II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 432 To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a pilot program to award grants for the electrification of certain refrigerated vehicles, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a pilot program to award grants for the electrification of certain refrigerated vehicles, 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 ‘‘Fostering and Real- 4 izing Electrification by Encouraging Zero Emission Re- 5 frigeration Trucks Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘FREEZER 6 Trucks Act of 2021’’. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 432 IS SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE ELECTRIFICATION OF 1 CERTAIN REFRIGERATED VEHICLES. 2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 5 mental Protection Agency. 6 (2) DIESEL-POWERED TRANSPORT REFRIGERA- 7 TION UNIT.—The term ‘‘diesel-powered transport re- 8 frigeration unit’’ means a transport refrigeration 9 unit that is powered by an independent diesel inter- 10 nal combustion engine. 11 (3) ELECTRIC TRANSPORT REFRIGERATION 12 UNIT.—The term ‘‘electric transport refrigeration 13 unit’’ means a transport refrigeration unit in which 14 the refrigeration or climate-control system is driven 15 by an electric motor when connected to shore power 16 infrastructure or other equipment that enables 17 transport refrigeration units to connect to electric 18 power, including all-electric transport refrigeration 19 units, hybrid electric transport refrigeration units, 20 and standby electric transport refrigeration units. 21 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 22 ty’’ means— 23 (A) a regional, State, local, or Tribal agen- 24 cy, or a port authority, with jurisdiction over 25 transportation or air quality; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 432 IS (B) a nonprofit organization or institution 1 that— 2 (i) represents, or provides pollution 3 reduction or educational services to, indi- 4 viduals or organizations that own or oper- 5 ate heavy-duty vehicles or fleets of heavy- 6 duty vehicles; or 7 (ii) has, as the principal purpose of 8 the organization or institution, the pro- 9 motion of air quality; 10 (C) an individual or entity that is the 11 owner of record of a heavy-duty vehicle or a 12 fleet of heavy-duty vehicles that operates for the 13 transportation and delivery of perishable goods 14 or other goods requiring climate-controlled con- 15 ditions; 16 (D) an individual or entity that is the 17 owner of record of a facility that operates as a 18 warehouse or storage facility for perishable 19 goods or other goods requiring climate-con- 20 trolled conditions; and 21 (E) a hospital or public health institution 22 that utilizes refrigeration for storage of perish- 23 able goods or other goods requiring climate-con- 24 trolled conditions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 432 IS (5) HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘heavy- 1 duty vehicle’’ means— 2 (A) a commercial truck or van— 3 (i) used for the primary purpose of 4 transporting perishable goods or other 5 goods requiring climate-controlled condi- 6 tions; and 7 (ii) with a gross vehicle weight rating 8 greater than 6,000 pounds; and 9 (B) an insulated cargo trailer used in 10 transporting perishable goods or other goods re- 11 quiring climate-controlled conditions when 12 mounted on a semitrailer. 13 (6) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro- 14 gram’’ means the pilot program established under 15 subsection (b). 16 (7) SHORE POWER INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 17 term ‘‘shore power infrastructure’’ means electrical 18 infrastructure that provides power to the electric 19 transport refrigeration unit of a heavy-duty vehicle 20 when the heavy-duty vehicle is stationary on a prop- 21 erty where the heavy-duty vehicle is parked or load- 22 ed, including a food distribution center or other loca- 23 tion where heavy-duty vehicles congregate. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 432 IS (8) TRANSPORT REFRIGERATION UNIT.—The 1 term ‘‘transport refrigeration unit’’ means a climate- 2 control system installed on a heavy-duty vehicle for 3 the purpose of maintaining the quality of perishable 4 goods or other goods requiring climate-controlled 5 conditions. 6 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM.—The Ad- 7 ministrator shall establish a pilot program to award funds, 8 in the form of grants, rebates, and low-cost revolving 9 loans, as determined appropriate by the Administrator, on 10 a competitive basis, to eligible entities to carry out projects 11 described in subsection (c). 12 (c) PROJECTS.—An eligible entity receiving an award 13 of funds under the pilot program may use those funds only 14 for 1 or more of the following projects: 15 (1) TRANSPORT REFRIGERATION UNIT RE- 16 PLACEMENT.—A project to retrofit a heavy-duty ve- 17 hicle by— 18 (A) replacing or retrofitting an existing 19 diesel-powered transport refrigeration unit in 20 the heavy-duty vehicle with an electric transport 21 refrigeration unit; and 22 (B) retiring the replaced diesel-powered 23 transport refrigeration unit for scrappage. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 432 IS (2) SHORE POWER INFRASTRUCTURE.—A 1 project to purchase and install shore power infra- 2 structure or other equipment that enables transport 3 refrigeration units to connect to electric power and 4 operate without using diesel fuel. 5 (d) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.—The amount of an award 6 of funds under the pilot program to an eligible entity shall 7 not exceed— 8 (1) with respect to the costs of a project de- 9 scribed in subsection (c)(1), 75 percent of those 10 costs; and 11 (2) with respect to the costs of a project de- 12 scribed in subsection (c)(2), 55 percent of those 13 costs. 14 (e) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive an 15 award of funds under the pilot program, an eligible entity 16 shall submit to the Administrator an application at such 17 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 18 the Administrator may require, including— 19 (1) a description of the air quality in the area 20 served by the eligible entity, including a description 21 of how the air quality is affected by diesel emissions 22 from heavy-duty vehicles; 23 (2) a description of the project proposed to be 24 carried out by the eligible entity, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 432 IS (A) any technology to be used or funded by 1 the eligible entity; and 2 (B) a description of the heavy-duty vehicle 3 or vehicles of the eligible entity that will be ret- 4 rofitted, if any, including— 5 (i) the number of those heavy-duty ve- 6 hicles; 7 (ii) the uses of those heavy-duty vehi- 8 cles; 9 (iii) the locations where those heavy- 10 duty vehicles dock for the purpose of load- 11 ing or unloading; and 12 (iv) the routes driven by those heavy- 13 duty vehicles, including the times at which 14 those heavy-duty vehicles are driven; 15 (3) an estimate of the cost of the project pro- 16 posed to be carried out by the eligible entity; 17 (4) a description of the age and expected life- 18 time control of the equipment used or funded by the 19 eligible entity; and 20 (5) a description of the provisions for the moni- 21 toring and verification of the project proposed to be 22 carried out by the eligible entity, including to verify 23 the scrappage of any replaced diesel-powered trans- 24 port refrigeration units. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 432 IS (f) PRIORITY.—In awarding funds under the pilot 1 program, the Administrator shall give priority to proposed 2 projects that, as determined by the Administrator— 3 (1) maximize public health benefits; 4 (2) are the most cost-effective; and 5 (3) will serve the communities that are most 6 polluted by diesel motor emissions, including com- 7 munities that the Administrator identifies as being 8 in either nonattainment or maintenance of the na- 9 tional ambient air quality standards for a criteria 10 pollutant under section 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 11 U.S.C. 7409), particularly for— 12 (A) ozone; and 13 (B) particulate matter. 14 (g) DATA RELEASE.—Not later than 120 days after 15 the date on which an award of funds is made under the 16 pilot program, the Administrator shall publish on the 17 website of the Environmental Protection Agency, in a 18 downloadable electronic database, information with re- 19 spect to that award of funds, including— 20 (1) the name and location of the recipient; 21 (2) the total amount of funds awarded; 22 (3) the intended use or uses of the awarded 23 funds; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 432 IS (4) the date on which the award of funds was 1 approved; 2 (5) if applicable, an estimate of any air pollu- 3 tion or greenhouse gas emissions avoided as a result 4 of the project funded by the award; and 5 (6) any other data the Administrator deter- 6 mines to be necessary for an evaluation of the use 7 and effect of awarded funds provided under the pilot 8 program. 9 (h) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 10 (1) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 11 than 1 year after the date of the establishment of 12 the pilot program, and annually thereafter until the 13 amounts made available to carry out this section are 14 fully expended, the Administrator shall submit to 15 Congress and make available to the public a report 16 that describes, with respect to the applicable year— 17 (A) the number of applications for awards 18 of funds received under the pilot program; 19 (B) all awards of funds made under the 20 pilot program, including a summary of the data 21 described in subsection (g); 22 (C) the estimated reduction of annual 23 emissions of air pollutants regulated under sec- 24 tion 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 432 IS and greenhouse gas emissions that is associated 1 with the awards of funds made under the pilot 2 program; 3 (D) the number of awards of funds made 4 under the pilot program for projects that serve 5 communities described in subsection (f)(3); and 6 (E) any other data the Administrator de- 7 termines to be necessary to describe the imple- 8 mentation, outcomes, or effectiveness of the 9 pilot program. 10 (2) FINAL REPORT.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 12 shall submit to Congress and make available to 13 the public a report containing the information 14 described in subparagraph (B) on the date that 15 is the earlier of— 16 (i) the date that is 1 year after the 17 date on which the amounts made available 18 to carry out this section are fully ex- 19 pended; and 20 (ii) the date that is 5 years after the 21 date on which the pilot program is estab- 22 lished. 23 (B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The in- 24 formation referred to in subparagraph (A) is— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 432 IS (i) all of the information collected for 1 the annual reports under paragraph (1); 2 (ii) any benefits to the environment or 3 human health that could result from the 4 widespread application of electric transport 5 refrigeration units for short-haul transpor- 6 tation and delivery of perishable goods or 7 other goods requiring climate-controlled 8 conditions, including in low-income com- 9 munities and communities of color; 10 (iii) any challenges or benefits that re- 11 cipients of awards of funds under the pilot 12 program reported with respect to the inte- 13 gration or use of electric transport refrig- 14 eration units and associated technologies; 15 (iv) an assessment of the national 16 market potential for electric transport re- 17 frigeration units; 18 (v) an assessment of the challenges 19 and opportunities for widespread deploy- 20 ment of electric transport refrigeration 21 units, including in urban areas; and 22 (vi) recommendations for how future 23 Federal, State, and local programs can 24 best support the adoption and widespread 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 432 IS deployment of electric transport refrigera- 1 tion units. 2 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 4 appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000, 5 to remain available until expended. 6 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Admin- 7 istrator may use not more than 1 percent of the 8 amounts made available under paragraph (1) for ad- 9 ministrative expenses to carry out this section. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S432.IS S432 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS