure 

Deployment Plans. 

The proposed regulation would serve 

an important coordination role by 

standardizing submissions of large 

amounts of data from charging stations 

across the U.S. while providing the Joint 

Office with the data needed to create the 

public EV charging database outlined in 

BIL. The FHWA specifically requests 

comments on whether the proposed 

data collection language creates an 

undue burden on the States with the 

amount and types of data to be collected 

and the frequency in which it is to be 

reported. 

(5) Network connectivity of EV 

charging infrastructure. 

The FHWA proposes to outline 

network connectivity requirements for 

charger-to-charger network 

communication, charging network-tocharging network communication, and 

charging network-to-grid 

communication. These proposed 

requirements address standards meant 

to allow for secure remote monitoring, 

diagnostics, control, and updates. The 

FHWA believes these proposed 

requirements would help address 

cybersecurity concerns while mitigating 

against stranded assets (whereby any 

provider abandons operations at any 

particular charging station). Proposed 

network connectivity requirements also 

would specifically require chargers to be 

capable of smart charge management 

and Plug and Charge capabilities by 

requiring the ability to communicate 

through Open Charge Point Protocol 

(OCPP) in tandem with ISO 15118. 


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2Federal Funding is Available For Electric 

Vehicle Charging Infrastructure on the National 

Highway System (dot.gov). 3https://www.driveelectric.gov. 

(6) Information on publicly available 

EV charging infrastructure locations, 

pricing, real-time availability, and 

accessibility though mapping 

applications. 

The FHWA proposes requirements to 

standardize the communication to 

consumers of price and availability of 

each charging station. Specifically 

outlined in the proposed regulation, 

States would be required to ensure that 

basic charging station information (such 

as location, connector type, and power 

level), real-time status, and real-time 

price to charge would be available free 

of charge to third-party software 

developers through application 

programming interface. The FHWA 

believes these requirements would 

enable effective communication with 

consumers about available charging 

stations and help consumers make 

informed decisions about trip planning 

and when and where to charge their 

EVs. The FHWA also proposes 

requirements for public transparency 

when EV charging prices are to be set by 

a third party. The FHWA believes that 

this will protect the public from price 

gouging. 

The proposed rule would apply to the 

50 States, the District of Columbia, and 

Puerto Rico, consistent with the 

definition of the term ‘‘State’’ in 23 

U.S.C. 101(a). These proposed 

regulations would apply to projects 

funded under the NEVI Formula 

Program and projects for the 

construction of publicly accessible EV 

chargers that are funded with funds 

made available under title 23, United 

States Code, with the prioritization of 

projects along Interstates during the first 

year in order to create a reliable national 

network of EV charging infrastructure 

for those travelling long distances or for 

multiple hours at a time. 

The FHWA requests comment on the 

proposed approach summarized above 

and described in detail below to 

establish a set of minimum standards 

and requirements for NEVI Formula 

Program projects and projects for the 

construction of publicly accessible EV 

chargers that are funded under title 23, 

United States Code. 

The FHWA requests comment on the 

consideration, options, and use of 

information to account for the analysis 

of the proposed rule, as described in 

detail in the ‘‘Preliminary Regulatory 

Impact Analysis (PRIA)’’ available in the 

docket. The PRIA supports this 

proposed regulation and estimates the 

costs and benefits associated with 

establishing minimum standards and 

requirements, derived from the costs of 

implementing the proposed regulation 

for each provision of the rule. All of the 

topics for the minimum standards and 

requirements are required under 

Paragraph (2) under the Highway 

Infrastructure Program heading in title 

VIII of division J of BIL. To estimate 

these costs, the PRIA compares the costs 

and benefits of proposed provisions to 

the costs and benefits of the options 

States would likely choose for their own 

EVSE programs in the absence of the 

rule. In many cases, the analysis found 

that States would likely choose the same 

requirements that are found in the 

proposed rule. 

Background 

Creation of the NEVI Formula Program 

The BIL included two new programs 

with a total of $7.5 billion in dedicated 

funding to help make EV chargers and 

alternative fueling facilities accessible to 

all Americans for long-distance trips. As 

one of these two new programs, the 

NEVI Formula Program provides $5 

billion as the first major Federal funding 

program that focuses on a nationwide 

development of EV charging 

infrastructure. The FHWA has released 

program guidance for the NEVI Formula 

Program, available at https://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ 

alternative_fuel_corridors/nominations/ 

90d_nevi_formula_program_

guidance.pdf, as was required by BIL 

within 90 days of enactment. 

This program guidance outlined 

funding features, information about 

required State EV Infrastructure 

Deployment Plans, project eligibility 

provisions, program administration, and 

technical assistance and tools. The 

program guidance also outlined 

potential topics for these proposed 

minimum standards and requirements 

for projects implemented under the 

NEVI Formula Program. 

EV Funding Options 

Several additional DOT funding and 

finance programs are also available to 

plan for and build EV chargers; support 

workforce training for new technologies; 

and integrate EVs as part of strategies to 

address commuter, freight, and public 

transportation needs. For more 

information see the Federal Funding is 

Available for Electric Vehicle Charging 

Infrastructure on the National Highway 

System released April 22, 2022.2

Statutory Authority for NEVI Formula 

Program Minimum Standards and 

Requirements 

The BIL required FHWA to release a 

set of minimum standards and 

requirements for the implementation of 

the NEVI Formula Program under 

Paragraph (2) under the Highway 

Infrastructure Program heading in title 

VIII of division J). 

This proposed regulation directly 

addresses the requirements in BIL. This 

proposed regulation also directly 

addresses the EV Charging Stations 

standards requirement added to 23 

U.S.C. 109 by Section 11129 of BIL for 

projects using title 23, United States 

Code funds for EV charging 

infrastructure. Through the provision of 

minimum standards and requirements, 

the NEVI Formula Program would help 

set reliable expectations for the 

experience of EV charging across the 

nation. Nothing in this regulation is 

intended to be construed to prevent 

States from establishing more stringent 

EV charging infrastructure requirements 

towards building a convenient, 

affordable, reliable, and equitable 

national charging network. 

The BIL required establishment of a 

Joint Office of Energy and 

Transportation (Joint Office) 3 in the 

Department of Transportation and the 

Department of Energy to study, plan, 

coordinate, and implement issues of 

joint concern between the two Agencies. 

The DOT and DOE coordinated on both 

the NEVI Formula Program Guidance 

and development of the minimum 

standards and requirements found in 

this proposed rule. 

Reasoning for NEVI Formula Proposed 

Regulations 

There are no existing national 

standards for EV charging stations, 

although there may be some State 

standards that exist. For any given 

charging station, the charger 

manufacturer, charging network, 

charging network provider, charging 

station owner, charging station operator, 

and even the utility providing 

electricity, may all be different entities, 

all with different expectations for 

contracts, maintenance, operations, and 

customer response. Because EV charging 

is a relatively new technology, there is 

wide diversity in the market from small 

start-up companies to major multinational corporations. This diversity of 

entities results in a variety of charging 

station operations, leaving consumers 

with a learning curve every time they 

encounter a new EV charging station. 

The consumer education required for 

each use of a new charging station, as 

well as unreliability of the charging 

station function and safety issues from 

the lack of standardized technician 

qualifications, exacerbates existing 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2022 / Proposed Rules 37265 

4White House Fact Sheet: The Biden-Harris 

Electric Vehicle Charging Action Plan (December 

13, 2021), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/ 

briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/13/factsheet-the-biden-harris-electric-vehicle-chargingaction-plan/. 5See EPA Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas 

Emissions and Sinks, available at https://

www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-usgreenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2019. 

6See IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers. In: 

Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. 

Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth 

Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel 

on Climate Change, available at https://

www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/#SPM. 

7 IPCC, 2021: Climate Change 2021: The Physical 

Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to 

the Sixth Assessment Report of the 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 

[Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. 

Connors, C. Pe ́an, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. 

Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. 

Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. 

Waterfield, O. Yelekc ̧i, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. 

Cambridge University Press. In Press. 

8 Jacobs, J.M., M. Culp, L. Cattaneo, P. 

Chinowsky, A. Choate, S. DesRoches, S. Douglass, 

and R. Miller, 2018: Transportation. In Impacts, 

Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth 

National Climate Assessment, Volume II 

[Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. 

Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. 

Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research 

Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 479–511. doi: 

10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH12. 

9White House Fact Sheet: The Biden-Harris 

Electric Vehicle Charging Action Plan (December 

13, 2021), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/ 

briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/13/factsheet-the-biden-harris-electric-vehicle-chargingaction-plan/, White House Fact Sheet: President 

Biden Sets 2030 Greenhouse Gas Pollution 

Reduction Target Aimed at Creating Good-Paying 

Union Jobs and Securing U.S. Leadership on Clean 

Energy Technologies (Apr. 22, 2021), available at 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/ 

statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheetpresident-biden-sets-2030-greenhouse-gaspollution-reduction-target-aimed-at-creating-goodpaying-union-jobs-and-securing-u-s-leadership-onclean-energy-technologies/; White House Fact 

Sheet: President Biden’s Leaders Summit on 

Climate (Apr. 23, 2021), available at https://

www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statementsreleases/2021/04/23/fact-sheet-president-bidensleaders-summit-on-climate/. 

10The Long-Term Strategy of the United States, 

Pathways to Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 

2050 (whitehouse.gov). 

11U.S. Department of Transportation Strategic 

Plan FY 2022–2026. 

hurdles for the widespread adoption of 

EVs, including range anxiety and safety 

risks. Range anxiety is a concept 

whereby consumers fear that a vehicle 

has insufficient electrical charge to 

reach its destination or another charging 

station and would therefore strand the 

vehicle’s occupants. This also includes 

the anxiety that chargers would not be 

available where and when needed. 

Furthermore, the lack of minimum 

standards for chargers reduces the 

reliability of a consistent charging 

experience (e.g., the charger meets their 

needs, is working and available, etc.) for 

consumers when they encounter a new 

charging station. Beyond standardizing 

consumer and industry expectations, 

the proposed regulation would outline 

minimum standards and requirements 

to ensure the appropriate use of Federal 

funds on a new technology and market, 

and greatly enhance consumer 

confidence and public safety. 

Benefits to NEVI Formula Program 

Proposed Regulations 

The FHWA believes that the 

establishment of this regulation would 

provide a powerful antidote to these 

issues, create energy independence, and 

encourage more widespread adoption of 

EVs because EV consumers would be 

more confident in the availability, 

safety, and consistency of EV charging 

stations. 

Accordingly, by encouraging the 

adoption and expansion in use of EVs, 

title 23 investments in EV charging 

infrastructure have the potential to 

significantly address the transportation 

sector’s outsized contributions to 

climate change. President Biden, 

American families, automakers, and 

autoworkers agree: the future of 

transportation is electric. The electric 

car future is cleaner, more equitable, 

more affordable, and an economic 

opportunity to support good-paying, 

union jobs across the installation and 

maintenance of the charging 

infrastructure as well as in American 

supply chains as automakers continue 

investing in manufacturing clean 

vehicles and the batteries that power 

them.4 Currently, the transportation 

sector is both the largest source of U.S. 

carbon dioxide emissions,5 and is 

increasingly vulnerable because of the 

higher temperatures, more frequent and 

intense precipitation, and sea level rise 

associated with the changing climate. 

Much of existing transportation 

infrastructure was designed and 

constructed without consideration of 

these changes. 

The Sixth Assessment Report by the 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

Change (IPCC), released on August 7, 

2021, confirms that human activities are 

increasing greenhouse gas 

concentrations that have warmed the 

atmosphere, ocean, and land at a rate 

that is unprecedented in at least the last 

2000 years.6 According to the report, 

global mean sea level has increased 

between 1901 and 2018, and changes in 

extreme events such as heatwaves, 

heavy precipitation, hurricanes, 

wildfires, and droughts have intensified 

since the last assessment report in 

2014.7 These changes in extreme events, 

along with anticipated future changes in 

these events due to climate change, 

threaten the reliability, safety and 

efficiency of the transportation system. 

At the same time, transportation 

contributes significantly to the causes of 

climate change 8 and each additional ton 

of CO2 produced by the combustion of 

fossil fuels contributes to future 

warming and other climate impacts. 

By encouraging widespread adoption 

of a zero-emissions transportation mode, 

the proposed regulation would 

supercharge America’s efforts to lead 

the electric future and align with recent 

Executive Orders (E.O.) 13990, E.O. 

14008, and a U.S. target of achieving a 

50 to 52 percent reduction from 2005 

levels of economy-wide net GHG 

pollution in 2030, on a course toward 

reaching net-zero emissions economywide by no later than 2050.9 Section 1 

of E.O. 13990, ‘‘Protecting Public Health 

and the Environment and Restoring 

Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,’’ 

86 FR 7037 (Jan. 25, 2021), articulates 

national policy objectives, including 

listening to the science, improving 

public health and protecting the 

environment, reducing GHG emissions, 

and strengthening resilience to the 

impacts of climate change. E.O. 14008, 

‘‘Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home 

and Abroad,’’ 86 FR 7619 (Feb. 1, 2021), 

recommits the United States to the Paris 

Agreement and calls on the United 

States to begin the process of developing 

its nationally determined contribution 

to global GHG reductions. 86 FR at 

7620. 

E.O. 14008 also calls for a 

Government-wide approach to the 

climate crisis and acknowledges 

opportunities to create well-paying, 

union jobs to build a modern, 

sustainable infrastructure, to provide an 

equitable, clean energy future, and to 

put the U.S. on a path to achieve netzero emissions, economywide, no later 

than 2050. 86 FR at 7622. It also 

supports the principle set forth in 

section 213 of E.O. 14008 ‘‘to ensure 

that Federal infrastructure investment 

reduces climate pollution.’’ 86 FR at 

7626. Reducing the barriers to charging 

infrastructure will enable the rapid 

expansion of zero-emission vehicles, a 

central component of the U.S. Long 

Term Strategy to reach net-zero 

greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.10 In 

line with this E.O. and addressing the 

climate crisis, enabling wider adoption 

of EVs may also have significant 

benefits to equity and environmental 

justice whereby a national network of 

EV charging infrastructure reduces 

disparities in access to transportation 

infrastructure and health effects.11

The NEVI Formula Program presents 

an opportunity to advance both equity 

and environmental justice for 


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12https://afdc.energy.gov/calc/. This tool 

calculates the total cost of vehicle ownership. 

Selecting the 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E RWD and 

an equivalent gasoline-powered vehicle, such as the 

2022 Ford Explorer RWD Gasoline, shows that the 

EV’s total cost of ownership breaks even with the 

conventional vehicle after 5 years when gasoline 

price is set at $4.50/gallon and the state of Ohio is 

selected. 

13Comparing total cost of ownership of battery 

electric vehicles and internal combustion engine 

vehicles, Most Electric Vehicles are Cheaper to Own 

Off the Lot Than Gas Cars. 

communities that have been 

underserved by transportation 

infrastructure and overburdened by 

costs and environmental harms. When 

determining where EV charging stations 

should be located, there should be 

engagement with rural, underserved, 

and disadvantaged communities to 

ensure that diverse views are heard and 

considered and to ensure that the 

deployment, installation, operation, and 

use of EV charging infrastructure 

achieves equitable and fair distribution 

of benefits and services. Historically, 

innovations in clean energy and 

transportation have not been deployed 

evenly across communities. This has 

resulted in underserved, overburdened, 

and disadvantaged communities being 

left behind. 

Achieving our long-term goals 

requires the equitable deployment of 

electric vehicle infrastructure, and NEVI 

Formula Program funding is the 

opportunity to ensure these investments 

benefit disadvantaged communities and 

create safeguards to prevent or mitigate 

potential harms. Consideration of the 

benefits and harms is in accordance 

with E.O. 13985, which requires the 

Federal Government to pursue a 

comprehensive approach to advance 

racial equity for all, and E.O. 14008, 

which created the Justice40 Initiative, 

which established a goal that 40 percent 

of the overall benefits of certain federal 

investments flow to disadvantaged 

communities. 86 FR at 7626. OMB M– 

21–28 Interim Guidance provides that 

NEVI Formula Program funding is a 

Justice40 federal covered program. 

Consideration for how benefits of EV 

charging flow to rural, underserved, and 

disadvantaged communities will be vital 

towards ensuring NEVI Formula 

Program funding is distributed 

meaningfully and equitably in 

accordance with E.O. 14008. In the 

absence of the NEVI Formula Program, 

the market will not prioritize the 

installation of important EV chargers 

densely populated urban communities 

where the cost of real estate is relatively 

higher or in sparsely populated rural 

areas lacking access to transportation 

alternatives. If access to EV chargers is 

dictated by these market forces, then 

rural areas, underserved communities, 

and disadvantaged communities will 

experience delayed and diminished 

access to this clean energy technology 

and the transportation infrastructure 

that is vital to a healthy economy. Such 

outcomes would be at odds with E.O. 

13985, ‘‘Advancing Racial Equity and 

Support for Underserved Communities 

Through the Federal Government,’’ at 86 

FR 7009. 

However, the proposed rule would 

complement the February 10, 2022, 

NEVI Formula Program Guidance, 

which encouraged EV chargers to be 

spaced a maximum distance of 50 miles 

apart along designated alternate fuel 

corridors (AFCs), by requiring minimum 

standards for the development of each 

station. Providing minimum standards 

and requirements for the development 

of each charging station helps to ensure 

equitable access to clean transportation 

options and the electric grid across all 

communities, increasing parity in clean 

energy technology access and adoption. 

Over the long-term, according to the 

DOE, EV ownership is usually less 

expensive than ownership of gasolinepowered vehicles.12 Additionally, the 

low cost of operation makes some EVs 

less expensive on a monthly basis, 

compared to equivalent gasolinepowered vehicles, when vehicle 

purchase price is financed.13 Thus, 

increased adoption in these 

communities could be associated with a 

community-wide decrease in 

transportation energy cost burdens. In 

communities where transportation 

corridors see a mode-share shift from 

gasoline-powered vehicles to EVs, there 

will be a marked reduction in 

environmental exposures to 

transportation emissions. Widespread 

adoption of EVs in the U.S. would also 

increase our energy resilience by 

increasing the share of vehicles that 

operate on energy sources that are 

domestically produced and regulated 

and assist in creating energy 

independence and domestic job 

creation. 

The NEVI Formula Program also 

addresses the acknowledgement in E.O. 

14008 that the path to a net-zero 

emissions economy provides 

opportunities to create well-paying, 

union jobs to build a modern 

sustainable infrastructure. 86 FR 7622. 

This proposed rule would outline 

minimum qualifications for technicians 

working on-site at charging stations. 

Minimum skill, training, and 

certification standards for technicians 

ensures that the deployment of charging 

infrastructure will support stable careertrack employment for workers across the 

country, creating more openings for 

workers to pursue training in the 

electrical trades—critical occupations 

for the clean energy transition. By 

requiring on-site installation, 

maintenance, and operations to be 

performed by a well-qualified, highlyskilled, and certified, licensed, and 

trained workforce, the proposed 

regulation would also increase the 

safety and reliability of charging station 

function and use, and mitigate project 

delivery issues such as cost overruns 

and delays. 

The proposed regulation would 

establish minimum standards and 

requirements specific to the use of NEVI 

Formula Program funds and funds made 

available under title 23, United States 

Code for projects for the construction of 

publicly accessible EV chargers with the 

prioritization of projects along 

Interstates in order to create a reliable 

national network of EV charging 

infrastructure for those travelling long 

distances or for multiple hours at a time. 

E.O. 14036 also points out that if 

successfully deployed an interoperable 

EV charging network can be expected to 

give EV manufacturers more space to 

experiment, innovate, and pursue the 

new ideas leading to more choices, 

better service, and lower prices 

especially with regard to the EVs 

themselves. 86 FR 36987. 

Request for Information 

The proposed regulation for minimum 

standards and requirements under the 

NEVI Formula Program required 

consultation with relevant stakeholders. 

The DOT issued a Request for 

Information (RFI) published in the 

Federal Register on November 29, 2021 

(86 FR 67782). There were 483 

comments received in response to the 

RFI. Commenters included local, State, 

and regional governments and included 

those with the full range of experiences 

installing and operating EV 

infrastructure. Industry groups and 

businesses involved with EV 

infrastructure, ranging from small 

businesses to trade groups and multinational corporations, also provided 

comments. Some comments received 

were from formal trade organizations: 

the International Brotherhood of 

Electrical Workers, AFL–CIO, CLC 

(IBEW), American Federation of Labor 

and Congress of Industrial 

Organizations (AFL–CIO), and Laborers’ 

International Union of North America. 

Nonprofit groups provided feedback as 

to how the NEVI Formula Program 

could positively or negatively impact 

the communities that these groups 

represented. The FHWA also received 

comments from individual members of 


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14 41 U.S.C. 10a–10d. 

15 86 FR 7475 (January 28, 2021). 

16https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2021- 

11-29/2021-25868. 

17FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration 

Ensuring Future is Made in America | The White 

House. 

the public to include EV owners and 

others who would be impacted by the 

NEVI Formula Program. The FHWA 

considered this input in the 

development of this regulation. A 

discussion of how the most prevalent 

topics were considered and addressed is 

provided below. 

In addition to the RFI, the White 

House sponsored 18 stakeholder 

meetings between November and 

December 2021, each with multiple 

organizations attending and each 

addressing a different stakeholder 

group. Input from these meetings was 

also considered during the development 

of this proposal. 

The FHWA inquired to stakeholders 

how the Buy America provisions would 

impact the NEVI Formula Program and 

asked for comments through two 

Federal Register Request for 

Information discussed below. As stated 

in E.O. 14005 published on January 25, 

2021, Ensuring the Future Is Made in All 

of America by All of America’s Workers, 

Made in America laws, such as the Buy 

American Act 14 requires the Federal 

government to buy domestic ‘‘articles, 

materials, and supplies’’ when they are 

acquired for public use, subject to 

exceptions for nonavailability of 

domestic products, unreasonable cost of 

domestic products, acquisitions subject 

to certain trade agreements, and 

situations where it would not be in the 

public interest to buy domestic 

products.15 The FHWA received 

significant feedback regarding 

compliance with Buy America through 

stakeholder engagement and comments 

from both the RFI published on 

November 29, 2021 (86 FR 67782) 16 and 

a separate RFI specific to Buy America 

published on November 24, 2021 (86 FR 

67115). Unless otherwise specified, all 

applicable requirements under chapter 1 

of title 23, United States Code, apply to 

the use of NEVI Formula Program funds 

and funds made available under title 23, 

United States Code for projects for the 

construction of publicly accessible EV 

chargers, including Buy America 

requirements at 23 U.S.C. 313. 

Additionally, the NEVI Formula 

Program is an infrastructure program 

subject to the Build America, Buy 

America Act (Pub. L. 117–58, div. G 

sections 70901–70927). Additionally, it 

is important to note that as expressed in 

E.O. 14005, Ensuring the Future Is Made 

in All of America by All of America’s 

Workers (86 FR 7475), it is the policy of 

the executive branch to maximize, 

consistent with law, the use of goods, 

products, and materials produced in, 

and services offered in, the United 

States. 

The FHWA acknowledges that the EV 

charging industry expressed early 

concerns regarding the difficulty in 

procuring EV charging equipment that 

met Buy America compliance. The 

FHWA also acknowledges that the 

domestic EV charger manufacturing 

industry is rapidly adapting with 

announcements about U.S. 

manufacturers opening new plants as 

recently as this calendar year.17 The 

comment period for the Buy America 

RFI closed on January 10, 2022. The RFI 

was intended to gather information 

about the shifting manufacturing and 

assembly processes in the United States 

for EV chargers and the availability of 

EV chargers manufactured and 

assembled in the United States in 

compliance with Buy America. 

Continued review of the information 

received from this RFI may result in 

updated policy guidance or regulation, 

as needed. 

It is important to also note that several 

topics raised for concern by comments 

received from the RFI are not applicable 

to this proposed regulation because they 

were outside the scope of the minimum 

standards and requirements but may be 

addressed through subsequent guidance. 

Some responses to the RFI included 

various suggestions of station design, in 

particular vehicle size allowances and 

pull-through access. Minimum 

standards for vehicle size in station 

design are not proposed in this 

rulemaking. However, States are 

encouraged to consider large vehicles, 

including medium- and heavy-duty 

vehicles (such as electric school buses 

and delivery vehicles) and vehicles with 

attached trailers. Pull-through charging 

stations may provide better access for 

vehicles pulling a trailer; pull-through 

charging stations provide ample room to 

move around a vehicle that may take 

longer to charge, because they allow 

vehicles to exit the station without 

backing up and preclude the need to 

decouple the trailer to fit within the 

parking area adjacent to the charger. 

Front pull-in parking style charging 

stations may be appropriate in many 

situations as they allow vehicles to 

freely access the charger without the 

potential to be blocked into the location 

until another vehicle completes 

charging. Station design consideration is 

location specific and should provide the 

public with an efficient, safe, and 

convenient charging experience. 

Other responses to the RFI included 

suggestion to address emergency 

situations that could arise for EVs. This 

proposed rule does not consider 

minimum standards for traffic incident 

management specific to emergency 

situations where EVs lose their charge 

on the roadway. The proposed 

minimum standards would address the 

development of charging stations, and it 

is recognized that if EVs are able to 

arrive at charging stations, there are no 

on-road emergency situations. However, 

if EVs lose their charge while driving on 

the roadway, this emergency situation 

could create a traffic incident. The 

FHWA requests comments to address 

this important issue. The FHWA 

requests specific comment on how 

traffic incident management, crashes, 

and emergency situations should be 

addressed. 

Several commenters voiced opinions 

on the physical safety of the EV 

charging stations and the consumers as 

well as cybersecurity concerns. Safety is 

a top priority at FHWA and must be 

incorporated in all federally funded 

projects. Safety was considered 

throughout the development of the 

proposed regulations, and this proposed 

regulation would require States to 

specifically address physical safety and 

cybersecurity. 

Other comments raised through the 

RFI include topics that will be 

addressed by each State through the 

development of State EV Infrastructure 

Deployment Plans (as outlined in the 

NEVI Formula Program Guidance 

released on February 10, 2022) rather 

than by the Federal Government 

through the proposed regulation. For 

example, FHWA acknowledges that the 

development of a cohesive reliable 

national EV charging network will 

require interstate and regional 

coordination across State borders. 

Consideration and discussion of 

regional coordination is specifically 

outlined in the NEVI Formula Program 

Guidance’s description of how a State 

EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan 

should be formatted. This same section 

of the NEVI Formula Program Guidance 

similarly outlines that States are 

expected to include a discussion of 

maintenance and operational strategies 

in their State EV Infrastructure 

Deployment Plans. 

Questions have also arisen about the 

details of receiving discretionary 

exceptions to charger spacing 

requirements along and within the 

AFCs. Information about discretionary 

exceptions is included in the NEVI 

Formula Program Guidance and is not 


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proposed for further discussion within 

this regulation. 

Section-by-Section Discussion of the 

Proposed Changes 

The FHWA invites comments on the 

proposed minimum standards and 

requirements and identifies areas where 

comments may be particularly useful. 

Section 680.100 Purpose 

Section 680.100 would identify the 

purpose of the regulation to establish a 

set of minimum standards and 

requirements applicable to two types of 

publicly accessible EV charging 

projects: those funded under the NEVI 

Formula Program and those constructed 

with any funds made available under 

title 23, United States Code. 

Section 680.102 Applicability 

The FHWA proposes that the 

regulation apply to all NEVI Formula 

Program projects and all publicly 

accessible EV chargers constructed 

using funds made available under title 

23, United States Code. 

Section 680.104 Definitions 

The FHWA proposes definitions for 

the minimum standards and 

requirements for this regulation. These 

definitions are provided to identify 

terms that are common in the EV 

charging industry but that may not be 

present elsewhere in 23 U.S.C. or 23 

CFR and thus may be unfamiliar in the 

transportation industry. 

Section 680.106 Installation, 

Operation, and Maintenance by 

Qualified Technicians of Electric 

Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 

The proposed regulation includes 

procurement process transparency 

considerations, the minimum number of 

chargers, connector type, and power 

level for each EV charging station. These 

minimum requirements are proposed to 

provide the public with a predictable 

user experience of the public charging 

infrastructure. 

Section 680.106(a) explains the 

expectation of public transparency 

when EV charging prices are to be set by 

a third party. Under Paragraph (2) under 

the Highway Infrastructure Program 

heading in title VIII of division J of BIL, 

the FHWA is required to release a set of 

minimum standards and requirements 

for the implementation of the NEVI 

Formula Program, which includes 

‘‘information on publicly available 

electric vehicle charging infrastructure 

locations, pricing, real-time availability, 

and accessibility through mapping 

applications.’’ (emphasis added). Since 

government funds will be, in part, 

subsidizing these EV charging stations, 

FHWA proposes there be public 

disclosure for the documents 

concerning the operations of EV 

charging stations where price setting is 

involved, including the procurement 

process used, the number of bids 

received, the identification of the 

awardee, the proposed contract with the 

awardee and, in accordance with State 

law, the financial summary of contract 

payments (including the price and cost 

data) and any information describing 

how prices for EV charging are to be set 

under the contract. These items shall be 

made publicly available whether 

through an announcement, public 

comment period or other means. The 

FHWA believes this will protect the 

public interest in understanding how 

prices for charging are set or to be 

determined whenever a private operator 

is involved in the determination of 

price. Since the NEVI Formula Program 

shall be administered as if apportioned 

under chapter 1 of title 23, United States 

Code (1st proviso of paragraph (6) under 

the ‘‘Highway Infrastructure Program’’ 

heading in title VIII of division J of Pub. 

L. 117–58), States would be subject to 

23 U.S.C. 112 and implementing 

procurement regulations for the 

procurement of construction and design. 

Additionally, any agreements for the 

operation and maintenance of an EV 

charging station are subject to the State 

procurement policies and procedures 

per 2 CFR 200.317. 

This language is also consistent with 

FHWA guidance regarding public 

transparency in public-private 

partnership (P3) procurements. The 

FHWA recognizes that some State DOTs 

do not have the authority to enter into 

P3 agreements and FHWA is not 

requiring any State DOT to enter into a 

P3 for EV charging stations. The 

proposed requirements would be 

applicable to any procurement 

involving NEVI Formula Program funds, 

any time EV charging prices are to be set 

by a third party. The FHWA requests 

comment on what other actions could 

be proposed to improve transparency 

during the procurement process in order 

to ensure the price of EV charging is as 

transparent as possible. 

The proposed regulation outlines the 

minimum number and type of chargers 

required in § 680.106(b). In order to 

provide appropriate charging for EVs in 

route to their final destinations, FHWA 

proposes to require Direct Current Fast 

Chargers (DCFCs), which are the fastest 

chargers currently available in the 

public charging marketplace, when 

installed under the NEVI Formula 

Program. While DCFCs are more 

expensive to install and operate, by 

providing a faster experience, they 

allow for convenient charging solutions 

for those vehicles that will be travelling 

long distances or for multiple hours at 

a time in comparison to other chargers 

that would take longer to charge EVs. 

The FHWA has identified a need to 

address this type of EV charging in 

particular, whereby the charging station 

would typically provide a waypoint 

stop but not be the final destination of 

the EV trip and consider that with the 

consumers that would be using these 

types of EV charging stations, time is a 

premium concern. By servicing this 

waypoint need, FHWA recognizes that 

charging stations should be built to 

prioritize convenience over price in 

order to be effective and determines this 

is the best option for those EV charging 

stations located along Interstates. 

Convenience is also the goal in the 

proposed requirement for the number of 

charging ports at each charging station; 

§ 680.106(b) would require a minimum 

of four charging ports capable of 

simultaneously charging four EVs. 

Because even DCFCs typically require a 

third of an hour to provide sufficient 

vehicle charge, long queues of EVs 

waiting to charge could develop at 

charging stations if there are insufficient 

charging ports available. In practice, 

most current new public charging 

stations include 2–8 charging ports to 

address the growing demand, with some 

industry leaders adopting an internal 

standard minimum of 8 charging ports 

per station. In an effort to balance the 

desire to future proof these facilities in 

order to handle increasing demand, 

while creating space to avoid unduly 

burdens on newer entrants to the EV 

charging market, FHWA proposes a 

minimum of four charging ports per 

station. The FHWA proposes that the 

minimum number of four ports per 

charging station apply to projects 

funded with NEVI Formula Program 

funds only. States can still install less 

than four ports DCFC charging stations 

and AC Level 2 charging stations under 

non-NEVI funded programs. The FHWA 

requests comments on whether a 

different number of DCFC ports should 

be required at NEVI Formula Program 

funded charging stations. 

Section 680.106(c) proposes a 

requirement that DCFCs connect and 

communicate with EVs through an 

industry standard charging port type 

called the Combined Charging System 

(CCS). The CCS port is a nonproprietary, accepted standard port in 

North America developed and endorsed 

by the Society of Automotive Engineers 

(SAE). The CCS connectors are 

proposed for all DCFCs to accommodate 


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18https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ 

alternative_fuel_corridors/nominations/90d_nevi_

formula_program_guidance.pdf. 

a baseline of vehicles and to 

accommodate use of adapters that will 

provide EV charging for all vehicles. 

The CCS ports represent the most 

common port type used across all 

manufacturers of new EVs today. As 

stated in the 16th proviso of paragraph 

(2) under the ‘‘Highway Infrastructure 

Program’’ heading in title VIII of 

division J of Public Law 117–58, until 

the Secretary certifies that a State is 

fully built out on their Alternative Fuel 

Corridors, NEVI funding is limited to 

use on EV charging stations along 

Alternative Fuel Corridors. The program 

guidance that FHWA released for the 

NEVI Formula Program,18 explains that 

fully built out is inclusive of installing 

four DCFCs. In an effort to provide 

redundancy and address different needs 

of EV drivers, the proposed regulation 

includes language allowing for the 

installation of additional AC Level 2 

chargers only after the NEVI Formula 

Program requirements for DCFCs have 

been met for projects that use NEVI 

Formula Program funds. Section 

680.106(c) would identify the J1772 

connector as the proposed connector 

type requirement for AC Level 2 

chargers. The FHWA acknowledges that 

AC Level 2 chargers may be desired for 

redundant installation because they are 

less expensive to install and operate. 

Section 680.106(c) would further 

provide for additional flexibility for the 

provision of charging ports after the 

aforementioned CCS requirement has 

been met. This includes adding 

permanently attached proprietary 

connectors to DCFCs. In addition, 

specific to the use of FY22 NEVI 

Formula Program funds, DCFCs may 

include permanently attached 

CHAdeMO connectors for one or more 

DCFC charging port. The option to 

install these additional charging 

connectors is proposed as part of the 

regulation to allow States the flexibility 

to address immediate identified needs 

in their communities while 

participating in the CCS standard which 

would be consistent throughout the 

national network. The FHWA requests 

comment on how other charging 

technologies, such as overheard 

catenary chargers and wireless chargers, 

should be addressed. 

Section 680.106(d) outlines proposed 

minimum power levels to provide a 

reliable DCFC experience for convenient 

EV charging. Requirements for 

minimum power level capabilities 

provided at each port are key to 

ensuring that the DCFCs are able to 

provide a consistent and speedy charge. 

Comments received through the RFI 

indicated that several State DOTs 

currently require EV charging stations to 

have the capability to deliver power at 

or above 150kW per charging port and 

that this is becoming the prevailing 

industry preference for DCFC charging. 

The FHWA encourages the installation 

of chargers with higher power levels 

where appropriate to support industry 

efforts to ensure a consumer’s time to 

charge is at least comparable to filling 

a gas tank. 

The inclusion of a requirement that 

each DCFC charging port must be at or 

above 150kW would benefit the 

charging industry primarily in 

communicating standards with 

individual utilities that may not be 

accustomed to EV industry preferences. 

Section 680.106(d) would include 

several such components describing 

power level requirements for 

coordination between charging station 

owners/operators and utility providers. 

This regulation would also outline 

minimum requirements for the 

participation of DCFC and AC Level 2 

chargers in smart charge management 

programs to ensure a consistent 

charging experience and prioritize 

charging speed. This section would also 

outline power level requirements for 

any AC Level 2 ports, including a 

proposed requirement that all AC Level 

2 chargers have the capability to deliver 

at least a maximum power level of 6 kW 

per port simultaneously across all AC 

ports (these charger types would only be 

allowed after the minimum requirement 

in § 680.106(b) is met). The FHWA 

requests comment on how longer-dwell 

parking locations and locations that 

offer battery swapping technology 

should be addressed. 

Section 680.106(e) would require that 

charging stations be available for use by 

the public 24 hours a day, seven days 

a week, and on a year-round basis, with 

minor exceptions. The FHWA believes 

the near constant availability of chargers 

is key for providing a convenient 

national EV charging network especially 

along long-distance travel routes. 

Consideration should be paid to the 

need of users to access EVSE during 

times of emergency such as evacuation 

from natural disasters, and the risk 

associated with locating EVSE in basefloodplains, as required by FHWA 

regulations at 23 CFR 650 Subpart A. 

Additional consideration may be paid to 

whether EVSE located in floodplains 

will not be at risk from their locations 

being within the projected future base 

floodplains, as described by the Federal 

Flood Risk Management Standard in 

E.O. 14030, Climate-Related Financial 

Risk (86 FR 27967) and 13690, 

Establishing a Federal Flood Risk 

Management Standard and a Process for 

Further Soliciting and Considering 

Stakeholder Input (80 FR 6425.) Isolated 

or temporary interruption to service or 

access for maintenance and repairs 

would not constitute a violation of this 

proposed requirement. The FHWA 

requests specific comment on what 

additional considerations should be 

contemplated to ensure EVSE 

resilience/reliability in floodplains and 

during natural disasters. 

Section 680.106(f) outlines proposed 

requirements for payment methods used 

at EV charging stations. The proposed 

regulation would include requirements 

meant to ensure the interoperability of 

EV charging stations across the national 

network by requiring payment methods 

to adhere to industry standards and also 

requiring that memberships not be 

required for use. The interoperability of 

charging stations is key to ensuring EV 

drivers can have a consistent payment 

experience across the country. The 

proposed regulation also outlines 

several requirements meant to ensure 

payment options are secure, equitable, 

and accessible, while still ensuring that 

the rule will accommodate future 

innovations in payment methods. This 

includes proposed requirements that 

payment options include contactless 

payment methods, that contactless 

payment be accepted from all major 

debit and credit cards, and that access 

and service are not restricted by 

membership or payment method type. 

The FHWA requests comments on 

whether there are other factors that 

could be considered to avoid an 

instance of creating an EV charging 

station that is limited to one type of EV 

consumer wanting to use it or benefiting 

from its use (sometimes also referred to 

as a walled garden). Plug and Charge 

payment capabilities are also required. 

The FHWA requests comment on the 

payment methods that are currently 

proposed including whether noncontactless payment options should be 

required. The FHWA is not requiring 

that the sole payment method be credit 

card, in order to be mindful of the needs 

of the unbanked and underbanked who 

may need to pay via another payment 

method such as the option to purchase 

a prepaid card to be used at the EV 

charging station. This section also 

would require that multilingual access 

and access for people with disabilities 

be provided in the creation of payment 

instructions. The FHWA specifically 

requests comments on whether the 

proposed payment method language 

adequately meets the needs of the 


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19OSHA’s Nationally Recognized Testing 

Laboratory (NRTL) Program—Current List of NRTLs 

| Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

20Section 219 of Executive Order 14008, Tackling 

the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and OMB, 

‘‘Interim Implementation Guidance for the Justice40 

Initiative,’’ M–21–28 (July 20, 2021) available at 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/ 

2021/07/M-21-28.pdf. 

unbanked and underbanked as well as 

strategies to address multilingual access 

and access for people with disabilities 

in the creation of EV charging payment 

instructions. The FHWA also requests 

comments on whether other payment 

methods should be required beyond 

what is currently proposed. 

Section 680.106(g) outlines proposed 

requirements for equipment 

certification. All EVSE would be 

required to obtain certification from an 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration Nationally Recognized 

Testing Laboratory.19 ENERGY STAR 

certification was considered in the 

development of this proposed regulation 

due to its established credentials in 

certifying energy-efficient products, 

thus promoting climate benefits such as 

low energy use and reduced emissions. 

For AC Level 2 EVSE ENERGY STAR 

certification is required. For DCFCs 50– 

350kW, while ENERGY STAR 

certification exists the product 

availability is limited therefore 

certification is not required at this time. 

Section 680.106(h) would require 

States to implement physical and 

cybersecurity strategies consistent with 

their State EV Infrastructure 

Deployment Plans. This section also 

includes options for both physical 

security, such as lighting, siting, driver 

and vehicle safety, fire prevention, 

tampering, charger locks, and illegal 

surveillance of payment devices, and 

cybersecurity strategies that may be 

addressed in order to mitigate charging 

infrastructure, grid, and consumer 

vulnerability associated with the 

operation of charging stations. The 

FHWA encourages States to implement 

policies to safeguard consumer privacy 

and requests comments on best 

practices available in the industry. 

Section 680.106(i) proposes to 

establish a requirement for States to 

maintain charging infrastructure in 

compliance with the provisions in this 

proposed regulation for at least 5 years. 

The period of 5 years was chosen to 

provide a reasonable useful life while 

providing sensitivity to the emerging 

nature of this type of equipment and the 

fast pace of technological advancements 

in the EV charging arena. At the 

conclusion of the 5 year required 

maintenance period, States can choose 

to retire the infrastructure that has 

reached the end of its useful life and 

should consider upgrading or replacing 

the EVSE if necessary. However, if the 

EVSE is still functioning to meet its 

intended purpose after 5 years, States 

should consider maintaining, or 

supporting the maintenance of, the 

EVSE to most efficiently make use of 

Federal resources. The FHWA requests 

comments on whether 5 years is a 

reasonable timeframe to require States 

to maintain EV charging infrastructure 

in compliance with these proposed 

regulations or if another timeframe 

should be considered. 

Section 680.106(j) requires States 

ensure that the installation and 

maintenance of EVSE is performed 

safely by a skilled workforce that has 

appropriate licenses, certifications, and 

training. The proposed regulation would 

further encourage States to utilize a 

diverse workforce of electricians and 

other laborers. 

The proposed regulation also requires 

that, with the exception of apprentices, 

all electricians installing, maintaining, 

and operating EVSE be certified through 

the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure 

Training Program (EVITP). The EVITP 

refers to a comprehensive training 

program for the installation of EV 

supply equipment. To be eligible for 

EVITP, a participant must be a State 

licensed or certified electrician or if the 

participant works in a States that does 

not license or certify electricians, the 

participant must provide documentation 

of a minimum of 8,000 hours of handson electrical construction experience. 

The EVITP was created by a 

collaboration of industry stakeholders 

from the private sector and educational 

institutions. For more information, refer 

to https://evitp.org/. The FHWA 

requests comments on whether there 

should be an alternative to the proposed 

requirement of certification through the 

EVITP, such as a U.S. DOL—recognized 

Registered Apprenticeship EVSE 

training program. 

The FHWA is aware of both support 

and concerns from some portions of the 

EV charging industry regarding the 

EVITP. One concern with the EVITP (as 

submitted through the RFI comments) is 

that making it the sole provider of 

licensing EV technicians would serve to 

privatize the licensing process or 

impose a significant hurdle to obtaining 

qualified electricians to install, operate, 

or maintain EVSE. The FHWA has 

addressed this concern by providing an 

option that States can meet the 

requirement through another Registered 

Electrical Apprenticeship program that 

includes EVSE-specific training. Section 

680.106(j) also requires that, for projects 

where more than one electrician is 

needed, at least one electrician be an 

apprentice in a registered electrical 

apprenticeship program. Section 

680.106(j) further requires that all other, 

non-electrical laborers directly working 

on EVSE have appropriate licenses, 

training and certification in support of 

providing a safe and quality charging 

station. The FHWA specifically requests 

comments on how best to utilize the 

registered apprenticeship system to 

ensure qualified electricians, whether 

EVSE-specific training should be 

required, whether EVITP and its 

associated costs will impose a 

significant hurdle to obtaining qualified 

electricians to install, operate, and 

maintain EVSE, and what other 

equivalent EVSE training programs like 

EVITP should be considered as meeting 

the requirement. 

As stated in the NEVI Formula 

Program Guidance, FHWA recommends 

that States take proactive steps to work 

with training providers, workforce 

boards, labor unions and other worker 

organizations, community-based 

organizations, and non-profits to build a 

local workforce that will support the EV 

network. This includes encouraging the 

expansion of registered apprenticeship 

programs and apprenticeship readiness 

or pre-apprenticeship programs that 

prepare workers for registered 

apprenticeship. States are encouraged to 

support training pathways that are 

inclusive of women, Black, Latino, 

Asian American Pacific, Indigenous, 

and other underrepresented groups. 

There are several sources of funding that 

can be used to provide financial 

assistance to such programs, additional 

information can be found at https://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ 

alternative_fuel_corridors/resources/ev_

funding_report_2021.pdf. Consistent 

with Justice40,20 States should also 

consider how disadvantaged 

communities will benefit from this 

added job growth. The FHWA requests 

comments regarding the availability of 

the workforce to meet these proposed 

requirements. 

Section 680.106(k) outlines proposed 

requirements that EVSE allow for 

customers to report outages, 

malfunctions, and other issues with 

charging infrastructure. This section 

also would specify that States make 

these reporting mechanisms accessible 

and equitable by complying with the 

American Disabilities Act of 1990 

requirements and multilingual access. 

The proposed regulation would provide 

States with flexibility to address 

customer service needs while 

recognizing the important and varied 

role customer service requirements 


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21List of automaker members of CharIN, the 

industry consortium implementing ISO 15118 as 

the basis for a variety of charging technologies, 

including DC and AC conductive charging: 

Community—CharIN, List of CharIN members 

testing their implementations of CCS, including 

parts of ISO 15118, as of November 2021: charin_

testival_na_2021_press-release.pdf. 

22https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202110&RIN=2125-AF85. 

could serve. In an effort to identify realtime incidents, FHWA requests 

comments on customer service 

strategies to enter any issues as part of 

the real-time status data that would be 

outlined in § 680.116(c). The FHWA 

would also encourage States to provide 

emergency response information on-site 

at charging stations. The FHWA also 

specifically requests comments on 

customer service strategies to connect 

charging stations to or provide access 

for traffic incident management 

solutions such as the provision of an 

emergency call box. 

Section 680.106(l) proposes 

requirements to protect customer data 

privacy. The proposed regulation would 

require that only the information strictly 

necessary to provide service to the 

customer be collected, processed, and 

retained. The FHWA encourages States 

to implement policies to safeguard 

consumer privacy and requests 

comments on best practices available in 

the industry. 

Section 680.106(m) proposes to 

explain the purposes for which State 

DOTs and third parties can use NEVI 

program income. The requirement of 

what the net income from the sale, use, 

lease, or lease renewal of real property 

acquired can be used for is consistent 

with 23 U.S.C. 156. The explanation of 

use for the program income or revenue 

earned from the operation of an EV 

charging station mimics the limitations 

on use of revenues for toll roads, 

bridges, tunnels, and ferries found in 23 

U.S.C. 129. 

Section 680.108 Interoperability of 

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 

Proposed § 680.108 outlines 

minimum interoperability standards for 

charger communication with EVs. This 

section outlines and would promote 

industry standards for charging 

infrastructure consistent with standards 

outlined in ISO 15118, incorporated by 

reference in § 680.120. ISO 15118 is an 

international standard for EV-to-charger 

communication. ISO 15118 allows for 

several innovative techniques that are 

not yet widely adopted in the domestic 

EV charging marketplace, but that are of 

significant interest in the industry for 

future adoption such as Plug and Charge 

and smart charge management. As 

stated in the definitions section, Plug 

and Charge is a method of initiating 

charging and payment for charging upon 

plugging an EV into a charger. Smart 

charge management is another 

innovative technique that can provide 

tremendous benefits to include load 

management and grid resilience. 

In order to address both the desire to 

position EV charging infrastructure for 

long-term success and the potential for 

hesitation from certain parts of the 

industry to invest in newer 

technological capabilities provided for 

through compliance with ISO 15118, 

proposed regulations would require 

chargers to conform with ISO 15118 to 

reciprocate communications with CCScompliant EVs that have implemented 

ISO 15118. 

Because EV technology is relatively 

new and evolving across the global 

market landscape, the regulatory 

environment for EV chargers is nascent 

and technological advances are 

occurring on an international, rather 

than a national scale. Therefore, one of 

the most trusted industry and market 

standards for charger to EV 

communication is an international 

group of standards, ISO 15118, 

developed by the International 

Electrotechnical Commission and the 

International Organization for 

Standardization. The ISO 15118 is 

recognized as the standard for charger to 

EV communication and is already used 

by the many major EV and charger 

manufacturers with products in the 

United States. While it is expected that 

EV communication standards and 

protocols will be updated on an iterative 

basis, FHWA understands that ISO 

15118 provides an important industry 

baseline and future versions/iterations 

of this standard are expected to be 

implemented as additional software 

updates are developed to accommodate 

future vehicles implementing future 

versions of the international standard. 

The FHWA acknowledges that there is 

not a history of unanimous support for 

ISO 15118; however, FHWA views the 

prevailing trend of the domestic EV 

market’s reference for ISO 15118 as 

evidence that it provides an appropriate 

standard to reference in the proposed 

rule.21 The FHWA requests comment on 

the proposed reference to ISO 15118 

and requests information about any 

other known standards that could be 

referenced in place of ISO 15118 while 

maintaining a seamless, uniform, and 

consistent experience across the 

national network. The FHWA also 

requests comment on whether a 

performance standard (i.e., a standard 

that requires outcomes rather than 

specifying a specific means to an end) 

would be more appropriate and, if so, 

what such a performance standard 

might look like. 

Section 680.110 Traffic Control 

Devices or On-Premises Signs Acquired, 

Installed or Operated 

This section proposes that minimum 

standards and requirements regarding 

traffic control devices and on-premise 

signage would be set by existing 

applicable regulations in 23 CFR part 

655 and 23 CFR part 750 for NEVI 

Formula Program projects and projects 

for the construction of publicly 

accessible EV charging infrastructure 

funded under title 23, United States 

Code. These established regulations 

cover the traffic signs, signals, and 

pavement markings as well as 

directional and official signs adjacent to 

Interstates and the Federal-aid primary 

system (respectively). The FHWA is in 

the process of updating the Manual on 

Uniform Traffic Control Devices 

(MUTCD), which is governed by 23 CFR 

part 655, through a parallel 

rulemaking.22 While the MUTCD is 

being updated, it currently does allow 

for and outlines requirements for EV 

charging signs. 

Section 680.112 Data Submittal 

This section would outline the 

minimum data submittal requirements 

particular only to NEVI Formula 

Program projects. Section 680.112 

would not apply to other EV charging 

projects funded through title 23, United 

States Code. The proposed data 

submittal requirements in § 680.112 

include quarterly data submittal 

requirements (§ 680.112(b)), annual data 

submittal requirements (§ 680.112(c)), 

and a requirement to create an annual 

community engagement outcomes 

report (§ 680.112(d)). Throughout this 

section, FHWA proposes that States 

ensure data are properly collected, 

maintained, and submitted in a 

prescribed format. The FHWA is 

proposing that the data collected 

through § 680.112 will be coordinated 

and maintained by the Joint Office. The 

FHWA will work with the Joint Office 

on ways to provide State DOTs with 

resources to facilitate the data collection 

and submission, which could include 

an online data portal, instructions for 

data formatting, standard reporting 

templates and automating data 

collection from charging network 

providers. The data management role of 

the Joint Office is consistent with the 

26th proviso of paragraph (2) under the 

‘‘Highway Infrastructure Program’’ 

heading in title VIII of division J of 


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Public Law 117–585858, which states 

that one of the responsibilities of the 

Joint Office is ‘‘data sharing of 

installation, maintenance, and 

utilization in order to continue to 

inform the network build out of zero 

emission vehicle charging and refueling 

infrastructure.’’ 

Section 680.112(b) proposes that 

charging station use, reliability, and 

maintenance data be collected quarterly. 

These proposed quarterly data 

submittals would include data 

describing basic operations and usage of 

each charging station such as data that 

identify charging station locations, 

charging session metrics, and how much 

energy has been dispensed per port. 

Section 680.112(b) also outlines the 

proposed collection of maintenance and 

reliability data, such as charging station 

uptime, the total monthly cost of 

electricity that the charging station 

operator must pay to operate on a 

charging station each month (including 

demand charges, energy charges [$/ 

kWh], fixed charges, taxes, and all other 

fees), and the monthly maintenance and 

repair costs per charging station. Where 

monthly data is utilized, this data 

would be required per month for each 

of the previous three months, provided 

every quarter. 

The FHWA also proposes to require 

the collection and submittal of charging 

station construction and charger 

installation data on a quarterly basis. 

The proposed regulation would require 

the submittal of detailed costs, such as 

the EVSE acquisition and installation 

costs, details about distributed energy 

resource acquisition and installation, 

and grid connection and upgrade costs 

paid by the charging station operator. 

Grid connection and upgrade data 

submittals would only be required 

specific to the costs on the utility side 

of the electric meter. Where distributed 

energy resources are involved, 

additional data is proposed for 

submittal regarding distributed energy 

resource capacity per charging station. 

The type of data proposed for collection 

through § 680.112(b) is consistent with 

the description in BIL of the data the 

Joint Office is responsible for 

coordinating. 

Through § 680.112(c), FHWA 

proposes to require the collection of 

three datasets on an annual basis. 

Proposed data requirements include 

identifying information for the 

organizations that operate, maintain and 

install the EVSE and whether these 

organizations participate in State or 

local business opportunity certification 

programs such as programs for minorityowned businesses, Veteran-owned 

businesses, woman-owned businesses, 

and/or businesses owned by 

economically disadvantaged individuals 

for private entities. These datasets are 

generally more static and require less 

frequent updates than the proposed data 

required through § 680.112(b). 

Finally, § 680.112(d) would require 

the creation of a community engagement 

outcomes report to document, on an 

annual basis, the community 

engagement activities conducted in 

compliance with a State’s approved 

State EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan 

(these Plans are described in the NEVI 

Formula Program Guidance, released 

February 10, 2022). This annual report 

would document adherence to the 

community engagement methodology 

described in approved Plans and would 

allow States to analyze feedback from 

the public regarding both successes and 

opportunities for improvement in NEVI 

Formula Program implementation. The 

community engagement plan would 

allow States to assess ways to improve 

future NEVI Formula Program projects, 

thus adapting and protecting future 

Federal investments. 

The proposed regulation would serve 

an important coordination role by 

standardizing submissions of large 

amounts of data from the types of 

charging stations funded by the NEVI 

Formula Program across the United 

States. The proposed regulation would 

provide the Joint Office with the data 

needed to create the public EV charging 

database outlined in BIL. If the data 

proposed in § 680.112 were not 

submitted as requested, FHWA and 

States would be unable to meet 

intended Program implementation 

objectives outlined in BIL, such as the 

sharing of installation, maintenance, 

and utilization data in order to continue 

to inform the network build out of zero 

emission vehicle charging and refueling 

infrastructure. 

The PRIA identifies benefits and costs 

associated with requirements proposed 

through § 680.112. While the data 

submittals will play a key role in 

assisting FHWA and the Joint Office in 

both communicating information to 

consumers and monitoring the 

effectiveness of the NEVI Formula 

Program, FHWA recognizes that data 

collection, maintenance, and submittal 

can incur large costs for States. The 

FHWA has included an estimate of 

burden hours for this data collection 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 section below and is requesting 

comment on the number of burden 

hours associated with this collection. 

The FHWA requests comment on the 

frequency of data collection and 

whether the quarterly and annual 

timeframes are appropriate. 

Section 680.114 Charging Network 

Connectivity of Electric Vehicle 

Charging Infrastructure 

The FHWA proposes to set minimum 

standards for the charging network 

connectivity of EV charging 

infrastructure to include charging 

network communication, charging 

network-to-charging network 

communication, and charging networkto-grid communication. 

Section 680.114(a) outlines several 

minimum standards for charger-tocharging network communication. 

These proposed standards reference the 

Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), 

which is an industry standard that is 

designed to work in tandem with ISO 

15118 to enable smart charge 

management and Plug and Charge 

communications protocols. The Open 

Charge Alliance upholds OCPP 

specifically to address interoperable 

communication standards between 

chargers charging networks. As stated in 

the discussion regarding § 680.108, 

FHWA recognizes that smart charge 

management and Plug and Charge are 

newer technological capabilities not yet 

widely adopted in the industry and, as 

such, proposed regulations would 

require the capability to support these 

methods through compliance with 

OCPP, rather than requiring these 

methods outright. The FHWA 

recognizes that OCPP is a widely used 

industry standard for EV charger 

communication but solicits comments 

regarding the reference to OCPP and 

requests information on any alternative 

standards, including whether a 

performance standard would be more 

appropriate and, if so, what such a 

performance standard might look like. 

Several of these minimum standards 

also help address cybersecurity threats 

for assets monitored and maintained 

from remote locations. Covered in this 

section are requirements that chargers 

use a secure communication method; 

that they can receive secure remote 

software monitoring, management, and 

updates; and that they can conduct 

secure real-time authentication and 

authorization. The standardization of 

communications protocols proposed 

through requirements in § 680.114(a) 

not only facilitate ease of secure remote 

charger station monitoring and 

management consistent with existing 

market standards, but also help mitigate 

against the installation of stranded 

assets whereby a charger installed by 

one company can easily be operated by 

another should the first voluntarily or 

involuntarily abandon operations of 

those chargers at that location. The 

FHWA retains a keen interest in 


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23Alternative Fuels Data Center: Alternative 

Fueling Station Locator (energy.gov). 

protecting Federal investments; 

therefore, by helping to avoid stranding 

assets, the proposed regulation helps to 

ensure that EVSE is usable by the public 

throughout the timeframe of the 

equipment’s’ useful lives. 

Other charger-to-charging network 

minimum standards proposed under 

§ 680.114(a) concern data collection to 

include a proposed requirement that 

chargers and charging networks securely 

measure, communicate, store and report 

real-time data to support the data 

submittal requirements outlined in 

§§ 680.112 and 680.116. 

The FHWA proposes to include a 

requirement in § 680.114(b) that, where 

credential-based electric charge 

initiation or payment is implemented, 

charging networks be capable of 

communicating with other charging 

networks to enable customers to use a 

single credential regardless of the 

charging network responsible for a 

charging station. 

Finally, § 680.114(c) proposes to 

require that charging networks be 

capable of secure communication with 

electric utilities, other energy providers, 

or local energy management systems. 

This proposed requirement addresses 

cybersecurity threats to the electric grid 

while facilitating a collaborative market 

environment across private industry and 

utilities to enable ease of charging. The 

FHWA requests information about 

highly regarded EV charging 

cybersecurity and security resources in 

order to identify further potential 

specific associated protocols and 

standards to include in the final rule. 

Section 680.116 Information on 

Publicly Available Electric Vehicle 

Charging Infrastructure Locations, 

Pricing, Real-Time Availability, and 

Accessibility Through Mapping 

Applications 

The FHWA proposes to establish 

minimum standards and requirements 

for chargers to communicate their status 

with consumers and third-party 

mapping applications. Section 

680.116(a) proposes several 

requirements regarding the 

communication, display, and structure 

of the pricing for electrical charging. 

Chargers would be required to display 

and base the price of electrical charge in 

$/kWh. The FHWA is aware that several 

States restrict the ability to display 

charge in $/kWh; therefore, FHWA 

requests comments on how to best 

require the display and base the price of 

electrical charge in those States, seeking 

specific comment on whether $/minute, 

$/mile, or some other display and base 

should be considered. Additional 

pricing requirements would outline how 

chargers communicate real-time pricing 

to include proposed requirements 

regarding the display of pricing and 

access to information about price 

structure, including whether providers 

impose dwell-time fees or additional 

fees in addition to the price for 

electricity. The FHWA specifically 

requests comments on whether 

additional fees should be allowed or 

encouraged. These proposed minimum 

requirements are meant to ensure that 

consumers can have standard 

expectations for understanding pricing 

across the entire national EV charging 

network. The FHWA also requests 

comments on whether there are factors 

that could be considered to avoid an 

instance of charging the consumer too 

high a price for electric vehicle 

charging, especially when demands are 

high and supplies are limited 

(sometimes also referred to as price 

gouging). 

Section 680.116(b) also proposes a 

minimum annual uptime requirement of 

greater than 97 percent for the charging 

ports. Comments from the RFI indicated 

that a minimum uptime requirement is 

highly desired both from a government 

and a consumer perspective. Comments 

also indicated that minimum uptime 

requirements currently in place for 

existing EV chargers can range from not 

specifying a number to requiring 95–99 

percent uptime. The FHWA proposes an 

uptime requirement of at least 97 

percent in an effort to provide a reliable 

national network for EV charging. The 

FHWA proposes to require that uptime 

be available as a dataset submitted 

quarterly (see § 680.112(b)(2)(iii)) and 

retained for historical review (see 

§ 680.114(a)(4)). 

Uptime is calculated for the time 

when a charger’s hardware and software 

are both online and available for use, or 

in use, and the charging port 

successfully dispenses electricity as 

expected. For the purposes of the 

required minimum uptime calculation, 

FHWA proposes that charging port 

uptime must be calculated on a 

quarterly basis for the previous 12 

months. Charging port uptime 

percentage would be calculated using 

the equation m= ((8760¥(T_outage¥T_

excluded))/8760) × 100 where m = port 

uptime percentage, T_outage = total 

hours of outage in previous year, and 

where T_excluded = total hours of 

outage in previous year for reasons 

outside the charging station operator’s 

control, such as electric utility service 

interruptions, internet or cellular 

service provider interruptions, and 

outages caused by the vehicles, 

provided that the Charging Station 

Operator can demonstrate that the 

charging port would otherwise be 

operational. 

Third-party mapping applications 

play an important role for consumers by 

communicating real-time and 

geolocated information. Recognizing 

this important role, FHWA proposes in 

§ 680.116(c) that States ensure several 

data are made available, free of charge, 

to third party software developers, via 

application programming interface. 

Many of the data proposed for 

collection through § 680.116(c) are 

currently being coordinated through the 

Alternative Fuel Data Center (AFDC).23

The AFDC collects data through robust 

data mining and submission requests 

from a diversity of sources to include 

trade media, Clean Cities coordinators, 

the AFDC website, charging station 

owners, original equipment 

manufacturers (OEMs), and industry 

groups. By proposing to require these 

data, the proposed regulation would 

provide an ancillary benefit to another 

federally funded program by 

streamlining the data collection burden 

on the AFDC and thus enabling the 

AFDC services to be more immediately 

responsive to real-time updates to 

provide more accurate information to 

the public. 

Included in this list of data are several 

static data entries (i.e., data entries that 

will rarely change), such as basic 

charger station descriptive information. 

This includes a requirement to identify 

the number of charging ports accessible 

to persons with disabilities at each 

charging station. The accessibility of 

charging ports is of particular interest to 

the FHWA in identifying compliance 

with the American Disabilities Act of 

1990 (ADA) and promoting equitable 

access to EV charging. The results of 

this data field will also help 

communicate the availability of chargers 

for those with disabilities through realtime internet searches. 

The FHWA also proposes to require 

the availability to third party software 

developers of two real-time datasets 

updated at a frequency that meets 

reasonable expectations. The two realtime datasets proposed to be required by 

§ 680.116(c) include real-time status of 

each charging port and real-time price to 

charge. The proposed real-time dataset 

requirements reference the Open Charge 

Point Interface (OPCI) 2.2, which 

defines the standardized content and 

format of data needed to communicate 

status and price. The FHWA 

acknowledges that there are other 

references that chargers could use to 

communicate status and price to charge, 


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24The basics of Plug & Charge | Switch (switchev.com). 

but OPCI 2.2 is widely used within the 

EV charging industry. The FHWA 

anticipates that consumers will need 

these real-time data to make decisions 

as to where and when to charge along 

the national EV charging network. The 

FHWA solicits comments regarding the 

reference to OCPI and requests 

information on any alternative 

standards, including whether a 

performance standard would be more 

appropriate and, if so, what such a 

performance standard would look like. 

Section 680.118 Other Federal 

Requirements 

This section would direct NEVI 

Formula Program projects and projects 

for the construction of publicly 

accessible EV charging infrastructure 

funded under title 23, United States 

Code to existing applicable 

requirements under chapter 1 of title 23, 

United States Code, 2 CFR part 200, and 

23 CFR parts 35 and 36. 

Section 680.120 Reference Manuals 

The FHWA recognizes the value to 

the EV charging community of several 

cited resources to include ISO 15118, 

Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), and 

Open Charge Point Interface 2.2. The 

FHWA proposes that § 680.120 would 

incorporate ISO 15118, Open Charge 

Point Protocol (OCPP), and Open Charge 

Point Interface 2.2 by reference. 

Discussion Under 1 CFR Part 51 

The documents that FHWA is 

proposing to incorporate by reference 

are reasonably available to interested 

parties, primarily State DOTs and local 

agencies carrying out Federal-aid 

highway projects. These documents 

represent recent refinements that 

professional organizations have formally 

accepted. The documents are also 

available for review at FHWA 

Headquarters or may be obtained online. 

The specific standards and 

specifications are summarized below. 

Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) 

2.2.1 

This protocol defines communication 

between charging network providers, 

charging station operators, and other 

entities to improve the EV charging 

customer experience. The OCPI’s 

primary purpose is to allow roaming, so 

EV charging customers can use a single 

credential at charging stations operated 

by different charging station operators 

and/or charging network providers. This 

requires the automated exchange of 

information, such as identity 

authentication, charging session 

authorization, and charging session 

billing, between charging network 

providers and charging station 

operators. The OCPI also defines data 

content and format to allow these 

entities to share information about 

charging stations, such as price, 

location, and real-time status. 

