Energy Resilient Communities Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 448 To direct the Secretary of Energy to carry out a grant program to improve the energy resilience, energy democracy, and security of communities, prioritizing environmental justice communities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 25, 2021 Ms. BARRAGA´N (for herself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. SIRES, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. SCHA- KOWSKY, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. NORTON, Mr. KHANNA, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. TONKO, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. MENG, Mr. WELCH, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARSON, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. SMITH of Wash- ington, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, and Mr. BOWMAN) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of Energy to carry out a grant program to improve the energy resilience, energy democ- racy, and security of communities, prioritizing environ- mental justice communities, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 448 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Resilient Com- 4 munities Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CLEAN ENERGY MICROGRID GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall es- 7 tablish and carry out a program to provide grants to eligi- 8 ble entities. 9 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use a 10 grant provided under the program established pursuant to 11 subsection (a) to— 12 (1) obtain technical assistance to— 13 (A) upgrade building codes and standards 14 for resiliency to climate change hazards (includ- 15 ing wildfires, flooding, sea level rise, landslides, 16 drought, storms, temperature extremes, and 17 other extreme weather events); 18 (B) develop a FEMA Hazard Mitigation 19 Plan to identify and overcome known climate 20 change hazards to critical community infra- 21 structure; or 22 (C) conduct a needs assessment of prospec- 23 tive clean energy microgrid projects and, as ap- 24 plicable, design prospective clean energy 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 448 IH microgrids, including assistance to address per- 1 mitting and siting challenges, understand and 2 facilitate financing options, and understand the 3 technical characteristics of clean energy 4 microgrids; 5 (2) provide community outreach and collabo- 6 rative planning with respect to a prospective project 7 described in paragraph (3); or 8 (3) carry out a project to develop and con- 9 struct— 10 (A) a clean energy microgrid that supports 11 critical community infrastructure; or 12 (B) a clean energy microgrid for residences 13 of medical baseline customers. 14 (c) PRIORITY.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In providing grants under 16 the program established pursuant to subsection (a), 17 the Secretary of Energy shall give priority to an eli- 18 gible entity that proposes to use a grant to obtain 19 technical assistance described in subsection (b)(1), 20 provide outreach described in subsection (b)(2), or 21 carry out a project described in subsection (b)(3), 22 that will benefit an environmental justice commu- 23 nity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 448 IH (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COMMUNITY 1 OUTREACH GRANTS.—After priority given under 2 paragraph (1), in providing grants to obtain tech- 3 nical assistance described in subsection (b)(1) or 4 provide outreach described in subsection (b)(2), the 5 Secretary of Energy shall give priority to an eligible 6 entity proposing to obtain technical assistance or 7 provide outreach that the Secretary of Energy deter- 8 mines will further the development of clean energy 9 microgrids that are community-owned energy sys- 10 tems. 11 (3) CLEAN ENERGY MICROGRID GRANTS.—After 12 priority given under paragraph (1), in providing 13 grants under the program established pursuant to 14 subsection (a) for projects described in subsection 15 (b)(3), the Secretary of Energy shall give priority to 16 an eligible entity that— 17 (A) proposes to develop and construct a 18 clean energy microgrid that, in comparison to 19 other clean energy microgrids for which grants 20 are sought under such program, will result in 21 the greatest reduction— 22 (i) of greenhouse gas emissions; 23 (ii) of emissions of criteria air pollut- 24 ants; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 448 IH (iii) in public health disparities in 1 communities experiencing a dispropor- 2 tionate level of air pollution; or 3 (iv) in the energy cost burden for 4 communities; 5 (B) proposes to develop and construct a 6 clean energy microgrid that is a community- 7 owned energy system; 8 (C) proposes to develop and construct a 9 clean energy microgrid that, in comparison to 10 other clean energy microgrids for which grants 11 are sought under such program, will provide the 12 greatest amount of resiliency benefits to a juris- 13 diction in which the microgrid is located; 14 (D) proposes to develop and construct a 15 clean energy microgrid that minimizes land use 16 impacts by— 17 (i) siting sources of clean energy with- 18 in the already-built environment, including 19 over rooftops and parking lots; 20 (ii) siting sources of clean energy on 21 existing brownfield sites or contaminated 22 sites; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 448 IH (iii) co-locating sources of clean en- 1 ergy on agricultural lands or over res- 2 ervoirs; or 3 (iv) siting sources of clean energy on 4 compatible lands; 5 (E) proposes to, in developing and con- 6 structing a clean energy microgrid, utilize or in- 7 volve small businesses or nonprofits that pri- 8 marily operate or are located within environ- 9 mental justice communities, particularly those 10 that are women-owned and operated or minor- 11 ity-owned and operated; 12 (F) has previously received a grant to ob- 13 tain technical assistance under such program; 14 (G) imposes registered apprentice utiliza- 15 tion requirements on projects, provided that 16 such requirements comply with the apprentice 17 to journey worker ratios established by the De- 18 partment of Labor or the applicable State Ap- 19 prenticeship Agency; or 20 (H) proposes to develop and construct a 21 clean energy microgrid in an area designated 22 nonattainment and classified as an Extreme 23 Area or Severe Area for one or more criteria air 24 pollutants. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 448 IH (d) EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 2 funds are made available to carry out this section, 3 the Secretary of Energy shall develop and carry out 4 an educational outreach program to inform eligible 5 entities about the program established pursuant to 6 subsection (a). 7 (2) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary of Energy 8 may enter into third-party contracts to implement 9 the educational outreach program under paragraph 10 (1). In entering into contracts pursuant to this para- 11 graph, the Secretary shall prioritize entering into 12 contracts with women-owned and operated or minor- 13 ity-owned and operated entities. 14 (3) PRIORITY.—The educational outreach pro- 15 gram under paragraph (1) shall prioritize— 16 (A) providing information on the program 17 established pursuant to subsection (a) to eligi- 18 ble entities that serve an environmental justice 19 community and to environmental justice com- 20 munities; and 21 (B) promoting public understanding of the 22 community benefits of clean energy microgrids 23 for critical community infrastructure. 24 (e) COST SHARE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 448 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 1 graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of technical 2 assistance, outreach, or a project for which a grant 3 is provided pursuant to the program established pur- 4 suant to subsection (a) shall not exceed 60 percent 5 of such cost. 6 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 7 The Federal share of the cost of technical assistance 8 that is obtained for, outreach that is provided to, or 9 a project that is carried out in, an environmental 10 justice community, and for which a grant is provided 11 pursuant to the program established pursuant to 12 subsection (a) shall not exceed 90 percent of such 13 cost. 14 (f) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The amount of a 15 grant provided to an eligible entity under this section to 16 carry out a project described in subsection (b)(3) may not 17 exceed $10,000,000. 18 (g) USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFAC- 19 TURED GOODS.— 20 (1) No funds authorized under this section shall 21 be made available with respect to a project unless all 22 of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in 23 the project are produced in the United States. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 448 IH (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in any case 1 or category of cases in which the Secretary of En- 2 ergy finds that— 3 (A) applying paragraph (1) would be in- 4 consistent with the public interest; 5 (B) iron, steel, and the relevant manufac- 6 tured goods are not produced in the United 7 States in sufficient and reasonably available 8 quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or 9 (C) inclusion of iron, steel, and manufac- 10 tured goods produced in the United States will 11 increase the cost of the overall project by more 12 than 25 percent. 13 (3) If the Secretary of Energy receives a re- 14 quest for a waiver under this subsection, the Sec- 15 retary shall make available to the public on an infor- 16 mal basis a copy of the request and information 17 available to the Secretary concerning the request, 18 and shall allow for informal public input on the re- 19 quest for at least 15 days prior to making a finding 20 based on the request. The Secretary shall make the 21 request and accompanying information available by 22 electronic means, including on the official public 23 website of the Department of Energy. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 448 IH (4) This subsection shall be applied in a man- 1 ner consistent with the United States obligations 2 under international agreements. 3 (h) PREVAILING WAGES.—All laborers and mechan- 4 ics employed by contractors or subcontractors in the per- 5 formance of construction, alteration, or repair work as- 6 sisted, in whole or in part, by a grant under this section 7 shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing 8 on similar construction in the locality as determined by 9 the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV 10 of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code. With respect 11 to the labor standards in this subsection, the Secretary 12 of Labor shall have the authority and functions set forth 13 in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 14 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United 15 States Code. 16 (i) PROJECT LABOR.—An eligible entity that uses a 17 grant provided under this section to construct a clean en- 18 ergy microgrid shall ensure, to the greatest extent prac- 19 ticable, that any subgrantee of such eligible entity, and 20 any subgrantee thereof, that carries out such construction 21 employs at least 40 percent of laborers or mechanics for 22 such construction that are individuals who— 23 (1) are domiciled, if the applicable construction 24 area is— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 448 IH (A) a major urban area, not further than 1 15 miles from such construction area; or 2 (B) not a major urban area, not further 3 than 50 miles from such construction area; 4 (2) are displaced and unemployed energy work- 5 ers; 6 (3) are members of the Armed Forces serving 7 on active duty, separated from active duty, or retired 8 from active duty; 9 (4) have been incarcerated or served time in a 10 juvenile or adult detention or correctional facility, or 11 been placed on probation, community supervision, or 12 in a diversion scheme; 13 (5) have a disability; 14 (6) are homeless; 15 (7) are receiving public assistance; 16 (8) lack a general education diploma or high 17 school diploma; 18 (9) are emancipated from the foster care sys- 19 tem; 20 (10) reside or work in an environmental justice 21 community; or 22 (11) are registered apprentices with fewer than 23 15 percent of the required graduating apprentice 24 hours in a program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:36 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H448.IH H448 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 448 IH (j) REPORTS.—The Secretary of Energy shall submit 1 to Congress, and make available on the public website of 2 the Department of Energy, an annual report on the pro- 3 gram established pursuant to subsection (a) that includes, 4 with respect to the previous year— 5 (1) the number of grants provided; 6 (2) the total dollar amount of all grants pro- 7 vided; 8 (3) a list of grant disbursements by State; 9 (4) for each grant provided— 10 (A) a description of the technical assist- 11 ance obtained, outreach provided, or project 12 carried out with grants funds; [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]