Building Much Needed Rail Grade Separations Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6224 To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a dedicated, competitive highway-rail grade separation program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 12, 2020 Mr. LIPINSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a dedi- cated, competitive highway-rail grade separation pro- gram, 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 ‘‘Building Much Needed 4 Rail Grade Separations Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. GRADE SEPARATION GRANT PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 7 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 130 the 8 following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘§ 131. Railway-highway crossing separation program 1 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 2 ‘‘(1) CROSSING.—The term ‘crossing’ means a 3 railway-highway grade crossing. 4 ‘‘(2) GRADE SEPARATION.—The term ‘grade 5 separation’ means separation of a rail-highway grade 6 crossing through the building of an additional struc- 7 ture such as an overpass, underpass, or trench. 8 ‘‘(3) LARGE PROJECT.—The term ‘large 9 project’ means a project funded under this section 10 that has a total eligible project costs of greater than 11 $100,000,000. 12 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 13 the grade separation investment program established 14 under subsection (b)(1). 15 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRADE SEPARATION PRO- 16 GRAM.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab- 18 lish a grade separation investment program to pro- 19 vide grants on a competitive basis to carry out ac- 20 tivities described in subsection (h) relating to grade 21 separations. 22 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The goals of the Program shall 23 be— 24 ‘‘(A) to separate railway-highway grade 25 crossings; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(B) to improve safety by reducing the 1 number of deaths and injuries at rail-highway 2 crossings; 3 ‘‘(C) to increase the efficiency, and reli- 4 ability of the movement of people and freight 5 over rail-highway crossings; 6 ‘‘(D) to increase the capacity of the freight 7 and passenger rail system; 8 ‘‘(E) to reduce the amount of noise from 9 trains; and 10 ‘‘(F) to improve air quality and reduce 11 greenhouse gas emissions from less idling at 12 rail-highway crossings. 13 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.— 14 ‘‘(1) GRANT AMOUNTS.—Except as otherwise 15 provided, a grant under the Program shall be— 16 ‘‘(A) in the case of a large project, in an 17 amount that is— 18 ‘‘(i) adequate to fully fund the project 19 (in combination with other financial re- 20 sources identified in the application); and 21 ‘‘(ii) not less than $50,000,000; and 22 ‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible project that 23 is not a large project, in an amount that is— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(i) adequate to fully fund the project 1 (in combination with other financial re- 2 sources identified in the application); and 3 ‘‘(ii) not less than $2,500,000. 4 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—For an eligible 5 project receiving assistance under the Program, the 6 amount of assistance provided by the Secretary 7 under this section, as a share of eligible project 8 costs, shall be— 9 ‘‘(A) in the case of a large project, not 10 more than 50 percent; and 11 ‘‘(B) in the case of a project this not a 12 large project, not more than 80 percent. 13 ‘‘(3) RAILROAD SHARE.—A railroad’s share of 14 the cost of a project funded under this section— 15 ‘‘(A) shall be 10 percent of the net benefit 16 to the railroad for the purpose of determining 17 the railroad’s share of the cost of the project; 18 and 19 ‘‘(B) may not be more than 5 percent of 20 the cost share described under subparagraph 21 (A) may be attributable to non-cash contribu- 22 tions of materials and labor furnished by the 23 railroad in connection with the construction of 24 such project. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(4) LARGE PROJECTS.—At least 70 percent of 1 the funds awarded in a fiscal year under this Pro- 2 gram shall go to large projects. 3 ‘‘(5) FUTURE PIPELINE.—At least 5 percent of 4 the total amount awarded in a fiscal year under this 5 Program shall be for projects seeking funding for 6 planning, preliminary engineering, or final environ- 7 mental review. The Secretary shall ensure that the 8 funding awarded is sufficient for such project to be 9 eligible for grant amounts for final design or con- 10 struction in a future application cycle. 11 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The Secretary may make 12 a grant under the Program to any of the following: 13 ‘‘(1) A State. 14 ‘‘(2) A group of States. 15 ‘‘(3) An interstate compact. 16 ‘‘(4) A public agency or publicly chartered au- 17 thority established by 1 or more States. 18 ‘‘(5) A political subdivision of a State. 19 ‘‘(6) A metropolitan planning organization. 20 ‘‘(7) Amtrak or another rail carrier that pro- 21 vides intercity rail passenger transportation (as de- 22 fined in section 24102 of title 49). 23 ‘‘(8) A commuter rail authority. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(9) A Tribal government or a consortium of 1 Tribal governments. 2 ‘‘(10) A multistate or multijurisdictional group 3 of entities described in paragraphs (1) through (9). 4 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS.— 5 ‘‘(1) PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding 6 grants under the Program, the Secretary shall con- 7 sider the following primary factors: 8 ‘‘(A) Accident history at the crossing over 9 the last 10 years, including the number of fa- 10 talities and injuries. 11 ‘‘(B) Volume of trains, both freight and 12 passenger, passing through the crossing. 13 ‘‘(C) Average speed of trains, both freight 14 and passenger, that pass through the crossing. 