Clean Corridors Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 674 To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a grant program for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen fueling infrastructure along the National Highway System, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 6, 2019 Mr. CARPER 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 establish a grant program for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen fueling infrastructure along the National Highway System, 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 ‘‘Clean Corridors Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 674 IS SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR CHARGING AND FUELING INFRA- 1 STRUCTURE TO MODERNIZE AND RECON- 2 NECT AMERICA FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. 3 (a) PURPOSE; FINDINGS.— 4 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is 5 to establish a grant program to strategically deploy 6 electric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen 7 fueling infrastructure along designated alternative 8 fuel corridors that will be accessible to all drivers of 9 zero emission vehicles. 10 (2) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 11 (A) greater adoption of zero emission vehi- 12 cles will help— 13 (i) reduce emissions and improve air 14 quality; 15 (ii) enhance the energy security of the 16 United States by expanding the use of zero 17 emission fuels; 18 (iii) enhance fuel choice and utiliza- 19 tion of electric vehicle charging infrastruc- 20 ture and hydrogen fueling infrastructure in 21 order to benefit consumers; 22 (iv) ensure that the transportation in- 23 frastructure of the United States is 24 equipped to manage the demands and an- 25 ticipated future needs of the economy; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 674 IS (v) develop a new economic sector in 1 the United States that will create middle 2 class jobs; 3 (B) consumer and business adoption of 4 zero emission vehicles depends in part on the 5 availability of reliable and convenient fueling 6 and charging infrastructure; 7 (C) electric vehicle charging infrastructure 8 and hydrogen fueling infrastructure must be 9 strategically deployed to ensure the deployment 10 and adoption of zero emission fuels; and 11 (D) infrastructure owners and operators 12 should prepare to meet the charging and fueling 13 needs of electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles. 14 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 151 of title 23, 15 United States Code, is amended— 16 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Not later 17 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 18 FAST Act, the Secretary shall’’ and inserting ‘‘The 19 Secretary shall periodically’’; 20 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ‘‘pre- 21 viously designated by the Federal Highway Adminis- 22 tration or’’ before ‘‘designated by’’; 23 (3) in subsection (d)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 674 IS (A) by striking ‘‘5 years after the date of 1 establishment of the corridors under subsection 2 (a), and every 5 years thereafter,’’ and insert- 3 ing ‘‘180 days after the date of enactment of 4 the Clean Corridors Act of 2019,’’; and 5 (B) by inserting ‘‘establish a recurring 6 process to regularly’’ before ‘‘update’’; 7 (4) in subsection (e)— 8 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 9 the end; 10 (B) in paragraph (2)— 11 (i) by striking ‘‘establishes an aspira- 12 tional goal of achieving’’ and inserting ‘‘de- 13 scribes efforts, including through funds 14 awarded through the grant program under 15 subsection (f), that will aid efforts to 16 achieve’’; and 17 (ii) by striking ‘‘by the end of fiscal 18 year 2020.’’ and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(3) summarizes best practices and provides 21 guidance, developed through consultation with the 22 Secretary of Energy, for project development of elec- 23 tric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen 24 fueling infrastructure at the State, Tribal, and local 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 674 IS level to allow for the predictable deployment of that 1 infrastructure.’’; and 2 (5) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(f) GRANT PROGRAM.— 4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year 5 after the date of enactment of the Clean Corridors 6 Act of 2019, the Secretary shall establish a grant 7 program to award grants to eligible entities to carry 8 out the activities described in paragraph (5). 9 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to 10 receive a grant under this subsection is— 11 ‘‘(A) a State or political subdivision of a 12 State; 13 ‘‘(B) a metropolitan planning organization; 14 ‘‘(C) a unit of local government; 15 ‘‘(D) a special purpose district or public 16 authority with a transportation function, includ- 17 ing a port authority; 18 ‘‘(E) an Indian tribe (as defined in section 19 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 20 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)); 21 ‘‘(F) an authority, agency, or instrumen- 22 tality of, or an entity owned by, 1 or more enti- 23 ties described in subparagraphs (A) through 24 (E); or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 674 IS ‘‘(G) a group of entities described in sub- 1 paragraphs (A) through (F). 2 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 3 grant under this subsection, an eligible entity shall 4 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 5 in such manner, and containing such information as 6 the Secretary shall require, including a description 7 of how the eligible entity has considered— 8 ‘‘(A) public accessibility of charging or 9 fueling infrastructure proposed to be funded 10 with a grant under this subsection, including— 11 ‘‘(i) charging or fueling connector 12 types and publicly available information on 13 real-time availability; and 14 ‘‘(ii) payment methods to ensure se- 15 cure, convenient, fair, and equal access; 16 ‘‘(B) collaborative engagement with stake- 17 holders (including automobile manufacturers, 18 utilities, infrastructure providers, technology 19 providers, zero emission fuel providers, metro- 20 politan planning organizations, States, Indian 21 tribes, and units of local governments, fleet 22 owners, fleet managers, fuel station owners and 23 operators, labor organizations, infrastructure 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 674 IS construction and component parts suppliers, 1 and multi-State and regional entities)— 2 ‘‘(i) to foster enhanced, coordinated, 3 public-private or private investment in elec- 4 tric vehicle charging infrastructure and hy- 5 drogen fueling infrastructure; 6 ‘‘(ii) to expand deployment of electric 7 vehicle charging infrastructure and hydro- 8 gen fueling infrastructure; 9 ‘‘(iii) to protect personal privacy and 