USPS Next Generation Delivery Vehicle. (USPS)The U.S. Postal Service’s upcoming fleet of brand new trucks, which will replace the long-serving Grumman Long Life Vehicle which went out of production in 1994, has only 8.6 mpg fuel efficiency, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.The Postal Service awarded Oshkosh Defense $482 million as an initial investment to assemble 50,000 to 165,000 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles.
The company has said it will make the vehicles at a reconfigured warehouse in South Carolina, creating 1,000 new jobs.The new vehicles were reported to be "greener" than current models, but the revelations of the new fleet’s gas efficiency are making government agencies skeptical.In a sharply worded letter first obtained by the Washington Post, the EPA criticized the Postal Service for its plan to only make 10% of its next-generation fleet electric.Additionally, the EPA said it is concerned the Postal Service "underestimates greenhouse gas emissions, fails to consider more environmentally protective feasible alternatives and inadequately considers impacts on communities with environmental justice concerns.""EPA is also concerned that the new vehicles the Postal Service proposes to acquire do not make meaningful progress in reducing the Postal Service’s GHG and other emissions as well as oil consumption.