A bill to enhance tribal road safety, and for other purposes.

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 207 To enhance tribal road safety, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 24, 2019 Mr. BARRASSO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs A BILL To enhance tribal road safety, 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. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 3 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 4 retary of the Interior. 5 SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS TO 6 CERTAIN TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION FACILI- 7 TIES. 8 (a) DEFINITION OF TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION SAFE- 9 TY PROJECT.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 11 ‘‘tribal transportation safety project’’ means a 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 207 IS project described in paragraph (2) that is eligible for 1 funding under section 202 of title 23, United States 2 Code, and that— 3 (A) corrects or improves a hazardous road 4 location or feature; or 5 (B) addresses a highway safety problem. 6 (2) PROJECTS DESCRIBED.—A project de- 7 scribed in this paragraph is a project for one or 8 more of the following: 9 (A) An intersection safety improvement. 10 (B) Pavement and shoulder widening (in- 11 cluding the addition of a passing lane to remedy 12 an unsafe condition). 13 (C) Installation of rumble strips or another 14 warning device, if the rumble strips or other 15 warning devices do not adversely affect the 16 safety or mobility of bicyclists and pedestrians, 17 including persons with disabilities. 18 (D) Installation of a skid-resistant surface 19 at an intersection or other location with a high 20 frequency of crashes. 21 (E) An improvement for pedestrian or bi- 22 cyclist safety or the safety of persons with dis- 23 abilities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 207 IS (F) Construction and improvement of a 1 railway-highway grade crossing safety feature, 2 including the installation of protective devices. 3 (G) The conduct of a model traffic enforce- 4 ment activity at a railway-highway crossing. 5 (H) Construction of a traffic calming fea- 6 ture. 7 (I) Elimination of a roadside hazard. 8 (J) Installation, replacement, and other 9 improvements of highway signage and pavement 10 markings or a project to maintain minimum 11 levels of retroreflectivity that addresses a high- 12 way safety problem consistent with a State 13 strategic highway safety plan. 14 (K) Installation of a priority control sys- 15 tem for emergency vehicles at signalized inter- 16 sections. 17 (L) Installation of a traffic control or other 18 warning device at a location with high crash po- 19 tential. 20 (M) Transportation safety planning. 21 (N) Collection, analysis, and improvement 22 of safety data. 23 (O) Planning integrated interoperable 24 emergency communications equipment, oper- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 207 IS ational activities, or traffic enforcement activi- 1 ties (including police assistance) relating to 2 work zone safety. 3 (P) Installation of guardrails, barriers (in- 4 cluding barriers between construction work 5 zones and traffic lanes for the safety of road 6 users and workers), and crash attenuators. 7 (Q) The addition or retrofitting of struc- 8 tures or other measures to eliminate or reduce 9 crashes involving vehicles and wildlife. 10 (R) Installation of yellow-green signs and 11 signals at pedestrian and bicycle crossings and 12 in school zones. 13 (S) Construction and operational improve- 14 ments on a high risk rural road (as defined in 15 section 148(a) of title 23, United States Code). 16 (T) Geometric improvements to a road for 17 the purposes of safety improvement. 18 (U) A road safety audit. 19 (V) Roadway safety infrastructure im- 20 provements consistent with the recommenda- 21 tions included in the publication of the Federal 22 Highway Administration entitled ‘‘Handbook 23 for Designing Roadways for the Aging Popu- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 207 IS lation’’ (FHWA–SA–14–015), dated June 2014 1 (or a revised or updated publication). 2 (W) Truck parking facilities eligible for 3 funding under section 1401 of MAP–21 (23 4 U.S.C. 137 note; Public Law 112–141). 5 (X) Systemic safety improvements. 6 (Y) Installation of vehicle-to-infrastructure 7 communication equipment. 8 (Z) Pedestrian hybrid beacons. 9 (AA) Roadway improvements that provide 10 separation between pedestrians and motor vehi- 11 cles, including medians and pedestrian crossing 12 islands. 13 (BB) A physical infrastructure safety 14 project not described in subparagraphs (A) 15 through (AA). 16 (b) NEW CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.— 17 (1) REVIEW OF EXISTING CATEGORICAL EXCLU- 18 SIONS.—The Secretary shall review the categorical 19 exclusions under section 771.117 of title 23, Code of 20 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), to 21 determine which, if any, are applicable for use by 22 the Secretary in review of projects eligible for assist- 23 ance under section 202 of title 23, United States 24 Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 207 IS (2) REVIEW OF TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION 1 SAFETY PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall identify 2 tribal transportation safety projects that meet the 3 requirements for categorical exclusions under sec- 4 tions 1507.3 and 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal 5 Regulations. 