CROTHERSVILLE — Applications are being accepted for a multi-billion-dollar program to fund electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in communities across the country and along roadways.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s new Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will provide $2.5 billion over five years to a wide range of applicants, including cities, counties, local governments and tribes, according to highways.dot.gov.

This round of funding makes up to $700 million from fiscal years 2022 and 2023 available to strategically deploy EV charging and other alternative vehicle fueling infrastructure projects in publicly accessible locations in urban and rural communities as well as along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors.

During a meeting earlier this month, Tara Hagan with Administrative Resources association presented information about this funding to the Crothersville Town Council after one of its members, Chad Wilson, had asked her about it.

Hagan said the application is due May 30, and the minimum request for a community grant is $500,000 with a 20% local match.

“It’s a cost reimbursement, so you have to have all of that money upfront, then get reimbursed,” she said.

This funding is targeting those in a disadvantaged census track, and after looking at the Alternative Fuel Corridor map, she said Crothersville does not hit that. Hagan said a lot of interstate systems are on the AFC, and an EV charging station has to be within 1 mile of an exit.

Wilson had suggested a charging station in the new downtown parking lot, but that would fall outside of the 1-mile radius.

“If you put a radius map on you guys, you have to put it right out there at the end of the town limits in order to hit that 1-mile mark,” Hagan said.

Parts of other local communities served by ARa, including Austin and Seymour, fall in the AFC.

“It’s extremely complex and complicated with all of these different layers. You have to have private investments. You have to tap into your energy companies. It’s just a lot,” she said of the new grant program.

“We don’t want to pass up money, but I think a lot of this is for people who have already been lobbying for it and already have all of this in the works and are ready,” she said. “They are probably loving this announcement because $700 million is a lot of money, but it’s also competing against all 50 states. That includes Puerto Rico, too, and some of our territories.”

For Crothersville to get an EV charging station, Hagan said a regional plan may need to be established and the town become part of it. The Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, for example, has wrapped up one round of funding, and a second one is planned.

“That’s some of the things that I’m going to keep trying to push toward people to think about,” she said. “I am keeping my eye on it and just trying to keep you guys in mind and trying to figure out how we could go after some of this funding as it’s coming down the line.”

The federal government wants EV stations every 50 miles, so Hagan said there would need to be some between Indianapolis and Louisville.

She said the town of Hope in Bartholomew County has a couple of low-level EV charging stations that are tied into the electric system, so it’s possible the town manager would talk to Crothersville officials to learn more about them.

One thing to consider would be to charge people to use the EV stations or not. Hagan said Hope doesn’t charge, but there is a three-hour limit to use the stations. When the town has its annual Hope Heritage Days, the charging stations aren’t available because the electric system is used by vendors.

“There are just so many levels of this, I feel like planning needs to be done,” she said. “It’s a learning curve for me. I don’t know too much about it, but I do know enough that there are different levels of charging stations, and you would want to have something that is going to be available all the time, not just have to pull the plug on it.”

Hagan said she also is looking for a firm that could help with an EV planning study.