Climate Resilient Transportation Infrastructure Study Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 740 To require the Secretary of Transportation to solicit a study on climate resilient transportation infrastructure, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Ms. BROWNLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To require the Secretary of Transportation to solicit a study on climate resilient transportation infrastructure, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Climate Resilient 4 Transportation Infrastructure Study Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CLIMATE RESILIENT TRANSPORTATION INFRA- 6 STRUCTURE STUDY. 7 (a) CLIMATE RESILIENT TRANSPORTATION INFRA- 8 STRUCTURE STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H740.IH H740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 740 IH tation shall enter into an agreement with the Transpor- 1 tation Research Board of the National Academies to con- 2 duct a study of the actions needed to ensure that Federal 3 agencies are taking into account current and future cli- 4 mate conditions in planning, designing, building, oper- 5 ating, maintaining, investing in, and upgrading any feder- 6 ally funded transportation infrastructure investments. 7 (b) METHODOLOGIES.—In conducting the study, the 8 Transportation Research Board shall build on the meth- 9 odologies examined and recommended in— 10 (1) the 2018 report issued the American Soci- 11 ety of Civil Engineers, titled ‘‘Climate-Resilient In- 12 frastructure: Adaptive Design and Risk Manage- 13 ment’’; and 14 (2) the report issued by the California Climate- 15 Safe Infrastructure Working Group, titled ‘‘Paying 16 it Forward: The Path Toward Climate-Safe Infra- 17 structure in California’’. 18 (c) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study shall include 19 specific recommendations regarding the following: 20 (1) Integrating scientific knowledge of projected 21 climate change impacts, and other relevant data and 22 information, into Federal infrastructure planning, 23 design, engineering, construction, operation and 24 maintenance. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H740.IH H740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 740 IH (2) Addressing critical information gaps and 1 challenges. 2 (3) Financing options to help fund climate-resil- 3 ient infrastructure. 4 (4) A platform or process to facilitate commu- 5 nication between climate scientists and other experts 6 with infrastructure planners, engineers and other 7 relevant experts. 8 (5) A stakeholder process to engage with rep- 9 resentatives of State, local, tribal and community 10 groups. 11 (6) A platform for tracking Federal funding of 12 climate-resilient infrastructure. 13 (7) Labor and workforce needs to implement 14 climate-resilient transportation infrastructure 15 projects including new and emerging skills, training 16 programs, competencies and recognized postsec- 17 ondary credentials that may be required to ade- 18 quately equip the workforce. 19 (8) Outlining how Federal infrastructure plan- 20 ning, design, engineering, construction, operation, 21 and maintenance impact the environment and public 22 health of disproportionately exposed communities. 23 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘dis- 24 proportionately exposed communities’’ means a com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H740.IH H740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 740 IH munity in which climate change, pollution, or envi- 1 ronmental destruction have exacerbated systemic ra- 2 cial, regional, social, environmental, and economic 3 injustices by disproportionately affecting indigenous 4 peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, 5 deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 6 communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, 7 the elderly, people experiencing homelessness, people 8 with disabilities, people who are incarcerated, or 9 youth. 10 (d) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the study, 11 the Transportation Research Board shall determine the 12 need for information related to climate resilient transpor- 13 tation infrastructure by considering— 14 (1) the current informational and institutional 15 barriers to integrating projected infrastructure risks 16 posed by climate change into federal infrastructure 17 planning, design, engineering, construction, oper- 18 ation and maintenance; 19 (2) the critical information needed by engineers, 20 planners and those charged with infrastructure up- 21 grades and maintenance to better incorporate cli- 22 mate change risks and impacts over the lifetime of 23 projects; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H740.IH H740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 740 IH (3) how to select an appropriate, adaptive engi- 1 neering design for a range of future climate sce- 2 narios as related to infrastructure planning and in- 3 vestment; 4 (4) how to incentivize and incorporate systems 5 thinking into engineering design to maximize the 6 benefits of multiple natural functions and emissions 7 reduction, as well as regional planning; 8 (5) how to take account of the risks of cas- 9 cading infrastructure failures and develop more ho- 10 listic approaches to evaluating and mitigating cli- 11 mate risks; 12 (6) how to ensure that investments in infra- 13 structure resilience benefit all communities, includ- 14 ing communities of color, low-income communities 15 and tribal communities that face a disproportionate 16 risk from climate change and in many cases have ex- 17 perienced long-standing unmet needs and under- 18 investment in critical infrastructure; 19 (7) how to incorporate capital assessment and 20 planning training and techniques, including a range 21 of financing options to help local and State govern- 22 ments plan for and provide matching funds; 23 (8) how federal agencies can track and monitor 24 federally funded resilient infrastructure in a coordi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H740.IH H740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 740 IH nated fashion to help build the understanding of the 1 cost-benefit of resilient infrastructure and to build 2 the capacity for implementing resilient infrastruc- 3 ture; and 4 (9) the occupations, skillsets, training pro- 5 grams, competencies and recognized postsecondary 6 credentials that will be needed to implement such 7 climate-resilient transportation infrastructure 8 projects, and how to ensure that any new jobs cre- 9 ated by such projects ensure that priority hiring con- 10 siderations are given to individuals facing barriers to 11 employment, communities of color, low-income com- 12 munities and tribal communities that face a dis- 13 proportionate risk from climate change and have 14 been excluded from job opportunities. 15 (e) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the study, the 16 Transportation Research Board— 17 (1) shall convene and consult with a panel of 18 national experts, including operators and users of 19 Federal transportation infrastructure and private 20 sector stakeholders; and 21 (2) is encouraged to consult with— 22 (A) representatives from the thirteen fed- 23 eral agencies that comprise the United States 24 Global Change Research Program; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H740.IH H740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 740 IH (B) representatives from the Department 1 of the Treasury; 2 (C) professional engineers with relevant ex- 3 pertise in infrastructure design; 4 (D) scientists from the National Academies 5 with relevant expertise; 6 (E) scientists, social scientists and experts 7 from academic and research institutions who 8 have expertise in climate change projections and 9 impacts; engineering; architecture; or other rel- 10 evant areas of expertise; 11 (F) licensed architects with relevant expe- 12 rience in infrastructure design; 13 (G) certified planners; 14 (H) representatives of State, local and 15 Tribal governments; 16 (I) representatives of environmental justice 17 groups; and 18 (J) representatives of labor unions that 19 represent key trades and industries involved in 20 infrastructure projects. 21 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 22 of enactment of this Act, the Transportation Research 23 Board shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on 24 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H740.IH H740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 740 IH resentatives, and the Committee on Environment and 1 Public Works of the Senate a report on the results of the 2 study conducted under this section. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Feb 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H740.IH H740 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS