U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday completed a final regulatory requirement for its plan to replace its delivery fleet with thousands of gas-powered vehicles, forging ahead with a decision that’s drawn strong opposition from the Biden administration and environmental groups.

About 230,000 vehicles are owned by the Postal Service, which accounts for one-third to all federal vehicle fleets in this country. The EPA and White House Council on Environmental Quality urged Postal Service to make this happen earlier in the month. conduct an updated and more detailed technical analysisHold a public hearing about the plan.

It has concluded the evaluation and is now on track for delivering the first new vehicle in the next year. These vehicles will be electric powered.

Louis DeJoy is the Postmaster General. Trump ally who was nominated to the position in 2020, pledged last year to convert 10% of its new trucks to electric power.

DeJoy stated that “our commitment to an electrified fleet is still ambitious, given the urgent vehicle and safety requirements of our aging fleet along with our fragile financial situation.” said in a statementThis Wednesday

DeJoy said that the Postal Service may purchase more electric cars under the plan, provided additional funding is available from “internal or congressional sources.”

Biden’s administration would be hampered by the Postal Service’s plans. pledge to replace its federal fleet of 600,000 cars and trucks to electric power and cut the government’s carbon emissions by 65% by mid-century.

Even though there has been a rise in electric vehicles sales in the U.S., the transportation sector is one of the largest contributors to the country’s climate-changing emissions, comprising roughly one-third of total emissions each year.

By reversing course on its plan and electrifying the new mail trucks, the Postal Service could prevent the government from burning 110 million gallons of fuel each year, according to the environmental nonprofit Earthjustice.

DeJoy’s plans to build a postal fleet with an outdated truck model will set us back many decades. Adrian Martinez, senior lawyer on Earthjustice’s Right to Zero campaign said that it was possible to deliver mail using hummers.

Martinez stated that DeJoy’s environment review was hampered by suspect calculations and does not meet legal standards. We are not finished fighting this irresponsible decision.” 

The leaders of the U.S. will not be stopped by rain or sleet nor financial sense. Postal Service from trying to buy dirty, polluting delivery trucks,” Patricio Portillo, transportation analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement.

Portillo declared, “It is time to give this plan back to its sender for the sake of cleanliness and cost saving.”