The OCPI is an open protocol with no 

cost or licensing requirements. The 

document describing the protocol is 

made accessible to the general public 

through the website of its sponsoring 

organization, EVRoaming Foundation. 

Changes in version 2.2.1 include 

addition of data fields such as country 

code, efficiency improvements, and 

addition of error messages. 

The material may be obtained from 

the EVRoaming Foundation at https://

www.evroaming.org. 

International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO) 15118 

Officially titled Electric Road 

Vehicles: Road Vehicles—Vehicle to 

Grid Communication Interface, this 

standard defines the communication 

between an EV and a charger to allow 

EV charging through the CCS connector 

interface or other means of coupling an 

EV with a charger. The standard 

consists of six published and active 

parts, named as follows: ISO 15118–1: 

General information and use-case 

definition; ISO 15118–2: Network and 

application protocol requirements; ISO 

15118–3: Physical and data link layer 

requirements; ISO 15118–4: Network 

and application protocol conformance 

test; ISO 15118–5: Physical and data 

link layer conformance test; and ISO 

15118–8: Physical layer and data link 

layer requirements for wireless 

communication. Each part is updated 

and published independently, following 

change management processes defined 

by ISO. 

Use cases defined in the standard 

include automated charging customer 

identification and authorization via Plug 

and Charge,24 manual charging 

customer identification and 

authorization via RFID card or other 

method, AC and DC wired charging, and 

smart charge management. The ISO 

15118–1 was updated in 2019 to include 

use cases for wireless charging, 

bidirectional power transfer allowing 

the EV to provide energy to the grid, and 

electric bus charging via overhead 

charging devices called pantographs. 

Charger and EV manufacturers and 

other industry stakeholders collaborate 

on the development of the standard but 

implement the standard independently. 

The material may be obtained from 

the International Organization for 

Standardization at https://www.iso.org/ 

contact-iso.html. 

Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) 

2.0.1 

This protocol provides a method of 

communication between any type of 

charger and a charging network to allow 

remote monitoring and management of 

one or many chargers. The OCPP is an 

open protocol with no cost or licensing 

requirements. Instruction documents 

and software code for implementing the 

protocol are made accessible to the 

general public through the website of its 

sponsoring organization, Open Charge 

Alliance. Chargers that conform to 

OCPP can communicate with any OCPPcompliant charging network. This 

allows the charging station operators 

that own the chargers to choose between 

multiple charging network providers. 

The OCPP 2.0.1 was released in 

March 2020. It made improvements over 

version 2.0 in the areas of security, 

compatibility with ISO 15118 related to 

Plug and Charge, smart charge 

management, and the extensibility of 

OCPP. Version 2.0.1 also enhanced 

capabilities related to charger 

monitoring, transaction handling, and 

display of information such as pricing to 

customers. 

The material can be obtained from 

Open Charge Alliance at https://

www.openchargealliance.org. 

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 

J1772 

This standard, officially titled SAE 

Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice 

J1772, SAE Electric Vehicle and Plug in 

Hybrid Electric Vehicle Conductive 

Charge Coupler, defines the charging 

connector interface between an EV and 

a charger. It specifies the physical, 

electrical, and communication 

requirements of the connector and 

mating vehicle inlet for both AC Level 

2 and DC fast charging. The October 

2017 version of the standard refined 

language, corrected errors found in the 

previous version, and updated 

information to reflect the addition of 

higher-power-capacity DC charging. The 

standard can be purchased from the 

sponsoring organization, SAE 

International at https://www.sae.org. 

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices 

Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory 

Planning and Review), Executive Order 

13563 (Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review), and DOT 

Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has determined that the 

proposed rule would be a significant 


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regulatory action within the meaning of 

E.O. 12866. 

The preliminary regulatory impact 

analysis (PRIA) supports this proposed 

regulation and estimates the costs and 

benefits associated with establishing 

minimum standards and requirements. 

All of the topics for the minimum 

standards and requirements are required 

by BIL. To estimate these costs, the 

PRIA compared the costs and benefits of 

proposed provisions to the costs and 

benefits of the options States would 

likely choose for their own EVSE 

programs in the absence of the rule. In 

many cases, the analysis found that 

States would likely choose the same 

requirements that are found in the 

proposed rule. While many of the costs 

and benefits in the proposed rule are 

difficult to quantify, FHWA believes 

that the benefits justify the costs. The 

full regulatory impact analysis is 

available in the docket. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

In compliance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96–354, 5 U.S.C. 

601–612), FHWA has evaluated the 

effects of this proposed rule on small 

entities and has determined that it is not 

anticipated to have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The proposed 

rule would impact directly State 

governments, which are not included in 

the definition of small entity set forth in 

5 U.S.C. 601. Small entities that may be 

impacted indirectly by a rulemaking are 

not subject to analysis under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, see Mid-Tex 

Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 773 

F.2d 327 (D.C. Cir 1985). Therefore, 

FHWA certifies that the proposed rule 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This proposed rule would not impose 

unfunded mandates as defined by the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

(Pub. L. 104–4, 109 Stat. 48). This 

proposed rule would not result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and Tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $168 million or more 

in any one year (2 U.S.C. 1532). In 

addition, the definition of ‘‘Federal 

Mandate’’ in the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act excludes financial 

assistance of the type in which State, 

local, or Tribal governments have 

authority to adjust their participation in 

the program in accordance with changes 

made in the program by the Federal 

Government. The Federal-aid highway 

program permits this type of flexibility. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism 

Assessment) 

This proposed rule has been analyzed 

in accordance with the principles and 

criteria contained in E.O. 13132, and 

FHWA has determined that this 

proposed rule would not have sufficient 

federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a federalism assessment. 

The FHWA also has determined that 

this proposed rule would not preempt 

any State law or State regulation or 

affect the States’ ability to discharge 

traditional State governmental 

functions. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), 

Federal agencies must obtain approval 

from the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for each collection of 

information they conduct, sponsor, or 

require through regulations. The FHWA 

has determined that this proposal 

contains collection of information 

requirements for the purposes of the 

PRA. This proposed rule identifies 

minimum standards and requirements 

for the implementation of NEVI Formula 

Program projects and projects for the 

construction of publicly accessible EV 

chargers that are funded with funds 

made available under title 23, United 

States Code. The collection of quarterly, 

annual, and real-time data in support of 

23 CFR 680.112(b), 23 CFR 680.112(c), 

23 CFR 680.112(d), and 23 CFR 

680.116(c) is covered by OMB Control 

No. 2125–XXXX. 

The FHWA has analyzed this 

proposed rule under the PRA and has 

determined the following: 

Respondents: 52 State DOTs. 

Frequency: Quarterly reporting (23 

CFR 680.112(b)). Annual reporting (23 

CFR 680.112(c) and 23 CFR 680.112(d)). 

Real-time reporting (23 CFR 680.116(c)). 

Estimated Average Burden per 

Response: Approximately 58 hours 

annually to complete, maintain, and 

submit requested data. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: Approximately 3,016 hours 

annually. 

FHWA invites interested persons to 

submit comments on any aspect of the 

information collection in this NPRM. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The FHWA has analyzed this proposed 

rule pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and has 

determined that it is categorically 

excluded under 23 CFR 771.117(c)(20), 

which applies to the promulgation of 

rules, regulations, and directives. 

Categorically excluded actions meet the 

criteria for categorical exclusions under 

the Council on Environmental Quality 

regulations and under 23 CFR 

771.117(a) and normally do not require 

any further NEPA approvals by FHWA. 

This proposed rule would establish a 

regulation on minimum standards and 

requirements for the NEVI Formula 

Program as directed by BIL to provide 

funding to States to strategically deploy 

EV charging infrastructure and to 

establish an interconnected network to 

facilitate data collection, access, and 

reliability. The FHWA does not 

anticipate any adverse environmental 

impacts from this proposed rule; no 

unusual circumstances are present 

under 23 CFR 771.117(b). 

Executive Order 13175 (Tribal 

Consultation) 

The FHWA has analyzed this 

proposed rule in accordance with the 

principles and criteria contained in E.O. 

13175, ‘‘Consultation and Coordination 

with Indian Tribal Governments.’’ The 

proposed rule would establish a 

regulation on minimum standards and 

requirements for the NEVI Formula 

Program to provide funding to States to 

strategically deploy EV charging 

infrastructure and to establish an 

interconnected network to facilitate data 

collection, access, and reliability. This 

measure applies to States that receive 

title 23 Federal-aid highway funds, and 

it would not have substantial direct 

effects on one or more Indian Tribes, 

would not impose substantial direct 

compliance costs on Indian Tribal 

governments, and would not preempt 

Tribal laws. Accordingly, the funding 

and consultation requirements of E.O. 

13175 do not apply and a Tribal 

summary impact statement is not 

required. 

Executive Order 12898 (Environmental 

Justice) 

E.O. 12898 requires that each Federal 

agency make achieving environmental 

justice part of its mission by identifying 

and addressing, as appropriate, 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

of its programs, policies, and activities 

on minorities and low-income 

populations. The FHWA has determined 

that this proposed rule does not raise 

any environmental justice issues. 

Regulation Identifier Number 

A RIN is assigned to each regulatory 

action listed in the Unified Agenda of 

Federal Regulations. The Regulatory 

Information Service Center publishes 


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the Unified Agenda in April and 

October of each year. The RIN contained 

in the heading of this document can be 

used to cross reference this action with 

the Unified Agenda. 

List of Subjects in 23 CFR Part 680 

Grant programs—transportation, 

Highways and roads, Incorporation by 

reference, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 

Issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

1.81 and 1.85. 

Stephanie Pollack, 

Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration. 

■ In consideration of the foregoing, 

FHWA proposes to amend Title 23, 

Code of Federal Regulations by adding 

part 680, to read as follows: 

PART 680—NATIONAL ELECTRIC 

VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE 

FORMULA PROGRAM 

Sec. 

680.100 Purpose. 

680.102 Applicability. 

680.104 Definitions. 

680.106 Installation, Operation, and 

Maintenance by Qualified Technicians of 

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure. 

680.108 Interoperability of Electric Vehicle 

Charging Infrastructure. 

680.110 Traffic Control Devices or OnPremises Signs Acquired, Installed or 

Operated. 

680.112 Data Submittal. 

680.114 Charging Network Connectivity of 

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure. 

680.116 Information on Publicly Available 

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 

Locations, Pricing, Real-Time 

Availability, and Accessibility Through 

Mapping Applications. 

680.118 Other Federal Requirements. 

680.120 Reference Manuals. 

Authority: Public Law 117–58, title VIII of 

division J; 23 U.S.C. 109, 23 U.S.C. 315. 

§ 680.100 Purpose. 

The purpose of these regulations is to 

prescribe minimum standards and 

requirements for projects funded under 

the National Electric Vehicle 

Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program 

and projects for the construction of 

publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) 

chargers that are funded with funds 

made available under title 23, United 

States Code. 

§ 680.102 Applicability. 

Except where noted, these regulations 

apply to all NEVI Formula Program 

projects as well as projects for the 

construction of publicly accessible EV 

chargers that are funded with funds 

made available under title 23, United 

States Code. 

§ 680.104 Definitions. 

AC Level 2 means a charger that uses 

a 240-volt alternating-current (AC) 

electrical circuit to deliver electricity to 

the EV. 

Alternative Fuel Corridor (AFC) 

means national EV charging and 

hydrogen, propane, and natural gas 

fueling corridors designated by FHWA 

pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 151. 

CHAdeMO means a type of protocol 

for a charging connector interface 

between an EV and a charger (see 

www.chademo.com). It specifies the 

physical, electrical, and communication 

requirements of the connector and 

mating vehicle inlet for direct-current 

(DC) fast charging. It is an abbreviation 

of ‘‘charge de move’’, equivalent to 

‘‘charge for moving.’’ 

Charger means a device with one or 

more charging ports and connectors for 

charging EVs. 

Charging network means a collection 

of chargers located on one or more 

property(ies) that are connected via 

digital communications to manage the 

facilitation of payment, the facilitation 

of electrical charging, and any related 

data requests. 

Charging Network Provider means the 

entity that operates the digital 

communication network that remotely 

manages the chargers. Charging Network 

Providers may also serve as Charging 

Station Operators and/or manufacture 

chargers. 

Charging port means the system 

within a charger that charges one (1) EV. 

A charging port may have multiple 

connectors, but it can only provide 

power to charge one EV through one 

connector at a time. 

Charging station means the area in the 

immediate vicinity of a group of 

chargers and includes the chargers, 

supporting equipment, parking areas 

adjacent to the chargers, and lanes for 

vehicle ingress and egress. A charging 

station could comprise only part of the 

property on which it is located. 

Charging Station Operator means the 

entity that operates and maintains the 

chargers and supporting equipment and 

facilities at one or more charging 

stations. This is sometimes called a 

Charge Point Operator (CPO). In some 

cases, the Charging Station Operator and 

the Charging Network Provider are the 

same entity. 

Combined Charging System (CCS) 

means a standard connector interface 

that allows direct current fast chargers 

to connect to, communicate with, and 

charge EVs. 

Community means either a group of 

individuals living in geographic 

proximity to one another, or a 

geographically dispersed set of 

individuals (such as individuals with 

disabilities, migrant workers or Native 

Americans), where either type of group 

experiences common conditions. 

Connector means the device that 

attaches EVs to charging ports in order 

to transfer electricity. 

Contactless payment methods means 

a secure method for consumers to 

purchase services using a debit, credit, 

smartcard, or another payment device 

by using radio frequency identification 

(RFID) technology and near-field 

communication (NFC). 

Direct Current Fast Charger (DCFC) 

means a charger that uses a 3-phase, 

480-volt alternating-current (AC) 

electrical circuit to enable rapid 

charging through delivering a directcurrent (DC) electricity to the EV. 

Disadvantaged communities (DACs) 

mean census tracts or communities with 

common conditions identified by the 

U.S. Department of Transportation and 

the U.S. Department of Energy that 

consider appropriate data, indices, and 

screening tools to determine whether a 

specific community is disadvantaged 

based on a combination of variables that 

may include, but are not limited to, the 

following: low income, high and/or 

persistent poverty; high unemployment 

and underemployment; racial and 

ethnic residential segregation, 

particularly where the segregation stems 

from discrimination by government 

entities; linguistic isolation; high 

housing cost burden and substandard 

housing; distressed neighborhoods; high 

transportation cost burden and/or low 

transportation access; disproportionate 

environmental stressor burden and high 

cumulative impacts; limited water and 

sanitation access and affordability; 

disproportionate impacts from climate 

change; high energy cost burden and 

low energy access; jobs lost through the 

energy transition; and limited access to 

healthcare. 

Distributed energy resource means 

small, modular, energy generation and 

storage technologies that provide 

electric capacity or energy where it is 

needed. 

Electric vehicle (EV) means an 

automotive vehicle that is either 

partially or fully powered on electric 

power. 

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure 

Training Program (EVITP) refers to a 

comprehensive training program for the 

installation of electric vehicle supply 

equipment. For more information, refer 

to https://evitp.org/. 

Electric vehicle supply equipment 

(EVSE) See definition of a charger. 

Open charge point protocol means an 

open-source communication protocol 

that governs the communication 


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between chargers and the charging 

networks that remotely manage the 

chargers. 

Open charge point interface means an 

open-source communication protocol 

that governs the communication 

between multiple charging networks, 

other communication networks, and 

software applications to provide 

information and services for EV drivers. 

Plug and charge means a method of 

initiating charging, whereby an EV 

charging customer plugs a connector 

into their vehicle and their identity is 

authenticated, a charging session 

initiates, and a payment is transacted 

automatically, without any other 

customer actions required at the point of 

use. 

Private entity means a corporation, 

partnership, company, other 

nongovernmental entity, or nonprofit 

organization. 

Secure payment method means a type 

of payment processing that ensures a 

user’s financial and personal 

information is protected from fraud and 

unauthorized access. 

Smart charge management means 

controlling the amount of power 

dispensed by chargers to EVs to meet 

customers’ charging needs while also 

responding to external power demand 

signals to provide load management or 

resilience benefits to the electric grid. 

State EV Infrastructure Deployment 

Plan means the plan submitted to the 

FHWA by the State describing how it 

intends to use its apportioned NEVI 

Formula Program funds. 

§ 680.106 Installation, operation, and 

maintenance by qualified technicians of 

electric vehicle charging infrastructure. 

(a) Procurement Process Transparency 

for the Operation of EV Charging 

Stations. 

(1) Applicability. This section applies 

only to NEVI Formula Program projects 

for the operation of EV charging stations 

where price setting involves a third 

party. 

(2) Transparency. Agencies shall 

ensure public transparency for how the 

price will be determined and set for EV 

charging and make available for public 

review the following: 

(i) Summary of the procurement 

process used; 

(ii) Number of bids received; 

(iii) Identification of the awardee; 

(iv) Proposed contract to be executed 

with the awardee; 

(v) Financial summary of contract 

payments suitable for public disclosure 

including price and cost data, in 

accordance with State law; and 

(vi) Any information describing how 

prices for EV charging are to be set 

under the proposed contract, in 

accordance with State law. 

(b) Number of chargers.—(1) 

Applicability. This section applies only 

to NEVI Formula Program projects. 

(2) Number. Charging stations must 

have at least four charging networkconnected Direct Current Fast Charger 

(DCFC) ports and be capable of 

simultaneously charging at least four 

EVs. 

(c) Connector type. All nonproprietary charging connectors must 

meet applicable industry standards. 

Each DCFC charging port must have a 

permanently attached Combined 

Charging System (CCS) Type 1 

connector and must charge any CCScompliant vehicle. For NEVI projects 

using FY22 funds, one or more DCFC 

charging port(s) may also have a 

permanently attached CHAdeMO 

connector (see www.chademo.com). 

Each AC Level 2 charging port must 

have a permanently attached J1772 

(incorporated by reference, see 

§ 680.120) connector and must charge 

any J1772-compliant vehicle. One or 

more DCFC charging port(s) may also 

have a permanently attached proprietary 

connector. 

(d) Power level. (1) Maximum power 

per DCFC charging port must be at or 

above 150 kilowatt (kW). Each charging 

station must be capable of providing at 

least 150 kW per charging port 

simultaneously across all charging 

ports. DCFC must supply power 

according to an EV’s power delivery 

request up to 150 kW. DCFC may 

participate in smart charge management 

programs so long as each charging port 

continues to meet an Electric Vehicle’s 

request for power up to 150 kW. 

(2) Maximum power per AC Level 2 

charging port must be at or above 6 kW 

and the charging station must be 

capable of providing at least 6 kW per 

port simultaneously across all AC ports. 

AC Level 2 chargers may participate in 

smart charge management programs so 

long as each charging port continues to 

meet an Electric Vehicle’s demand for 

power up to 6 kW. 

(e) Availability. Charging stations 

must be available for use and sited at 

locations physically accessible to the 

public 24 hours per day, seven days per 

week, year-round. This section does not 

prohibit isolated or temporary 

interruptions in service or access due to 

maintenance or repairs. 

(f) Payment methods. (1) Charging 

stations must provide for secure 

payment methods, accessible to persons 

with disabilities, which at a minimum 

shall include a contactless payment 

method that accepts major debit and 

credit cards, and Plug and Charge 

payment capabilities using the ISO 

15118 standard (incorporated by 

reference, see § 680.120); 

(2) Charging station operators must 

not require a membership for use; 

(3) Charging stations must not delay, 

limit, or curtail power flow to vehicles 

on the basis of payment method or 

membership; and 

(4) Charging station payment 

instructions must provide multilingual 

access and accessibility for people with 

disabilities. 

(g) Equipment certification. States 

must ensure that all EVSE are certified 

by an Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration Nationally Recognized 

Testing Laboratory and that all AC Level 

2 EVSE are ENERGY STAR certified. 

(h) Security. States must implement 

physical and cybersecurity strategies 

consistent with their respective State EV 

Infrastructure Deployment Plans to 

mitigate charging infrastructure, grid, 

and consumer vulnerability associated 

with the operation of charging stations. 

(1) Physical security strategies may 

address lighting, siting, driver and 

vehicle safety, fire prevention, 

tampering, charger locks, and illegal 

surveillance of payment devices. 

(2) Cybersecurity strategies may 

address user identity and access 

management, selection of appropriate 

encryption systems, intrusion and 

malware detection, event logging and 

reporting, management of software 

updates, and secure operation during 

communication outages. 

(i) Long-term stewardship. States must 

ensure that EVSE is maintained in 

compliance with NEVI standards for a 

period of not less than 5 years from the 

date of installation. 

(j) Qualified technician. States shall 

ensure that the workforce installing, 

maintaining, and operating EVSE has 

appropriate licenses, certifications and 

training to ensure that the installation 

and maintenance of EVSE is performed 

safely by a qualified and increasingly 

diverse workforce of licensed 

technicians and other laborers. Further: 

(1) Except as provided in paragraph 

(j)(2) of this section, all electricians 

installing, operating, or maintaining 

ESVE must meet one of the following 

requirements: 

(2) Certification from the Electric 

Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program 

(EVITP). 

(3) Graduation from a Registered 

Apprenticeship Program for electricians 

that includes EVSE-specific training and 

is developed as a part of a national 

guideline standard approved by the 

Department of Labor in consultation 

with the Department of Transportation. 


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(4) For projects requiring more than 

one electrician, at least one electrician 

must meet the requirements above, and 

at least one electrician must be enrolled 

in an electrical registered 

apprenticeship program. 

(5) All other onsite, non-electrical 

workers directly involved in the 

installation, operation, and maintenance 

of EVSE must have graduated from a 

registered apprenticeship program or 

have appropriate licenses, certifications, 

and training as required by the State. 

(k) Customer service. States must 

ensure that EV charging customers have 

mechanisms to report outages, 

malfunctions, and other issues with 

charging infrastructure. States must 

comply with the American with 

Disabilities Act of 1990 requirements 

and multilingual access when creating 

reporting mechanisms. 

(l) Customer data privacy. Charging 

Station Operators must collect, process, 

and retain only that personal 

information strictly necessary to provide 

the charging service to a consumer, 

including information to complete the 

charging transaction and to provide the 

location of charging stations to the 

consumer. Charging Stations Operators 

must also take reasonable measures to 

safeguard consumer data. 

(m) Use of program income. (1) Any 

net income from revenue from the sale, 

use, lease, or lease renewal of real 

property acquired with NEVI Formula 

Program funds shall be used for title 23, 

United States Code, eligible projects. 

(2) For purposes of program income or 

revenue earned from the operation of an 

EV charging station, the State DOT 

should ensure that all revenues received 

from operation of the EV charging 

facility are used only for: 

(i) Debt service with respect to the EV 

charging station project, including 

funding of reasonable reserves and debt 

service on refinancing; 

(ii) A reasonable return on investment 

of any private person financing the EV 

charging station project, as determined 

by the State DOT; 

(iii) Any costs necessary for the 

improvement and proper operation and 

maintenance of the EV charging station, 

including reconstruction, resurfacing, 

restoration, and rehabilitation; 

(iv) If the EV charging station is 

subject to a public-private partnership 

agreement, payments that the party 

holding the right to the revenues owes 

to the other party under the publicprivate partnership agreement; and 

(v) Any other purpose for which 

Federal funds may be obligated under 

this title 23, United States Code. 

§ 680.108 Interoperability of electric 

vehicle charging infrastructure. 

Charger-to-EV communication. 

Chargers must conform to ISO 15118 

(incorporated by reference, see 

§ 680.120) to communicate with CCScompliant vehicles that have 

implemented ISO 15118. 

§ 680.110 Traffic control devices or onpremises signs acquired, installed or 

operated. 

(a) (a) Manual on Uniform Traffic 

Control Devices for Streets and 

Highways. All traffic control devices 

must comply with 23 CFR part 655. 

(b) On-premises signs. On-property or 

on-premise advertising signs must 

comply with 23 CFR part 750. 

§ 680.112 Data submittal. 

(a) Applicability. This section applies 

only to NEVI Formula Program projects. 

(b) Quarterly data submittal. States 

must ensure the following charging 

station use, cost, reliability, and 

maintenance data are collected, 

maintained, and submitted on a 

quarterly basis in a manner prescribed 

by the FHWA: 

(1) Charging station location identifier 

that the following data can be associated 

with; 

(2) Charging session start time, end 

time, and successful session completion 

(yes/no) by port; 

(3) Energy (kWh) dispensed to EVs 

per session by port; 

(4) Peak session power (kW) by port; 

(5) Charging station uptime calculated 

in accordance with the equation in 

§ 680.116(b) for each of the previous 3 

months; 

(6) Cost of electricity to operate per 

charging station in each of the previous 

3 months; 

(7) Maintenance and repair cost per 

charging station for each of the previous 

3 months; 

(8) Charging station real property 

acquisition cost, charging equipment 

acquisition and installation cost, 

distributed energy resource acquisition 

and installation cost, and grid 

connection and upgrade cost on the 

utility side of the electric meter; and 

(9) Distributed energy resource 

installed capacity, in kW or kWh as 

appropriate, of asset by type (e.g., 

stationary battery, solar, etc.) per 

charging station. 

(c) Annual data submittal. States 

must ensure the following data are 

collected, maintained, and submitted on 

an annual basis in a manner prescribed 

by the FHWA for each charging station: 

(1) The name, address and type of 

private entity involved in the operation, 

maintenance, and installation of EVSE. 

(2) For private entities identified in 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section, 

identification of and participation in 

any state or local business opportunity 

certification programs including but not 

limited to minority-owned businesses, 

Veteran-owned businesses, womanowned businesses, and businesses 

owned by economically disadvantaged 

individuals. 

(d) Community engagement outcomes 

report. States must make publicly 

available in a manner prescribed by the 

FHWA an annual report describing the 

community engagement activities 

conducted as part of the development 

and approval of their most recentlysubmitted State EV Infrastructure 

Deployment Plan, including engagement 

with DACs. This report should include 

community engagement type, date, 

number of attendees, communities 

represented by attendees, and how 

information on that engagement was 

reflected in the State’s EV Infrastructure 

Deployment Plan. 

§ 680.114 Charging network connectivity 

of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. 

(a) Charger-to-Charger-Network 

communication. (1) Chargers must 

communicate with a charging network 

via a secure communication method. 

(2) Chargers must have the ability to 

receive and implement secure, remote 

software updates and conduct real-time 

protocol translation, encryption and 

decryption, authentication, and 

authorization in their communication 

with charging networks. 

(3) Charging networks must perform 

and chargers must support remote 

charger monitoring, diagnostics, control, 

and smart charge management. 

(4) Chargers and charging networks 

must securely measure, communicate, 

store, and report energy and power 

dispensed, real-time charging-port 

status, real-time price to the customer, 

and historical charging-port uptime. 

(5) Chargers must be capable of using 

Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) 

(incorporated by reference, see 

§ 680.120) to communicate with any 

Charging Network Provider. 

(6) Chargers must be designed to 

securely switch Charging Network 

Providers without any changes to 

hardware. 

(b) Charging-Network-to-ChargingNetwork communication. A Charging 

Network must be capable of 

communicating with other Charging 

Networks to enable an EV driver to use 

a single credential to charge at Charging 

Stations that are a part of multiple 

Charging Networks. 

(c) Charging-Network-to-grid 

communication. Charging Networks 


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must be capable of secure 

communication with electric utilities, 

other energy providers, or local energy 

management systems. 

§ 680.116 Information on publicly available 

electric vehicle charging infrastructure 

locations, pricing, real-time availability, and 

accessibility through mapping applications. 

(a) Communication of price. (1) 

Chargers must display and base the 

price for electricity to charge in $/kWh. 

(2) Price of charging displayed on the 

chargers and communicated via the 

charging network must be the real-time 

price (i.e., price at that moment in time). 

The price at the start of the session 

cannot change during the session. 

(3) Price structure including any other 

fees in addition to the price for 

electricity to charge must be clearly 

explained via an application or a 

website, with instructions for finding 

the information posted in an accessible 

manner at the charging station. 

(b) Minimum uptime. States must 

ensure that charging ports have an 

average annual uptime of greater than 

97%. 

(1) A charging port is considered ‘‘up’’ 

when its hardware and software are 

both online and available for use, or in 

use, and the charging port successfully 

dispenses electricity as expected. 

(2) Charging port uptime must be 

calculated on a quarterly basis for the 

previous twelve months. 

(3) Charging port uptime percentage 

must be calculated using the following 

equation: 

m = ((8760¥(T_outage¥T_excluded))/ 

8760) × 100 

Where: 

m = port uptime percentage, 

T_outage = total hours of outage in previous 

year, and 

T_excluded = total hours of outage in 

previous year for reasons outside the 

charging station operator’s control, such 

as electric utility service interruptions, 

internet or cellular service provider 

interruptions and outages caused by the 

vehicles, provided that the Charging 

Station Operator can demonstrate that 

the charging port would otherwise be 

operational. 

(c) Third-party data sharing. States 

must ensure that the following data 

fields are made available, free of charge, 

to 3rd-party software developers, via 

application programming interface: 

(1) Charging station name or 

identifier; 

(2) Address (city, state, and zip code) 

of the property where the charging 

station is located; 

(3) Global positioning system (GPS) 

coordinates in decimal degrees of exact 

charging station location; 

(4) Charging station operator name; 

(5) Charging station phone number; 

(6) Charging network provider name; 

(7) Number of charging ports; 

(8) Connector types available at each 

charging port; 

(9) Maximum power level of each 

charging port; 

(10) Power sharing by port (i.e., 

whether power sharing between EVSEs 

is enabled); 

(11) Date when charging station first 

became available for use; 

(12) Pricing structure; 

(13) Physical dimensions of the 

largest vehicle that can access a 

charging port at the charging station; 

(14) Payment methods accepted; 

(15) Number of charging ports 

accessible to persons with disabilities; 

(16) Real-time status of each charging 

port, including identification of whether 

a port is accessible to persons with 

disabilities, in terms defined by Open 

Charge Point Interface 2.2 (incorporated 

by reference, see § 680.120), updated at 

a frequency that meets reasonable 

customer expectations; 

(17) Real-time price to charge at each 

charging port, in terms defined by Open 

Charge Point Interface 2.2 (incorporated 

by reference, see § 680.120), updated at 

a frequency that meets reasonable 

customer expectations; and 

(18) Station Status (Available or 

Planned). 

§ 680.118 Other Federal requirements. 

All applicable Federal statutory and 

regulatory requirements apply to the EV 

charger projects. These requirements 

include, but are not limited to: 

(a) All statutory and regulatory 

requirements that are applicable to 

funds apportioned under chapter 1 of 

title 23, United States Code, and the 

requirement of 2 CFR part 200 apply. 

This includes the applicable 

requirements of title 23, United States 

Code, and title 23, Code of Federal 

Regulations, such as the applicable Buy 

America requirements at section 313, of 

title 23 United States Code, and Build 

America, Buy America Act (Pub. L. 117– 

58, div. G sections 70901–70927). 

(b) As provided at 23 U.S.C. 109(s)(2), 

projects to install EV chargers are 

treated as if the project is located on a 

Federal-aid highway. As a project 

located on a Federal-aid highway, 

Section 113 of title 23, United States 

Code, applies and Davis Bacon Federal 

wage rate requirements included at 

subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, 

U.S.C., must be paid for any project 

funded with NEVI Formula Program 

funds. 

(c) The American with Disabilities 

Act of 1990 (ADA), and implementing 

regulations, apply to EV charging 

stations by prohibiting discrimination 

on the basis of disability by public and 

private entities. EV charging stations 

must comply with applicable 

accessibility standards adopted by the 

Department of Transportation into its 

ADA regulations (49 CFR part 37) in 

2006, and adopted by the Department of 

Justice into its ADA regulations (28CFR 

parts 35 and 36) in 2010. 

(d) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, and implementing regulations, 

apply to this program to ensure that no 

person shall, on the grounds of race, 

color, or national origin, be excluded 

from participation in, be denied the 

benefits of, or be subjected to 

discrimination under any program or 

activity receiving Federal financial 

assistance. 

(e) All applicable requirements of 

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 

(Fair Housing Act), and implementing 

regulations, apply to this program. 

(f) The Uniform Relocation Assistance 

and Real Property Acquisition Act, and 

implementing regulations, apply to this 

program by establishing minimum 

standards for federally funded programs 

and projects that involve the acquisition 

of real property (real estate) or the 

displacement or relocation of persons 

from their homes, businesses, or farms. 

(g) The National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council 

on Environmental Quality’s NEPA 

implementing regulations, and 

applicable agency NEPA procedures 

apply to this program by establishing 

procedural requirements to ensure that 

federal agencies consider the 

consequences of their proposed actions 

on the human environment and inform 

the public about their decision making 

for major Federal actions significantly 

affecting the quality of the human 

environment. 

§ 680.120 Reference manuals. 

Certain material is incorporated by 

reference into this subpart with the 

approval of the Director of the Federal 

Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 

CFR part 51. All approved incorporation 

by reference (IBR) material is available 

for inspection at the U.S. Department of 

Transportation (DOT) and at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). Contact DOT: 

DOT Library, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 

SE, Washington, DC 20590 in Room 

W12–300. For information on the 

availability of these documents at 

NARA, email fr.inspection@nara.gov or 

go to https://www.archives.gov/federalregister/cfr/ibr-locations.html. The 

material may be obtained from the 

following sources: 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
37280 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

1The removal becomes effective sixty days after 

the State’s Secretary of the Department of 

Environmental Quality certifies to the State’s 

Revisor of Statutes that EPA approved the SIP 

revision. 

2The I/M program was never a mandatory 

program pursuant to the CAA for Lee, Onslow, or 

Rockingham counties. 

(a) EVRoaming Foundation, 

Vondellaan 162, 3521 GH, Utrect—The 

Netherlands, https://

www.evroaming.org. 

(1) Open Charge Point Interface 

(OCPI) 2.2.1, October 6, 2021, IBR 

approved for § 680.116(c)(16)–(17). 

(2) [Reserved] 

(b) International Organization for 

Standardization, Chemin de Blandonnet 

8, CP 401, 1214 Vernier, Geneva, 

Switzerland, +41 22 749 01 11, https:// 

www.iso.org/contact-iso.html. 

(1) International Classification for 

Standards Catalogue: ‘‘Electric Road 

Vehicles: Road vehicles—Vehicle to grid 

communication interface,’’ 

43.120.15118, Sections 1 (published 

2019), 2 (published 2014), 3 (published 

2015), 4 (published 2018), 5 (published 

2018), and 8 (published 2020), IBR 

approved for § 680.106(f)(1) and 

680.108. 

(2) [Reserved] 

(c) Open Charge Alliance, 

Businesspark Arnhems Buiten, 

Utrechtseweg 310, Office Building B42, 

6812 AR Arnhem—The Netherlands, tel: 

+31 26 312 0223, https://

www.openchargealliance.org. 

(1) Open Charge Point Protocol 

(OCPP) 2.0.1, March 31, 2020, IBR 

approved for § 680.114(a)(5). 

(2) [Reserved] 

(d) SAE International, 400 

Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 

15096, tel: (724) 776–4841; https://

www.sae.org. 

(1) SAE Electric Vehicle and Plug in 

Hybrid Electric Vehicle Conductive 

Charge Coupler, J1772_201710, October 

13, 2017, IBR approved for § 680.106(c). 

(2) [Reserved] 

[FR Doc. 2022–12704 Filed 6–21–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R04–OAR–2020–0718; FRL–9935–01– 

R4] 

Air Plan Approval; NC: Inspection and 

Maintenance Program 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a 

State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

revision submitted by the State of North 

Carolina on December 14, 2020, through 

the North Carolina Department of 

Environmental Quality (DEQ), Division 

of Air Quality (DAQ), for the purpose of 

removing Lee, Onslow, and Rockingham 

Counties from North Carolina’s motor 

vehicle inspection and maintenance (I/ 

M) program. The I/M Program was 

previously approved into the SIP for use 

as a component of the State’s Nitrogen 

Oxides (NOX) Budget and Allowance 

Trading Program. EPA has evaluated 

whether this SIP revision would 

interfere with the requirements of the 

Clean Air Act (CAA or Act), including 

EPA regulations related to statewide 

NOX emissions budgets. In summary, 

EPA proposes to find that Lee, Onslow, 

and Rockingham Counties would 

continue to attain and maintain the 

national ambient air quality standards 

(NAAQS or standards) after removal of 

the I/M program, and to rely on an 

emissions inventory comparison to 

inform its determination that the three 

counties would continue to attain and 

maintain the ozone and carbon 

monoxide (CO) NAAQS. Consequently, 

EPA is proposing to determine that 

North Carolina’s December 14, 2020, SIP 

revision is consistent with the 

applicable provisions of the CAA. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before July 22, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R04– 

OAR–2020–0718 at http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from Regulations.gov. 

EPA may publish any comment received 

to its public docket. Do not submit 

electronically any information you 

consider to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Multimedia submissions (audio, video, 

etc.) must be accompanied by a written 

comment. The written comment is 

considered the official comment and 

should include discussion of all points 

you wish to make. EPA will generally 

not consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, the full 

EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelly Sheckler, Air Regulatory 

Management Section, Air Planning and 

Implementation Branch, Air and 

Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 

Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303– 

8960. The telephone number is (404) 

562–9222. Ms. Sheckler can also be 

reached via electronic mail at 

sheckler.kelly@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. What is being proposed? 

The DAQ submitted a SIP revision on 

December 14, 2020, seeking to remove 

Lee, Onslow, and Rockingham counties 

from North Carolina’s SIP-approved I/M 

program. The DAQ submitted this SIP 

revision in response to North Carolina 

legislation enacted in Session Law 

2020–5, House Bill 85, which amended 

North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 

section 143–215.107A(c) to remove 

these three counties from the North 

Carolina I/M Program.1 Specifically, the 

North Carolina Act requires the 

elimination of Lee, Onslow, and 

Rockingham counties from the I/M 

program, and the retention of the I/M 

program in 19 counties (Alamance, 

Buncombe, Cabarrus, Cumberland, 

Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, 

Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, 

Lincoln, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, 

Randolph, Rowan, Union, and Wake). 

As explained in Section II, below, 

sections 187(a)(4) and 182(b)(4) of the 

CAA require the implementation of an 

I/M program in certain areas classified 

as moderate nonattainment or higher for 

the ozone or CO NAAQS.2 Lee, Onslow, 

and Rockingham counties have never 

been designated nonattainment for 

ozone and CO, or any other NAAQS, 

and are currently in attainment for all 

NAAQS. These three counties were 

included in the State’s I/M program to 

provide North Carolina with emissions 

credit for the NOX SIP Call obligations. 

See 67 FR 66056 (October 30, 2002). The 

NOX SIP Call, issued by EPA in 1998, 

required some states, including North 

Carolina, to meet statewide NOX

emission requirements during the ozone 

season (May 1 through September 30 

control period) to reduce the amount of 

ground level ozone that is transported 

across the eastern United States. See 84 

FR 8422 (March 8, 2018). 

As part of the State’s December 14, 

2020, submittal requesting removal of 

Lee, Onslow, and Rockingham counties 

from North Carolina’s SIP-approved I/M 

program, the State included a CAA 

section 110(l) non-interference 

demonstration. Under section 110(l) of 

the CAA, EPA cannot approve a SIP 

revision if it would interfere with any 


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