Pickens Encouraged By President Obama’s Call For A More Secure American Energy Future

PICKENS ENCOURAGED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL FOR A MORE SECURE AMERICAN ENERGY FUTURE

Dallas, TX - March 30, 2010 - T. Boone Pickens today released the following statement in response to remarks by President Obama at Georgetown University, where he outlined his plan for America's energy security:

"Today the President articulated the national security and economic threats associated with our escalating dependence on foreign oil. With the increasing price of gasoline, natural gas is an important domestic fuel at our disposal that can replace foreign oil to power heavy-duty fleet vehicles. Converting heavy-duty trucks and high-fuel use commercial fleet vehicles to natural gas can reduce our OPEC dependence now while we wait for technology to power the vehicles of tomorrow. It is clear President Obama is committed to weaning America off Middle Eastern oil, securing our own energy future and recognizes the role natural gas can play as a domestic transportation fuel. Recent unrest in the Middle East underscores the need to take action now and I'm encouraged by the President's promise to secure America's energy future and national security by reducing our dependence on OPEC oil."

The Pickens Plan to encourage more heavy duty fleet vehicles to run on domestic resources is included in the NAT GAS Act, which is being prepared for introduction next week in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman John Sullivan (R-OK), Congressman Dan Boren (D-OK), Congressman John Larson (D-CT) and Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX). The pending legislation enjoys broad bipartisan support.

Goods Movement Workshop for Fleet Owners and Operators - March 24, 2011 [Draft]

Agenda

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Goods Movement Workshop for Fleet Owners and Operators

Green Zone, 75181 Mediterranean Ave., Palm Desert CA

Registration
Welcome	9:00 - 9:15
Clean Energy Shaunt Hartounian Business Development Manager, Ports and Regional Trucking Topic: Available heavy-duty altemative fuelladvanced technology trucks; Infrastructures update; why natural gas; how do we make it work.	9:15 - 9:40
Cummins Westport Charlie Ker Topic: LNG Engines	9:40 - 10:00
California Air Resource Board (CARB) Brandon Rose Topic: California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations for bus and trucks	10:00 - 11:00
Break	11:00 - 11:15
College of the Desert Douglas H. Redman, MSIDT Instructor, Automotive Technology/Advanced Transportation School of Business, Technology and Workforce Education Topic: College of the Desert altemative fuel/advanced technology engine technical training	11:15 - 11:35
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Mei Wang Topic: SCAQMD heavy-duty truck funding incentives	11:35 - 12:00
Clean Cities Coachella Valley Region Suzanne Seivright Clean Cities Co-Coordinator Topic: Clean Cities and resources	12:00 - 12:30
Lunch	12:30 - 1:00
Clean Cities Coachella Valley Region Richard Cromwell Clean Cities Co-Coordinator Topic: Historic overview of electric vehicles	1:00 - 1:30
Clean Cities Coachella Valley Region Suzanne Seivright Clean Cities Co-Coordinator Topic: Clean Cities Electric Vehicles overview	1:30 - 1:50
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. Greg Glander Government Sales & Advanced Technology Vehicles Manager -Prius PHV on display Topic:	1:50 - 2:00
Open forum to discuss technical and logistical challenges related to procuring fleets with alternative fuel-advanced technology trucks with key govemment personnel.	2:00 - 2:30

Audio recording.

Goods Movement Workshop Executive Briefing Natural Gas Vehicle Market March 2011 - Shaunt Hartounian [PDF].

Goods Movement Workshop - Cummins Westport - Charlie Ker [PDF].

California Air Resources Board - Advancing the Choice - Brandon Rose (Powerpoint)

Proposition 1B-Goods Movement Program On-Road Heavy Duty Trucks (Powerpoint)

US DOE Clean Cities Coalition Update - Suzanne Seivright (Powerpoint)

Toyota Advanced Technology & Sustainable Mobility - Greg Glander (Powerpoint)

---

Brochure - Workshop for Fleet Owners and Operators [PDF].

Voucher Incentive Program (Powerpoint)

How does unrest in the Middle East make you feel?

Coachella Valley - one and all.....please take a moment and fill out Boone’s survey. Thank you.

Pickens Plan Note To The Army

Army:

Boone recently gave us an update on the level of foreign oil imports in the United States. Based on the latest figures from the Federal Reserve Economic Database, the U.S. imported 55% of its oil in February, sending approximately $31.3 billion - or $777,064 per minute - to foreign countries.

As Boone said: "With no end in sight to the unrest in the Middle East, this spending spree is not going away."

Boone wants to hear what you think. If you haven't yet responded to his survey, please click here to fill it out and let us know what you think about the current U.S. energy policy and what should be done to make us less vulnerable to instability abroad.

www.pickensplan.com/survey

-Team Pickens

Clean Cities TRS Question of the Month: Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program

Dear Coordinators,

Welcome to the March installment of the Clean Cities Technical Response Service (TRS) Question of the Month.

Question of the Month: What is the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program? How is funding for the program distributed? Are alternative fuel and advanced vehicle projects eligible for funding through CMAQ?

Answer: CMAQ is jointly administered by two agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) - Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) – with an overarching goal of reducing congestion and improving air quality through surface transportation improvement projects. The program was authorized by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, and it has been reauthorized under subsequent transportation legislation. CMAQ funds transportation projects that contribute to attainment or maintenance of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For more information about the NAAQS program, visit the EPA website (www.epa.gov/airquality/cleanair.html).


Funding Appropriation, Apportionment, and Allocation
Funding for the CMAQ program is appropriated on an annual basis by Congress and subsequently apportioned to the states by FHWA. The level of funding provided to each state is based on a formula that takes into account the population of each county that is in a nonattainment or maintenance area and the severity of the air quality problem in the associated area. Regardless of whether a state has any nonattainment or maintenance areas, each state is guaranteed a minimum apportionment of 0.5% of the year's total program funding, which can be used anywhere in the state.

Once funding is provided to each state, it is up to the state DOTs, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and transit agencies to allocate it to eligible projects and programs (see Eligible Activities below). The state may use their CMAQ funds in any ozone, carbon monoxide, or particulate matter nonattainment or maintenance area to support initiatives that reduce transportation-related emissions. Funding does not need to be allocated in the same way it is apportioned and the U.S. DOT does not have a role in this allocation process. State agencies are encouraged to consult affected MPOs; determine state, regional, and local priorities; and develop CMAQ project selection processes. The selection process varies by state, but generally provides an opportunity for state and/or local agencies to present eligible projects and demonstrate how they would use the funding to meet the overall goals of the CMAQ program. States must submit annual reports to FHWA outlining the program investments and trends and, in most of the program’s 19 years, have been required to share a portion of the cost of projects.


Eligible Activities
The following activities are generally eligible for funding under CMAQ:

• Acquiring alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) to be used in transit applications;
• Supporting the emissions-reducing element of publicly-owned non-transit AFVs;
• Subsidizing the incremental cost of purchasing privately-owned AFVs;
• Converting fleet vehicles to operate using alternative fuels;
• Establishing publicly-owned alternative fueling stations and other infrastructure necessary to fuel AFVs in areas where publicly-owned fueling stations are not in place or are not reasonably accessible;
• Converting a private fueling station to support alternative fuels through a public-private partnership agreement;
• Purchasing alternative fuels (only permitted in Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio);
• Purchasing idle reduction equipment; and
• Providing assistance to diesel equipment and vehicle owners and operators regarding the purchase and installation of diesel retrofits.

The CMAQ program defines alternative fuels as those identified by the Energy Policy Act of 1992. In addition, hybrid electric vehicles that meet the emissions and energy efficiency requirements of the program are eligible. Both passenger vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles are eligible for funding. Additional information about eligible projects can be found in the CMAQ program guidance document (www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/policy_and_guidance/cmaq08gm.cfm).


Additional Questions?
For general information about CMAQ, including annual state apportionments and reports, visit the CMAQ program website (www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/).

For specific information about funding and projects at the individual state level, please reference the CMAQ State Transportation Contacts website (www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/reference/brochure/brochure12.cfm) and the FHWA Field Office website (www.fhwa.dot.gov/field.html).

As always, please contact the TRS with other questions, or if you have suggestions for additional resources or a future Question of the Month.


Clean Cities Technical Response Service Team
technicalresponse@icfi.com
800-254-6735

Enough Is Enough

From the desk of T. Boone Pickens

Army:
I was driving home from the office the other day and saw that gasoline is closing in on $4 again - it refocused the issue for me: Here we go again. And it made me mad.

Enough is enough.

A lot has changed since July 2008 - a new president, a new Congress, an economic meltdown and ongoing recovery. A lot hasn't - $4 gasoline, instability in the Middle East, 100,000s of our troops miles away from home. And our dependence on OPEC oil? Unchanged. As is the $1 billion we spend every day on imported oil.

Are you frustrated? I am - nearly three years later and no action in Washington. And here we are again.

The President in August 2008 said in 10 years we'd be off oil from the Middle East - that was nearly three years ago. Why didn't we act faster? Smarter?

You've heard me talk about the issues and the dangers of our reliance on OPEC oil - now I want to hear from you. Congress may not be listening to you, but I am. And I'll carry your voice to Washington.

Please click on the following link to take my survey: www.pickensplan.com/survey

I want your frank and honest opinion, because I'm taking your voice and your message to Washington.

Enough is enough.


- Boone

Clean Cities Coachella Valley Region

Clean Cities Coachella Valley Region (C3VR) leads a local geographically-based coalition composed of local fleets, fuel providers, and policymakers that focus on two united goals: petroleum and greenhouse gas reduction. C3VR's jurisdictional boundaries include the County of Riverside, Cities of Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and surrounding desert communities.

California Action Plan for Transportation Energy Security

February 2011 was an important month in California for spotlighting the need to reduce petroleum dependence and increase the use of alternate fuels. The actions are long overdue as California is now 10 times more dependent on imported oil than it was in the early 1990s!

On February 16, the CalSTEP Partners, a diverse group of national security leaders and CEOs including President Reagan’s Secretary of State George Schulz, released a report, The California Action Plan 2.0 for Transportation Energy Security, noting California would benefit if it took a leadership role in reducing its dependence. Two bills, AB 371 and AB 638, introduced on February 14 and February 16, respectively, stipulate that all alternative fuel vehicles available for sale in California are to be listed on the Statewide Commodity Contracts list, and to maximize targets set in the previously adopted California Strategy to Reduce Petroleum Dependence.