Addressing Underdeveloped and Tribally Operated Streets Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1211 To provide for improvements to Tribal transportation facilities and Tribal transportation safety, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 11, 2019 Mr. HOEVEN (for himself, Mr. CRAMER, and Ms. MCSALLY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on In- dian Affairs A BILL To provide for improvements to Tribal transportation facili- ties and Tribal transportation safety, and for other pur- poses. 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 ‘‘Addressing Under- 4 developed and Tribally Operated Streets Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 6 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 7 retary of the Interior. 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1211 IS SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS TO 1 CERTAIN TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION FACILI- 2 TIES. 3 (a) DEFINITION OF TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION SAFE- 4 TY PROJECT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 6 ‘‘tribal transportation safety project’’ means a 7 project described in paragraph (2) that is eligible for 8 funding under section 202 of title 23, United States 9 Code, and that— 10 (A) corrects or improves a hazardous road 11 location or feature; or 12 (B) addresses a highway safety problem. 13 (2) PROJECTS DESCRIBED.—A project de- 14 scribed in this paragraph is a project for 1 or more 15 of the following: 16 (A) An intersection safety improvement. 17 (B) Pavement and shoulder widening (in- 18 cluding the addition of a passing lane to remedy 19 an unsafe condition). 20 (C) Installation of rumble strips or another 21 warning device, if the rumble strips or other 22 warning devices do not adversely affect the 23 safety or mobility of bicyclists and pedestrians, 24 including persons with disabilities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1211 IS (D) Installation of a skid-resistant surface 1 at an intersection or other location with a high 2 frequency of crashes. 3 (E) An improvement for pedestrian or bi- 4 cyclist safety or the safety of persons with dis- 5 abilities. 6 (F) Construction and improvement of a 7 railway-highway grade crossing safety feature, 8 including the installation of protective devices. 9 (G) The conduct of a model traffic enforce- 10 ment activity at a railway-highway crossing. 11 (H) Construction of a traffic calming fea- 12 ture. 13 (I) Elimination of a roadside hazard. 14 (J) Installation, replacement, and other 15 improvements of highway signage and pavement 16 markings or a project to maintain minimum 17 levels of retroreflectivity that addresses a high- 18 way safety problem consistent with a State 19 strategic highway safety plan. 20 (K) Installation of a priority control sys- 21 tem for emergency vehicles at signalized inter- 22 sections. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1211 IS (L) Installation of a traffic control or other 1 warning device at a location with high crash po- 2 tential. 3 (M) Transportation safety planning. 4 (N) Collection, analysis, and improvement 5 of safety data. 6 (O) Planning integrated interoperable 7 emergency communications equipment, oper- 8 ational activities, or traffic enforcement activi- 9 ties (including police assistance) relating to 10 work zone safety. 11 (P) Installation of guardrails, barriers (in- 12 cluding barriers between construction work 13 zones and traffic lanes for the safety of road 14 users and workers), and crash attenuators. 15 (Q) The addition or retrofitting of struc- 16 tures or other measures to eliminate or reduce 17 crashes involving vehicles and wildlife. 18 (R) Installation of yellow-green signs and 19 signals at pedestrian and bicycle crossings and 20 in school zones. 21 (S) Construction and operational improve- 22 ments on a high risk rural road (as defined in 23 section 148(a) of title 23, United States Code). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1211 IS (T) Geometric improvements to a road for 1 the purposes of safety improvement. 2 (U) A road safety audit. 3 (V) Roadway safety infrastructure im- 4 provements consistent with the recommenda- 5 tions included in the publication of the Federal 6 Highway Administration entitled ‘‘Handbook 7 for Designing Roadways for the Aging Popu- 8 lation’’ (FHWA–SA–14–015), dated June 2014 9 (or a revised or updated publication). 10 (W) Truck parking facilities eligible for 11 funding under section 1401 of MAP–21 (23 12 U.S.C. 137 note; Public Law 112–141). 13 (X) Systemic safety improvements. 14 (Y) Installation of vehicle-to-infrastructure 15 communication equipment. 16 (Z) Pedestrian hybrid beacons. 17 (AA) Roadway improvements that provide 18 separation between pedestrians and motor vehi- 19 cles, including medians and pedestrian crossing 20 islands. 21 (BB) A physical infrastructure safety 22 project not described in subparagraphs (A) 23 through (AA). 24 (b) NEW CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1211 IS (1) REVIEW OF EXISTING TRIBAL CATEGORICAL 1 EXCLUSIONS.—The Secretary shall review the cat- 2 egorical exclusions under section 771.117 of title 23, 3 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula- 4 tions), to determine which, if any, are applicable for 5 use by the Secretary in review of projects eligible for 6 assistance under section 202 of title 23, United 7 States Code. 8 (2) REVIEW OF TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION 9 SAFETY PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall identify 10 types of tribal transportation safety projects that 11 meet the requirements for categorical exclusions 12 under sections 1507.3 and 1508.4 of title 40, Code 13 of Federal Regulations. 14 (3) PROPOSAL.—The Secretary shall issue a 15 proposed rule, in accordance with sections 1507.3 16 and 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, 17 to propose any categorical exclusions identified 18 under paragraphs (1) and (2). 19 (4) DEADLINE.—Not later than 180 days after 20 the date of enactment of this Act, and after consid- 21 ering any comments on the proposed rule issued 22 under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall promulgate 23 a final rule for the categorical exclusions, in accord- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1211 IS ance with sections 1507.3 and 1508.4 of title 40, 1 Code of Federal Regulations. 2 (5) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 3 Transportation shall provide technical assistance to 4 the Secretary in carrying out this subsection. 5 (c) REVIEWS OF TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY 6 PROJECTS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or the head of 8 another Federal agency responsible for a decision re- 9 lated to a tribal transportation safety project shall 10 complete any approval or decision for the review of 11 the tribal transportation safety project required 12 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 13 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or any other applica- 14 ble Federal law on an expeditious basis using the 15 shortest existing applicable process. 