MPH Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 806 To amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transpor- tation to establish a program to provide grants to carry out activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, including the planting and seeding of native, locally appropriate grasses and wildflowers, including milkweed, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 17 (legislative day, MARCH 16), 2021 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Sec- retary of Transportation to establish a program to pro- vide grants to carry out activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, including the planting and seeding of native, locally appropriate grasses and wildflowers, including milkweed, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Apr 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 806 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Monarch and Polli- 2 nator Highway Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘MPH Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY PRACTICES ON ROADSIDES 4 AND HIGHWAY RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 23, United 6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘§ 331. Pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and 9 highway rights-of-way 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 11 program to provide grants to eligible entities to carry out 12 activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway 13 rights-of-way, including the planting and seeding of na- 14 tive, locally appropriate grasses and wildflowers, including 15 milkweed. 16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to re- 17 ceive a grant under this section is— 18 ‘‘(1) a State department of transportation; 19 ‘‘(2) an Indian tribe; or 20 ‘‘(3) a Federal land management agency. 21 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 22 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 23 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 24 and containing such information as the Secretary may re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Apr 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 806 IS quire, including a pollinator-friendly practices plan de- 1 scribed in subsection (d). 2 ‘‘(d) POLLINATOR-FRIENDLY PRACTICES PLAN.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall in- 4 clude in the application under subsection (c) a plan 5 that describes the pollinator-friendly practices that 6 the eligible entity has implemented or plans to im- 7 plement, including— 8 ‘‘(A) practices relating to mowing strate- 9 gies that promote early successional vegetation 10 and limit disturbance during periods of highest 11 use by target pollinator species on roadsides 12 and highway rights-of-way, such as— 13 ‘‘(i) reducing the mowing swath out- 14 side of the State-designated safety zone; 15 ‘‘(ii) increasing the mowing height; 16 ‘‘(iii) reducing the mowing frequency; 17 ‘‘(iv) refraining from mowing monarch 18 and other pollinator habitat during periods 19 in which monarchs or other pollinators are 20 present; 21 ‘‘(v) use of a flushing bar and cutting 22 at reduced speeds to reduce pollinator 23 deaths due to mowing; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Apr 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 806 IS ‘‘(vi) reducing raking along roadsides 1 and highway rights-of-way; 2 ‘‘(B) implementation of an integrated vege- 3 tation management plan that includes ap- 4 proaches such as mechanical tree and brush re- 5 moval, targeted and judicious use of herbicides, 6 and mowing, to address weed issues on road- 7 sides and highway rights-of-way; 8 ‘‘(C) planting or seeding of native, locally 9 appropriate grasses and wildflowers, including 10 milkweed, on roadsides and highway rights-of- 11 way to enhance pollinator habitat, including lar- 12 val host plants; 13 ‘‘(D) removing nonnative grasses from 14 planting and seeding mixes, except for use as 15 nurse or cover crops; 16 ‘‘(E) obtaining expert training or assist- 17 ance on pollinator-friendly practices, includ- 18 ing— 19 ‘‘(i) native plant identification; 20 ‘‘(ii) establishment and management 21 of locally appropriate native plants that 22 benefit pollinators; 23 ‘‘(iii) land management practices that 24 benefit pollinators; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Apr 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 806 IS ‘‘(iv) pollinator-focused integrated 1 vegetation management; or 2 ‘‘(F) any other pollinator-friendly practices 3 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 4 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—In developing a plan 5 under paragraph (1), an eligible entity that is a 6 State department of transportation or a Federal 7 land management agency shall coordinate with appli- 8 cable State agencies, including State agencies with 9 jurisdiction over agriculture and fish and wildlife. 10 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—In developing a plan 11 under paragraph (1)— 12 ‘‘(A) an eligible entity that is a State de- 13 partment of transportation or a Federal land 14 management agency shall consult with affected 15 or interested Indian tribes; and 16 ‘‘(B) any eligible entity may consult with 17 nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher 18 education, metropolitan planning organizations, 19 and any other relevant entities. 20 ‘‘(e) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 22 a grant to each eligible entity that submits an appli- 23 cation under subsection (c), including a plan under 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Apr 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 806 IS subsection (d), that the Secretary determines to be 1 satisfactory. 2 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The amount of a 3 grant under this section— 4 ‘‘(A) shall be based on the number of polli- 5 nator-friendly practices the eligible entity has 6 implemented or plans to implement; and 7 ‘‘(B) shall not exceed $150,000. 8 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 9 a grant under this section shall use the funds for the im- 10 plementation, improvement, or further development of the 11 plan under subsection (d). 12 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 13 cost of an activity carried out with a grant under this sec- 14 tion shall be 100 percent. 15 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary shall develop 16 and make available to eligible entities best practices for, 17 and a priority ranking of, pollinator-friendly practices on 18 roadsides and highway rights-of-way. 19 ‘‘(i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—On request of an eli- 20 gible entity that receives a grant under this section, the 21 Secretary shall provide technical assistance with the imple- 22 mentation, improvement, or further development of a plan 23 under subsection (d). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Apr 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 806 IS ‘‘(j) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—For each fiscal year, 1 the Secretary may use not more than 2 percent of the 2 amounts made available to carry out this section for the 3 administrative costs of carrying out this section. 4 ‘‘(k) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 5 on which the first grant is provided under this section, 6 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environ- 7 ment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee 8 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 9 Representatives a report on the implementation of the pro- 10 gram under this section. 11 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 13 appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 14 each of fiscal years 2022 through 2028. 15 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available 16 under this section shall remain available for a period 17 of 3 years after the last day of the fiscal year for 18 which the funds are authorized.’’. 19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap- 20 ter 3 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by add- 21 ing at the end the following: 22 ‘‘331. Pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway rights-of-way.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Apr 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S806.IS S806 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS