The Nation

LOS ANGELES — Groundbreaking is set for next month on what’s billed as the world’s largest wildlife crossing — a bridge over a major Southern California highway that will provide more room to roam for mountain lions and other animals hemmed in by urban sprawl. A ceremony marking the start of construction for the span over U.S. 101 near Los Angeles will take place on Earth Day, April 22, the National Wildlife Federation announced Thursday. The bridge will give big cats, coyotes, deer, lizards, snakes and other creatures a safe route to open space in the Santa Monica Mountains and better access to food and potential mates, said the wildlife federation’s Beth Pratt. “Crossings like this are nothing new,” Pratt said, noting there is one outside Yosemite for toads. “This one’s historic because we’re putting it over one of the busiest freeways in the world.” She helped organize the project along with other conservationists and state transportation officials. Pratt said the bridge will be the first of its kind near a major metropolis and the largest in the world, stretching 200 feet above 10 highway lanes and a feeder road just 35 miles northwest of downtown LA. Construction will take place mostly at night and won’t require any lengthy shutdowns of the 101 freeway, officials have said. It’s slated to be completed by early 2025. The $90 million price tag will be covered by about 60% private donations, with the rest coming from public funds set aside for conservation purposes. The span will be named the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, for the philanthropist whose foundation donated $25 million. Gov. Gavin Newsom called the project an “inspiring example” of public-private partnership. “California’s diverse array of native species and ecosystems have earned the state recognition as a global biodiversity hotspot. In the face of extreme climate impacts, it’s more important than ever that we work together to protect our rich natural heritage,” Newsom said in a statement Thursday. The star of the fundraising campaign was the mountain lion P-22. Famous for traveling across two freeways and making a huge Los Angeles park his home, the big cat became a symbol of the shrinking genetic diversity of wild animals that must remain all but trapped by sprawling development or risk becoming roadkill. Scientists tracking cougars fitted with GPS collars found over decades that roadways are largely confining animals in mountains that run along the Malibu coast and across the middle of LA to Griffith Park, where P-22 settled. Despite being the face of the project, P-22 is unlikely to use the bridge because he’s confined to the park many miles away. But many of his relatives could benefit, Pratt said. Some 300,000 cars a day travel that stretch of the 101 in Agoura Hills, a small city surrounded by a patchwork of protected wildland that the new crossing will connect. Drivers in the Liberty Canyon area will speed under the bridge 165 feet (50 meters) wide with brush and trees growing on top, seamlessly joining hillsides on both sides of the lanes. Architects designed the topography to be indistinguishable from the scenery on either side. Berms and hollows with high edges will block sound and light from the lanes below. Wildlife crossings — bridges and tunnels — are common in western Europe and Canada. A famous one in Banff National Park in Alberta spans the Trans-Canada Highway and is frequently used by bears, moose and elk. The Los Angeles-area bridge has enjoyed nearly universal support, unusual for a public works project. The draft environmental impact document received nearly 9,000 comments — with only 15 opposed, according to the wildlife federation.

LANSING, Mich.  — Michigan lawmakers late Wednesday unveiled and began passing a massive $4.8 billion spending plan, one that will upgrade long-neglected infrastructure including water pipes, dams, roads and parks. The legislation is the product of months of negotiations between the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration over how to spend an unprecedented billions of discretionary pandemic funding that was enacted by Congress and President Joe Biden last year. The governor will sign the bills that legislators plan to approve Thursday, following an initial unanimous vote by the House budget committee Wednesday night. The measures contain more than $1.7 billion to provide safe, clean water — replacing lead pipes, fixing septic systems and combatting “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to a one-page summary provided by House Republicans. There is $300 million for dam safety, including $250 million for repairs in the wake of dam failures that led to Midland-area flooding in 2020. The plan has $380 million for road and bridge repairs and pump stations to prevent highway flooding; $250 million to improve state parks and recreations areas; $200 million for local parks; and $250 million to expand broadband access. Other big-ticket items include an additional $500 million for rent and mortgage assistance, $322 million in COVID-19-related spending, and $140 million to stabilize the unemployment benefits fund and improve the functioning of the state agency that disburses the aid. Whitmer said the bipartisan supplemental budget agreement will help grow the economy amid “tough times.” “Today we have proven once again that here in Michigan, we get things done together,” she said in a statement. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Jim Stamas, a Midland Republican, called the investments “transformative.” Rep. Thomas Albert, a Lowell Republican who leads the House Appropriations Committee, said the one-time resources are “an unprecedented opportunities to make monumental improvements to the structural foundation of Michigan communities for decades to come.”  

ARABI, La.  — A tornado flipped cars and heavy trucks, ripped off rooftops and deposited a house in the middle of a street in the New Orleans area, part of a storm front that caused damage in places as it blew from Texas to South Carolina. Two deaths were attributed to the weather. Professional truck driver Anton Santana said he had just parked his rig near his home when the tornado struck. He had just returned from a long-haul to California and was collecting his gear when the cab began shaking violently. “I knew it was bad, so I started to pray, because I didn’t even have time to get out of the truck and run to shelter,” Santana said. “I saw the roof of my house and my neighbor’s house disappear, so I just laid down in the floorboard of my cab and started to pray. My truck has busted windows and a lot of dents from the flying debris. I am thankful to be alive.” Other tornadoes spawned by the same storm system had hit parts of Texas and Oklahoma on Monday, killing a woman north of Dallas and causing multiple injuries and widespread damage, before moving eastward. The National Weather Service confirmed that tornadoes touched down Tuesday night in St. Bernard Parish, which borders New Orleans to the southeast, and in Lacombe, across Lake Pontchartrain from the city. Parish officials gave no details on how the person died; they said multiple other people were injured. Louisiana activated 300 National Guard personnel on Wednesday to assist St. Bernard Parish with route clearance, security, and engineering support. New Orleans television stations broadcast live images of the storm as it barreled across the metropolitan area. In the aftermath, rescue workers were searching through Arabi, just east of the city’s Lower 9th Ward, where St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis said the tornado caused significant damage in an area wrecked by Katrina. Many residents also suffered damage just last year when Category 4 Hurricane Ida swept through. Stacey Mancuso’s family just completed repairs to their home in Arabi after Ida ripped off the roof and caused extensive water damage. As Tuesday’s tornado tore through their street, she huddled in the laundry room with her husband; two children, ages 16 and 11; and dogs as part of their new roof blew away. “We’re alive. That’s what I can say at this point. We still have four walls and part of a roof. I consider myself lucky,” said Mancuso. Still, the twister was the third time they’ve had major weather damage since Katrina in 2005. In Arabi, there was a strong smell of natural gas in the air as residents and rescue personnel stood in the street and surveyed the damage. Some houses were destroyed while pieces of debris hung from electrical wires and trees. An aluminum fishing boat in front of one house was bent into the shape of a C with the motor across the street. Power poles were down or leaning over, forcing emergency workers to walk slowly through darkened neighborhoods checking for damage. Michelle Malasovich lives in Arabi. Initially she had been worried about family to the north who were also getting hit by bad weather. She was texting with them when “all of a sudden the lights started flickering.” Her husband was out on the porch and saw the tornado coming. “It just kept getting louder and louder,” Malasovich said. After it passed, they came out to survey the damage — some columns were blown off their porch and the windows of her Jeep were blown out. Others fared worse: “Our neighbor’s house is in the middle of the street right now.” The parish president said a young girl was on a ventilator in the home at the time. “We had one rescue — a home that was actually picked up and came down in the middle of the street. A young girl was on a ventilator, her father was looking for firefighters to come help, come help,” McInnis said. “And they were already in there taking care of the young lady and she’s doing fine.” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell tweeted late Tuesday that there were no reports of casualties or significant damage within the city and that the power utility was working to restore electricity. About 13,000 homes and businesses were reportedly without power in the three parishes around New Orleans. Entergy reported that about 3,500 remained without electricity early Wednesday morning. As the storm front moved eastward, an apparent twister ripped apart a metal building and shattered windows east of Mobile Bay in Baldwin County, Alabama, and torrential downpours caused flash floods. The weather service reported more than 8 inches of rain fell in the central Alabama city of Sylacauga overnight, and the roofs of several homes were damaged in Toxey, Alabama, where tornado warnings were issued. The wild weather waned as it moved into South Carolina early Wednesday, but the weather service warned that isolated tornadoes remained possible in southern Georgia. Shelters were opened ahead of the severe weather, and many schools closed early or canceled after-school activities in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Louisiana’s federal and state authorities reminded the more than 8,000 hurricane survivors living in government-provided mobile homes and recreational vehicle trailers to have an evacuation plan. The vicious weather hit Texas on Monday, where several tornadoes were reported along the Interstate 35 corridor. In Elgin, broken trees lined the rural roads and pieces of metal — uprooted by strong winds hung from the branches. Residents stepped carefully to avoid downed power lines as they worked to clean the remnants of broken ceilings, torn down walls and damaged cars. J.D. Harkins, 59, said he saw two tornadoes pass by his Elgin home. “There used to be a barn there,” Harkins said, pointing to an empty plot on his uncle’s property covered with scattered debris. He said the building was empty when the first tornado hit, and that his family is thankful nobody was hurt. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster in 16 hard-hit counties. Abbott said 10 people were injured by storms in the Crockett area, while more than a dozen were reportedly hurt elsewhere. The Grayson County Emergency Management Office said a 73-year-old woman was killed in the community of Sherwood Shores, about 60 miles north of Dallas, but provided no details. The Trucker Staff contributed to this report.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Six teenage girls on a high school lunch break were killed when their small car with only four seats collided with a large truck hauling rocks, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Wednesday. The crash occurred shortly after noon Tuesday in Tishomingo, a rural city of about 3,000 located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Oklahoma City, the patrol said. Those killed included the 16-year-old driver, three 15-year-olds, and two 17-year-old passengers, according to the patrol. While what led to the crash is unknown, it highlighted concerns of teenagers carrying other young passengers. “Just adding a single passenger under age 21 increases the risk of crashing by 44%” when the driver is a teen,” said William Van Tassel with AAA’s national office. The crash report, released Wednesday morning, said the circumstances of the wreck remained under investigation. But Highway Patrol Trooper Shelby Humphrey said Tuesday night that the girls’ car was making a right turn when it collided with the truck, KXII-TV reported. “One of the main concerns and risks of having multiple teenagers in a car is the distractions that come with that,” Van Tassel said. “If one of the passengers is over 35 (the risk) goes down by 62%. That implies teens can drive safely when there’s an adult in the car,” Van Tassel told The Associated Press. Only the 16-year-old driver and front-seat passenger were wearing seat belts when the 2015 Chevrolet Spark collided with the truck, according to the Highway Patrol. “The unbelted people put everyone at risk,” Van Tessel said. “In a crash, the unbuckled people fly around all over the place,” injuring others inside the vehicle. Oklahoma is the only state where passengers who are older than 7 years old and in the back seat of a car do not have to wear a seat belt, said Leslie Gamble, the manger of public and government relations for AAA-Oklahoma. “A 41-member coalition of traffic safety advocates has pushed for a bill to be passed by our state legislators for the past three years without success,” Gamble said The crash occurred about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Tishomingo High School. Students in the district of about 850 students were in class Wednesday, Tishomingo Public School Superintendent Bobby Waitman said. “Academics are secondary, frankly, at this point to the students knowing that they belong, that they have a safe place,” Waitman said. “You’ll never fully understand, I don’t think we’ll ever fully understand a loss like this,” Waitman added. The girls’ names weren’t released because they are juveniles. The Highway Patrol identified the driver of the truck as Valendon Burton, 51, of Burneyville, Oklahoma. The report said Burton was not injured. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team, according to NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson. Waitman said funerals for the students were not yet scheduled and that the district would work with their families to potentially schedule a memorial service on campus. The crash happened one week after nine people were killed — including six members of a New Mexico college’s golf team and their coach — died in a crash in West Texas. In that crash, the NTSB determined that a 13-year-old boy was behind the wheel of a truck when it blew a tire and struck the van carrying University of the Southwest students.

DENVER — Roads in Colorado will soon be seeing green 18-wheelers — big trucks with plenty of power but zero emissions. That’s the result of Nikola Corp.’s announcement Tuesday that it would begin selling its new Nikola Tre truck in Colorado through Wagner Equipment Co. Colorado Energy Office Director Will Toor and Colorado Department of Transportation Office of Innovative Mobility Chief Kay Kelly on Tuesday joined officials from Nikola, Wagner Equipment and the Colorado Motor Carriers Association to hail the arrival of the electric big rigs. A Nikola Tre truck, on display at the Capitol Tuesday, is a fully battery-electric vehicle offering a range of up to 350 miles. Beginning in 2023, Wagner will also include the Nikola Tre hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles as part of its portfolio of trucks. “Colorado recently released a draft Clean Truck Strategy, which is among the most comprehensive plans in the U.S. to build and scale the market for zero emission trucks,” Toor said. “This strategy will reduce air pollution in our most vulnerable and polluted corridors across the state and help us achieve our climate goals. The strategy includes ambitious plans to transition to zero-emissions electric and hydrogen trucks and buses. It’s great to see the Nikola Tre here today as a real-world example of an electric heavy-duty truck.” Medium-and-heavy-duty vehicles like tractor-trailers represent less than 10% of all the vehicles on the road but are responsible for 22% of on-road transportation greenhouse gas emissions as well as ozone precursors. “It’s exciting to see zero emission products entering the heavy-duty market,” Kay Kelly, chief of innovative mobility at the Colorado Department of Transportation, said. “The growing number of zero-emissions offerings in the medium and heavy-duty truck market are giving Colorado fleets more opportunity than ever before to choose clean, quiet trucks with lower operation and maintenance costs. Colorado’s comprehensive Clean Truck Strategy will further develop the supportive ecosystem necessary for fleets to be successful in deploying these compelling new products.” Colorado’s Clean Truck Strategy would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from medium-and-heavy-duty vehicles by at least 45% in Colorado by 2050. “Nikola applauds the state of Colorado for working to better understand the challenges and opportunities associated with transitioning fleets to zero-emissions,” Elizabeth Fretheim, Nikola’s global head of sustainability and social responsibility, said. “As a company dedicated to the advancement of innovative zero-emissions truck solutions and the energy infrastructure required to make this feasible, we especially appreciate the focus on and recognition of the differences in the path forward for passenger cars versus medium- and heavy-duty trucks through the development of a specific Clean Truck Strategy.” Electric vehicles not only offer zero emissions, but also the potential of cost savings. Currently for a daily route of 300 miles in Colorado, the cost to electrically charge the Nikola Tre is around half the cost of diesel fuel for the same trip. Charging an electric vehicle for personal use costs the equivalent of about $1 a gallon. In the last three months of 2021, Colorado saw record-breaking EV sales; electric vehicles accounted for nearly 13% of new light-duty vehicle registrations in December. This precipitous increase puts the state on a trajectory to meet its 2030 targets: 940,000 light-duty EVs and at least 1,000 zero-emissions transit buses by 2030. The state is also leading by example, electrifying state facilities and setting the stage for the delivery of dozens of new electric state fleet vehicles in 2022 and 2023.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On a rain-soaked Interstate 40 Tuesday, Convoy co-founder Grant Goodale rode shotgun inside an 18-wheeler enroute to the Mid-America Truck Show (MATS) in Louisville, Kentucky. MATS begins on Thursday in Louisville, and Goodale and his company plan a large presence there. For Goodale, the experience in getting to Louisville is more than just a publicity stunt. The executive with one of the nation’s largest digital freight networks said the goal is to get to know drivers and experience the issues they face firsthand. That’s why he is riding along in several different big rigs to Louisville from Dallas instead of flying. Tuesday’s leg of the journey brought him into the cab of driver Jacinda Duran of Blackburn Energy. She’ll take him as far as Nashville, where he’ll meet up with another driver to get to Louisville. In a Facebook post prior to their run together, Duran said that she is “honored” to have Goodale on board. The past year has been an exceptionally challenging period of time for our nation’s truck drivers. The pandemic, and now skyrocketing fuel prices tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have added to the difficulties of an average driver’s day. On Tuesday during a phone interview with The Trucker, Goodale said he already has a newfound appreciation for truck drivers. “I’m starting to see the challenges, and it’s eye-opening,” Goodale said. Goodale added that he hopes the knowledge he gains along his trip will allow him to better manage his business and be better able to understand solutions when problems arise. “Truck drivers are a vital part of our nation, and it’s important to know and understand what they go through on a daily basis,” Goodale said. “That’s why I’m out here.”  

ARLINGTON, Va. — American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index was unchanged in February after increasing 0.4% in January. In February, the index equaled 115.3 (2015=100) the same as January. “February was the first month that the index didn’t increase since July,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Despite a string of gains, the index is still off 1.8% from March 2020. The index is also off 4.2% from the all-time high in August 2019. It is important to note that ATA’s data is dominated by contract freight, not spot market. “Demand for trucking freight services remains strong, but for-hire contract carriers are capacity constrained due to the driver and equipment markets. The spot market has been surging as these carriers can’t haul all of the freight they are asked to move,” he said. “So the fact that the tonnage index hasn’t fully recovered is a supply problem, not a lack of demand. Other ATA data shows that for-hire carriers are operating around 7% fewer trucks, both company and independent contractor equipment, than prior to the pandemic.” January’s increase was revised down slightly from our February 22 press release. Compared with February 2021, the SA index increased 2.4%, which was the sixth straight year-over-year gain and the largest over that period. In January, the index was up 0.9% from a year earlier. In 2022, year-to-date and compared with same period in 2021, tonnage was up 1.7%. The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 104.3 in February, 4.3% below the January level (109). In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015. ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight. Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.5% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 10.23 billion tons of freight in 2020. Motor carriers collected $732.3 billion, or 80.4% of total revenue earned by all transport modes. ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. This is a preliminary figure and subject to change in the final report issued around the 5th day of each month. The report includes month-to-month and year-over-year results, relevant economic comparisons, and key financial indicators.    

ASBURY PARK, N.J. — A wave of new electric vehicle charging stations across the country is coming as interest in alternatives to gasoline and diesel vehicles is on the rise and could heighten further due to a global spike in fuel prices. Though most of the plans were in the works before already high fuel prices surged because of the war in Ukraine, the timing may work in favor of electric vehicle makers and other proponents of ditching fossil fuels. From coast to coast, cities big and small are adding charging stations for electric vehicles. Strong demand is forecast for the vehicles, despite their higher prices and limited availability, meaning even more communities will feel pressure to add charging stations or risk having motorists pass them by in favor of plug-in-friendly places. The publicly funded investments come as gasoline prices in most of the country are above $4 a gallon and significantly more in some spots. Diesel is above $5 a gallon nationally and more than $6 on average in California. On Monday, New Jersey officials awarded $1 million in grants to install electric vehicle charging stations in 24 tourist areas around the state. The idea was to help spur tourism by reassuring visitors who own electric vehicles that they can come to a vacation spot in New Jersey and not run out of power to get back home. “Don’t worry about it,” said Joseph Fiordaliso, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. “We have the equipment here so that you don’t have to have range anxiety.” Spots getting money for new charging stations include Asbury Park, Atlantic City, Ocean City and several state parks and forests. The money comes from the state budget. On Tuesday, NJ Transit, the state’s public transportation agency, will unveil electric charging stations at a bus depot in Camden, outside Philadelphia. There are now about 625 vehicle charging stations in New Jersey On the federal side, the city of Hoboken, just outside New York City, is getting up to six new charging stations in a deal also announced Monday. U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez said the money from a federal spending bill “will help ease our transition to electric vehicles, reduce emissions, and create a cleaner environment for our children.” Governments across the country are doing likewise. Bellingham, Washington will add 90 charging stations over the next two years. Portland, Maine, recently entered into a 10-year agreement with a company that will install, operate and maintain more than 40 electric vehicle charging stations on publicly owned property. Charleston, West Virginia, just added two charging stations at a public parking garage. Charlotte, North Carolina, Cleveland and Saginaw, Michigan, are among cities adding charging stations. It’s happening in other countries, too. Glasgow, Scotland, is adding 164 new stations this year. Almost half a million electric vehicles were sold in the U.S. last year, according to Kelly Blue Book.

WASHINGTON — Companies, including trucking firms, would be required to disclose the greenhouse gas emissions they produce and how climate risk affects their business under new rules proposed Monday by the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a drive across the government to address climate change. Under the proposals adopted on a 3-1 SEC vote, public companies would have to report on their climate risks, including the costs of moving away from fossil fuels, as well as risks related to the physical impact of storms, drought and higher temperatures caused by global warming. They would be required to lay out their transition plans for managing climate risk, how they intend to meet climate goals and progress made, and the impact of severe weather events on their finances. The number of investors seeking more information on risk related to global warming has grown dramatically in recent years. Many companies already provide climate-risk information voluntarily. The idea is that, with uniform required information, investors would be able to compare companies within industries and sectors. “Companies and investors alike would benefit from the clear rules of the road” in the proposal, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said. But to some in the trucking industry, the federal government may be the only beneficiary. “You look at it this way, it’s more bureaucracy,” said a driver for a major, publicly traded freight conglomerate who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on behalf of his company. “I own a lot of stock in this company, and you can be sure that if the federal government steps in, there will be fines, there will be some way to take our money. Trucking companies, if they face fines, will just pass that on to the consumers. And nobody wants that.” The required disclosures would include greenhouse gas emissions produced by companies directly or indirectly — such as from consumption of the company’s products, vehicles used to transport products, employee business travel and energy used to grow raw materials. The SEC issued voluntary guidance in 2010, but this is the first time mandatory disclosure rules were put forward. The rules were opened to a public comment period of around 60 days and they could be modified before any final adoption. Climate activists and investor groups have clamored for mandatory disclosure of information that would be uniformly required of all companies. The advocates estimate that excluding companies’ indirect emissions would leave out some 75% of greenhouse gas emissions. “Investors can only assess risks if they know they exist,” Mike Litt, consumer campaigns director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said in a prepared statement. “Americans’ retirement accounts and other savings could be endangered if we don’t acknowledge potential liabilities caused by climate change and take them seriously.” “Climate risks and harms are growing across our communities with threats to our economy,” said Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. “Investors, pension fund managers and the public need better information about the physical and transition-related risks that climate change poses to hard-earned investments.” On the other hand, major business interests and Republican officials — reaching down to the state level — began mobilizing against the climate disclosures long before the SEC unveiled the proposed rules Monday, exposing the sharply divided political dynamic of the climate issue. Hester Peirce, the sole Republican among the four SEC commissioners, voted against the proposal. “We cannot make such fundamental changes without harming” companies, investors and the SEC, she said. “The results won’t be reliable, let alone comparable.” The SEC action is part of a governmentwide effort to identify climate risks, with new regulations planned from various agencies touching on the financial industry, housing and agriculture, among other areas. President Joe Biden issued an executive order last May calling for concrete steps to blunt climate risks, while spurring job creation and helping the U.S. reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Biden has made slowing climate change a top priority and has set a target to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 52% below 2005 levels by 2030. He also has said he expects to adopt a clean-energy standard that would make electric power carbon-free by 2035, along with the wider goal of net-zero carbon emissions through the economy by 2050. “This is a huge step forward to protect our economy and boost transparency for investors and the public,” White House national climate adviser Gina McCarthy tweeted as the SEC acted. The premier business lobby, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s top trade group, expressed objections in letters to the SEC last year. Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs at API, said Monday the group is concerned that the SEC’s proposal could require disclosure of information that isn’t significant for investors’ decisions, “and create confusion for investors and capital markets.” “As the (SEC) pursues a final rule, we encourage them to collaborate with our industry and build on private-sector efforts that are already underway to improve consistency and comparability of climate-related reporting,” Macchiarola said in a statement. The threat that opponents could take the SEC to court over the regulations has loomed. Last June, a group of 16 Republican state attorneys general, led by Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia, raised objections in a letter to SEC Chairman Gensler. “Companies are well positioned to decide whether and how to satisfy the market’s evolving demands, for both customers and investors,” they said. “If the (SEC) were to move forward in this area, however, it would be delving into an inherently political morass for which it is ill-suited.” Morrisey previously threatened to sue the SEC over expanded disclosures from companies of environmental, social and governance information.