16 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—Not later than 17 45 days after the date of receipt of a complete appli- 18 cation by an Indian tribe for approval of a tribal 19 transportation safety project, the Secretary shall— 20 (A) take final action on the application; or 21 (B) provide the Indian tribe a schedule for 22 completion of the review described in paragraph 23 (1), including the identification of any other 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1211 IS Federal agency that has jurisdiction with re- 1 spect to the project. 2 (3) DECISIONS UNDER OTHER FEDERAL 3 LAWS.—In any case in which a decision under any 4 other Federal law relating to a tribal transportation 5 safety project (including the issuance or denial of a 6 permit or license) is required, not later than 45 days 7 after the Secretary has made all decisions of the 8 lead agency under the National Environmental Pol- 9 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with re- 10 spect to the project, the head of the Federal agency 11 responsible for the decision shall— 12 (A) make the applicable decision; or 13 (B) provide the Indian tribe a schedule for 14 making the decision. 15 (4) EXTENSIONS.—The Secretary or the head 16 of an applicable Federal agency may extend the pe- 17 riod under paragraph (2) or (3), as applicable, by an 18 additional 30 days by providing the Indian tribe no- 19 tice of the extension, including a statement of the 20 need for the extension. 21 (5) NOTIFICATION AND EXPLANATION.—In any 22 case in which a required action is not completed by 23 the deadline under paragraph (2), (3), or (4), as ap- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1211 IS plicable, the Secretary or the head of a Federal 1 agency, as applicable, shall— 2 (A) notify the Committee on Indian Affairs 3 and the Committee on Environment and Public 4 Works of the Senate and the Committee on 5 Natural Resources of the House of Representa- 6 tives of the failure to comply with the deadline; 7 and 8 (B) provide to the Committees described in 9 subparagraph (A) a detailed explanation of the 10 reasons for the failure to comply with the dead- 11 line. 12 SEC. 4. PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENTS FOR TRIBAL CAT- 13 EGORICAL EXCLUSIONS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into 15 programmatic agreements with Indian tribes that estab- 16 lish efficient administrative procedures for carrying out 17 environmental reviews for projects eligible for assistance 18 under section 202 of title 23, United States Code. 19 (b) INCLUSIONS.—A programmatic agreement under 20 subsection (a)— 21 (1) may include an agreement that allows an 22 Indian tribe to determine, on behalf of the Sec- 23 retary, whether a project is categorically excluded 24 from the preparation of an environmental assess- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1211 IS ment or environmental impact statement under the 1 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 2 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 3 (2) shall— 4 (A) require that the Indian tribe maintain 5 adequate capability in terms of personnel and 6 other resources to carry out applicable agency 7 responsibilities pursuant to section 1507.2 of 8 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc- 9 cessor regulations); 10 (B) set forth the responsibilities of the In- 11 dian tribe for making categorical exclusion de- 12 terminations, documenting the determinations, 13 and achieving acceptable quality control and 14 quality assurance; 15 (C) allow— 16 (i) the Secretary to monitor compli- 17 ance of the Indian tribe with the terms of 18 the agreement; and 19 (ii) the Indian tribe to execute any 20 needed corrective action; 21 (D) contain stipulations for amendments, 22 termination, and public availability of the agree- 23 ment once the agreement has been executed; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1211 IS (E) have a term of not more than 5 years, 1 with an option for renewal based on a review by 2 the Secretary of the performance of the Indian 3 tribe. 4 SEC. 5. USE OF CERTAIN TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION FUNDS. 5 Section 202(d) of title 23, United States Code, is 6 amended— 7 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 8 following: 9 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available to 10 carry out this subsection shall be used— 11 ‘‘(A) to carry out any planning, design, en- 12 gineering, preconstruction, construction, and in- 13 spection of new or replacement tribal transpor- 14 tation facility bridges; 15 ‘‘(B) to replace, rehabilitate, seismically 16 retrofit, paint, apply calcium magnesium ace- 17 tate, sodium acetate/formate, or other environ- 18 mentally acceptable, minimally corrosive anti- 19 icing and deicing composition; or 20 ‘‘(C) to implement any countermeasure for 21 deficient tribal transportation facility bridges, 22 including multiple-pipe culverts.’’; and 23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 24 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1211 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any 1 other funds made available to carry out this 2 section, there are authorized to be appropriated 3 out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the 4 Mass Transit Account) to carry out this sub- 5 section— 6 ‘‘(i) $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 7 ‘‘(ii) $18,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 8 ‘‘(iii) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 9 2023; 10 ‘‘(iv) $22,000,000 for fiscal year 11 2024; and 12 ‘‘(v) $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 13 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT.—For purposes of sec- 14 tion 201, funds made available under subpara- 15 graph (A) shall be considered to be part of the 16 tribal transportation program.’’. 17 SEC. 6. BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS ROAD MAINTENANCE 18 PROGRAM. 19 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Direc- 20 tor of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to carry out the road 21 maintenance program of the Bureau— 22 (1) $46,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 23 (2) $48,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 24 (3) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1211.IS S1211 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1211 IS (4) $52,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 1 (5) $54,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 2 SEC. 7. STUDY OF ROAD MAINTENANCE ON INDIAN LAND. 3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 5 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian lands’’ in 6 section 3 of the Native American Business Develop- 7 ment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 8 (25 U.S.C. 4302). 9 (2) INDIAN TRI [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]