Senator Casey Wants to Promote Propane Fueled Vehicles

Susan Phillips

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Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

June 24, 2013 | 6:23 PM

Smith Dairy, a regional, family-owned dairy, is switching its 200-truck fleet to natural gas burning vehicles. The company opened up their fueling station to the public. Cost is about $1.90 per gallon equivalent.

Gus Chan / The Plain Dealer

Smith Dairy, a regional, family-owned dairy in Ohio, is switching its 200-truck fleet to natural gas burning vehicles. The company opened up their fueling station to the public. Cost is about $1.90 per gallon equivalent.

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey plans to introduce legislation that would make it easier to run trucks and busses on natural gas. The Clean Vehicle Corridors Act tries to remove one of the largest obstacles to fueling cars and trucks with natural gas — the lack of fueling infrastructure. The bill would help create refueling stations on federal highways for compressed natural gas, liquified natural gas, and propane. The bill would also allow states to open up HOV lanes to natural gas fueled cars.
Sen. Casey is also introducing the Natural Gas Energy and Alternative Rewards Act to extend tax credits for propane gas vehicles and refueling stations.
Using funds from Act 13, Pennsylvania is in the process of distributing $10 million worth of grants to non-profits, businesses and municipalities that either purchase or convert their vehicles to run on natural gas.