6 (3) PROPOSAL.—The Secretary shall issue a 7 proposed rule, in accordance with sections 1507.3 8 and 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 9 to propose any categorical exclusions identified 10 under paragraphs (1) and (2). 11 (4) DEADLINE.—Not later than 180 days after 12 the date of enactment of this Act, and after consid- 13 ering any comments on the proposed rule issued 14 under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall promulgate 15 a final rule for the categorical exclusions, in accord- 16 ance with sections 1507.3 and 1508.4 of title 40, 17 Code of Federal Regulations. 18 (5) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 19 Transportation shall provide technical assistance to 20 the Secretary in carrying out this subsection. 21 (c) REVIEWS OF TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY 22 PROJECTS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or the head of 24 another Federal agency responsible for a decision re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 207 IS lated to a tribal transportation safety project shall 1 complete any approval or decision for the review of 2 the tribal transportation safety project required 3 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 4 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or any other applica- 5 ble Federal law on an expeditious basis using the 6 shortest existing applicable process. 7 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—Not later than 8 45 days after the date of receipt of a complete appli- 9 cation by an Indian tribe for approval of a tribal 10 transportation safety project, the Secretary shall— 11 (A) take final action on the application; or 12 (B) provide the Indian tribe a schedule for 13 completion of the review described in paragraph 14 (1), including the identification of any other 15 Federal agency that has jurisdiction with re- 16 spect to the project. 17 (3) DECISIONS UNDER OTHER FEDERAL 18 LAWS.—In any case in which a decision under any 19 other Federal law relating to a tribal transportation 20 safety project (including the issuance or denial of a 21 permit or license) is required, not later than 45 days 22 after the Secretary has made all decisions of the 23 lead agency under the National Environmental Pol- 24 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 207 IS spect to the project, the head of the Federal agency 1 responsible for the decision shall— 2 (A) make the applicable decision; or 3 (B) provide the Indian tribe a schedule for 4 making the decision. 5 (4) EXTENSIONS.—The Secretary or the head 6 of an applicable Federal agency may extend the pe- 7 riod under paragraph (2) or (3), as applicable, by an 8 additional 30 days by providing the Indian tribe no- 9 tice of the extension, including a statement of the 10 need for the extension. 11 (5) NOTIFICATION AND EXPLANATION.—In any 12 case in which a required action is not completed by 13 the deadline under paragraph (2), (3), or (4), as ap- 14 plicable, the Secretary or the head of a Federal 15 agency, as applicable, shall— 16 (A) notify the Committee on Indian Affairs 17 of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 18 Resources of the House of Representatives of 19 the failure to comply with the deadline; and 20 (B) provide to the Committees described in 21 subparagraph (A) a detailed explanation of the 22 reasons for the failure to comply with the dead- 23 line. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 207 IS SEC. 3. PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENTS FOR CATEGORICAL 1 EXCLUSIONS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into 3 programmatic agreements with Indian tribes that estab- 4 lish efficient administrative procedures for carrying out 5 environmental reviews for projects eligible for assistance 6 under section 202 of title 23, United States Code. 7 (b) INCLUSIONS.—A programmatic agreement under 8 subsection (a)— 9 (1) may include an agreement that allows an 10 Indian tribe to determine, on behalf of the Sec- 11 retary, whether a project is categorically excluded 12 from the preparation of an environmental assess- 13 ment or environmental impact statement under the 14 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 15 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 16 (2) shall— 17 (A) require that the Indian tribe maintain 18 adequate capacity in terms of personnel and 19 other resources to carry out applicable agency 20 responsibilities pursuant to section 1507.2 of 21 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc- 22 cessor regulations); 23 (B) set forth the responsibilities of the In- 24 dian tribe for making categorical exclusion de- 25 terminations, documenting the determinations, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 207 IS and achieving acceptable quality control and 1 quality assurance; 2 (C) allow— 3 (i) the Secretary to monitor compli- 4 ance of the Indian tribe with the terms of 5 the agreement; and 6 (ii) the Indian tribe to execute any 7 needed corrective action; 8 (D) contain stipulations for amendments, 9 termination, and public availability of the agree- 10 ment once the agreement has been executed; 11 and 12 (E) have a term of not more than 5 years, 13 with an option for renewal based on a review by 14 the Secretary of the performance of the Indian 15 tribe. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S207.IS S207 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS