FAST Act highway bill addresses propane issues

President Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) into law Dec. 4. The five-year, $305 billion highway bill addresses some issues that affect the propane industry.

The National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) helped lobby to pass the FAST Act. The inclusion of propane vehicles in a provision providing for alternative fuel refueling corridors was a victory for the industry, NPGA says. These corridors would allow for fueling infrastructure for alternative fuel vehicles in areas identified by the secretary of transportation.

The FAST Act will also permit states to give alternative fuel vehicles, including propane, high-occupancy vehicle lane access through 2025, NPGA adds. In addition, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is required to submit a report on commercial driver’s license skills test delays, a problem that was discussed at NPGA’s fall board of directors meeting.

Achieving parity in Corporate Average Fuel Economy credit cap standards was the only section of the FAST Act that applied to the propane industry and wasn’t passed into law, NPGA says.