10 ensure cybersecurity; and 11 ‘‘(iv) to ensure that a properly trained 12 workforce is available to construct and in- 13 stall electric vehicle charging infrastructure 14 and hydrogen fueling infrastructure; 15 ‘‘(C) the location of the station or fueling 16 site, such as consideration of— 17 ‘‘(i) the availability of onsite amenities 18 for vehicle operators, such as restrooms or 19 food facilities; 20 ‘‘(ii) access in compliance with the 21 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 22 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); and 23 ‘‘(iii) height and fueling capacity re- 24 quirements for facilities that charge or re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 674 IS fuel large vehicles, such as semi-trailer 1 trucks; 2 ‘‘(D) infrastructure installation that can be 3 responsive to technology advancements, such as 4 accommodating autonomous vehicles and future 5 charging methods; and 6 ‘‘(E) the long-term operation and mainte- 7 nance of the electric vehicle charging infrastruc- 8 ture and hydrogen fueling infrastructure, to 9 avoid stranded assets and protect the invest- 10 ment of public funds in that infrastructure. 11 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting eligible 12 entities to receive a grant under this subsection, the 13 Secretary shall consider the extent to which the ap- 14 plication of the eligible entity would— 15 ‘‘(A) improve alternative fueling corridor 16 networks by— 17 ‘‘(i) converting corridor-pending cor- 18 ridors to corridor-ready corridors; or 19 ‘‘(ii) in the case of corridor-ready cor- 20 ridors, providing redundancy— 21 ‘‘(I) to meet excess demand for 22 charging and fueling infrastructure; 23 or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 674 IS ‘‘(II) to reduce congestion at ex- 1 isting charging and fueling infrastruc- 2 ture in high-traffic locations; 3 ‘‘(B) meet current or anticipated market 4 demands for charging or fueling infrastructure; 5 ‘‘(C) enable or accelerate the construction 6 of charging or fueling infrastructure that would 7 be unlikely to be completed without Federal as- 8 sistance; and 9 ‘‘(D) support a long-term competitive mar- 10 ket for electric vehicle charging and hydrogen 11 fueling infrastructure. 12 ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity re- 14 ceiving a grant under this subsection shall only 15 use the funds to contract with a private entity 16 for acquisition and installation of publicly ac- 17 cessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure 18 and hydrogen fueling infrastructure that is di- 19 rectly related to the charging or fueling of a ve- 20 hicle in accordance with this paragraph. 21 ‘‘(B) LOCATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE.— 22 Any electric vehicle charging infrastructure or 23 hydrogen fueling infrastructure acquired and 24 installed with a grant under this subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 674 IS shall be located along an alternative fuel cor- 1 ridor designated— 2 ‘‘(i) under this section, on the condi- 3 tion that any affected Indian tribes are 4 consulted before the designation; or 5 ‘‘(ii) by a State or group of States, 6 such as the Regional Electric Vehicle West 7 Plan of the States of Arizona, Colorado, 8 Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 9 Utah, and Wyoming, on the condition that 10 any affected Indian tribes are consulted 11 before the designation. 12 ‘‘(C) OPERATING ASSISTANCE.— 13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 14 (ii) and (iii), an eligible entity that receives 15 a grant under this subsection may use a 16 portion of the funds to provide to a private 17 entity operating assistance for the first 5 18 years of operations after the installation of 19 electric vehicle charging infrastructure and 20 hydrogen fueling infrastructure while the 21 facility transitions to independent system 22 operations. 23 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—Operating assist- 24 ance under this subparagraph shall be lim- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 674 IS ited to costs allocable to operating and 1 maintaining the electric vehicle charging 2 infrastructure and hydrogen fueling infra- 3 structure and service, including costs asso- 4 ciated with labor, marketing, and adminis- 5 trative costs. 6 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION.—Operating assist- 7 ance under this subparagraph may not ex- 8 ceed the amount of a contract under sub- 9 paragraph (A) to acquire and install pub- 10 licly accessible electric vehicle charging in- 11 frastructure and hydrogen fueling infra- 12 structure. 13 ‘‘(D) SIGNS.— 14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this 15 paragraph and paragraph (6)(B), an eligi- 16 ble entity that receives a grant under this 17 subsection may use a portion of the funds 18 to acquire and install— 19 ‘‘(I) traffic control devices lo- 20 cated in the right-of-way to provide 21 directional information to electric ve- 22 hicle charging infrastructure and hy- 23 drogen fueling infrastructure ac- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 674 IS quired, installed, or operated with the 1 grant; and 2 ‘‘(II) on-premises signs to pro- 3 vide information about electric vehicle 4 charging infrastructure and hydrogen 5 fueling infrastructure acquired, in- 6 stalled, or operated with a grant 7 under this subsection. 8 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—Clause (i) shall 9 apply only to an eligible entity that— 10 ‘‘(I) receives a grant under this 11 subsection; and 12 ‘‘(II) is using that grant for the 13 acquisition and installation of publicly 14 accessible electric vehicle charging in- 15 frastructure and hydrogen fueling in- 16 frastructure. 17 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The 18 amount of funds used to acquire and in- 19 stall traffic control devices and on-premises 20 signs under clause (i) may not exceed the 21 amount of a contract under subparagraph 22 (A) to acquire and install publicly acces- 23 sible charging or fueling infrastructure. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:13 Mar 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S674.IS S674 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 674 IS ‘‘(iv) NO NEW AUTHORITY CRE- 1 ATED.—Nothing in this subparagraph au- 2 thorizes an eligible entity that receives a 3 grant under this subsection to acquire and 4 install traffic control devices or on-prem- 5 ises signs if the entity is not otherwise au- 6 thorized to do so. 7 ‘‘(6) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 9 other provision of law, any project funded by a 10 grant under this subsection shall be treated as 11 a project on a Federal-aid highway under this 12 chapter. 13 ‘‘(B) SIGNS.—Any traffic control device or 14 on-premises sign acquired, installed, or ope [Text truncated for display. 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