TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I am writing to encourage Gov. Scott to join TCI today.

Whether or not Vermont joins TCI, we will pay. TCI will require fossil fuel depot operators to purchase an allocation for the amount of pollution their products cause. As the Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources explained, Vermont imports 100% of its gasoline and diesel from fuel depots located in other states. While depot operators could absorb these costs out of their profits, it is anticipated that they will pass most, if not all, of their obligation expenses onto downstream distributors. If, as seems likely, some of the states Vermont imports fossil fuels from join TCI then Vermont distributors will be burdened with TCI’s compliance costs and they, in turn, will pass those costs onto consumers whether or not Vermont joins the compact.

If Vermont joins TCI, the State will receive more revenue for investments than Vermonters contribute to the program. As currently contemplated, the proceeds from depots buying allowances will be distributed to TCI states based on the volume of transit fuels sold within each jurisdiction. This design works in Vermont’s favor since, as Scott Administration officials estimated at the recent public meetings, 20-25% of the gasoline and on-road diesel sales in Vermont are sold to out-of-state travelers. That means that for every dollar Vermonters contribute, the State will receive as much as $1.25-$1.33 for 21st Century transportation investments.

Taken together, these points make joining TCI a no-brainer, and refusal to join a disservice to Vermont’s economy. Vermonters will pay either way, but if we’re in we’ll receive back more than we put in.

We should absolutely join. We aren't part of RGGI despite being the third largest greenhouse gas polluter in the US. We've also just had one of the warmest winters ever here in PA. We have to do something to curb GHG NOW, just to avoid the worst effects of global warming. This initiative would be an encouraging first step to doing it (although we need to be doing much, much more).

I live in a rural area with limited pubic transportation therefore I think that TCI is extremely important. I would like to drive less and take public transportation more. When states join TCI, they have the opportunity to invest in rural communities where transportation options are limited. Joining TCI would allow Maryland to ensure that rural communities aren’t left behind in the green transition and stuck behind the wheel of costly, inefficient vehicle that are the main source of pollution and green house gasses.. Governor Hogan should push for an ambitious TCI program so that rural communities like mine get the solutions they need. Specifically, we need more Marc train service not just the limited offering of 2020. We need more busses run by clean energy to offer connections to public transportation. We need something like a Monorail service from Shady Grove Metro to Frederick. This is just the area I know about. I know there are lots more.

Since transportation is the largest source of air pollution in our metropolitan regions, we need to build a modern, clean, safe, and accessible and affordable transportation system for the 21st century. Fighting climate change and air pollution requires that we limit pollution from motor fuels. This "fight" will create more jobs , stimulate the economy, and by providing cleaner air save lives. Maryland should join TCI to fund better transportation infrastructure, reduce traffic, and make our state a cleaner, safer place to live.

I don’t support this. It will hurt low and middle class families and local businesses. It will drive more people out of Vermont and hurt our economy.

I support quality environmental safe transportation
We also need a recycling program that mandates that
all plastic is recycled and then it is bio-degradable.
Businesses should be responsible to sell and provide
their goods in packaging that is bio-degradable.
We need an end to one time use plastic.

Instead of this complicated process, I would rather just see a nominal increase to the tax on gasoline and use that money to create better, more efficient transportation networks.

Reducing our carbon emissions is critical for the environmental future of our children and their children. We must act as quickly as possible before we see drastic ramifications of our abuse of the planet.

Reducing congestion on the roads is vital to the quality of life of everyone in the Boston area - and the rest of the much larger region covered by the Transportation and Climate Initiative. All of us have spent far too many hours caught in traffic, often on a daily basis as commuters. It's bad enough to have been recognized as a serious drain on the economy, which seems to weigh more heavily with policy makers than the mere suffering of the public. At the same time, housing costs force many of us to live far from where we work, and far from other needed resources. There's also a significant chunk of the population that for one reason or another have no car, placing them at a serious disadvantage and causing further economic drain.
All of these problems would be ameliorated by cheap, reliable, widely available public transportation, as proposed by the Transportation and Climate Initiative. Adequate public transit would improve everyone's life in the entire region, whether or not they personally made use of it. These benefits are on top of the improvement in regional air quality that would result from reduced automotive traffic.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a critically important goal, and one which still receives far too low a priority in public policy. In the long run, that will be the most important benefit of the Transportation and Climate Initiative. In the short run, however, the direct benefits to everyone living in the Northeast are quite sufficient to justify the Initiative.

we need a comprehensive plan to reduce carbon emissions from transportation and it is blatantly obvious our infrastructure needs massive investment. Please support TCI.