15 ‘‘(D) Annual average daily traffic at the 16 crossing. 17 ‘‘(E) Likelihood of a collision based on the 18 geometry of the crossing. 19 ‘‘(F) Design speed and speed limit of the 20 roadway that meets the crossing. 21 ‘‘(G) The number of other at-grade cross- 22 ings in the vicinity of the project location. 23 ‘‘(H) The number of other grade separated 24 crossings in the vicinity of the project location. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(I) The amount of critical facilities near 1 the crossing, including emergency response 2 services, hospitals, schools, chemical and power 3 plants (including nuclear), military bases and 4 installations, and other similar facilities as de- 5 termined by the Secretary. 6 ‘‘(2) SECONDARY CONSIDERATIONS.—In award- 7 ing grants under the Program, the Secretary shall 8 consider the following secondary factors: 9 ‘‘(A) Improvement in air quality, including 10 reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. 11 ‘‘(B) Decrease in train noise. 12 ‘‘(C) Increase in economic development. 13 ‘‘(D) Improvements to commuter and 14 intercity passenger rail service and on-time per- 15 formance. 16 ‘‘(E) Improvements to the rail freight net- 17 work. 18 ‘‘(F) Socioeconomic status of the commu- 19 nity where the project is located. 20 ‘‘(G) The applicant’s history of dem- 21 onstrating financial commitment to and funding 22 similar projects. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(3) PROHIBITED CONSIDERATIONS.—In 1 awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 2 may not— 3 ‘‘(A) limit the amount of grants or assist- 4 ance any 1 State can receive; 5 ‘‘(B) require a minimum amount of grants 6 or assistance to go to rural areas; or 7 ‘‘(C) take into consideration the amount of 8 new non-Federal revenue a grant applicant has 9 raised. 10 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE PROCESS AND EVALUATION OF 11 ELIGIBLE PROJECTS OTHER THAN LARGE PROJECTS.— 12 ‘‘(1) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 14 ‘‘(i) for the first fiscal year for which 15 funds are made available for obligation 16 under the Program, not later than 60 days 17 after the date on which the template under 18 subparagraph (B)(i) is developed, and in 19 subsequent fiscal years, not later than 60 20 days after the date on which amounts are 21 made available for obligation under the 22 Program, solicit grant applications for eli- 23 gible projects other than large projects; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(ii) not later than 120 days after the 1 date on which the solicitation under clause 2 (i) expires, conduct evaluations under 3 paragraph (3). 4 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out 5 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 6 ‘‘(i) develop a template for applicants 7 to use to summarize project needs and 8 benefits, including benefits described in 9 paragraph (3)(B)(i); and 10 ‘‘(ii) enable applicants to use data 11 from the national crossing inventory under 12 section 20160 of title 49 to populate tem- 13 plates described in clause (i), as applicable. 14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity shall 15 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 16 in such manner, and containing such information as 17 the Secretary may require. 18 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to providing a 20 grant under this subsection, the Secretary 21 shall— 22 ‘‘(i) conduct an evaluation of each 23 project for which an application is received 24 under this subsection; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(ii) assign a quality rating to the 1 project on the basis of the evaluation 2 under clause (i). 3 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out an 4 evaluation under subparagraph (A), the Sec- 5 retary shall— 6 ‘‘(i) consider information on project 7 benefits submitted by the applicant using 8 the template developed under paragraph 9 (1)(B)(i), including how and to what ex- 10 tent the project will address the factors 11 listed in subsection (e)(1); and 12 ‘‘(ii) consider whether and the extent 13 to which the benefits, including the bene- 14 fits described in clause (i), are more likely 15 than not to outweigh the total project 16 costs. 17 ‘‘(g) COMPETITIVE PROCESS, EVALUATION, AND AN- 18 NUAL REPORT FOR LARGE PROJECTS.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab- 20 lish an annual date by which an eligible entity sub- 21 mitting an application for a large project shall sub- 22 mit to the Secretary such information as the Sec- 23 retary may require, including information described 24 in paragraph (2), in order for a large project to be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6224 IH considered for a recommendation by the Secretary 1 for funding in the next annual report under para- 2 graph (6). 3 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The informa- 4 tion referred to in paragraph (1) includes— 5 ‘‘(A) all necessary information required for 6 the Secretary to evaluate the large project; and 7 ‘‘(B) information sufficient for the Sec- 8 retary to determine that— 9 ‘‘(i) the large project meets the appli- 10 cable requirements under this section; and 11 ‘‘(ii) there is a reasonable likelihood 12 that the large project will continue to meet 13 the requirements under this section. 14 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION; NOTICE.—On making a 15 determination that information submitted to the 16 Secretary under paragraph (1) is sufficient, the Sec- 17 retary shall provide a written notice of that deter- 18 mination to— 19 ‘‘(A) the entity that submitted the applica- 20 tion; 21 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Environment and 22 Public Works of the Senate; and 23 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Transportation and 24 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(4) EVALUATION.—The Secretary may rec- 1 ommend a large project for funding in the annual 2 report under paragraph (6) only if the Secretary 3 evaluates the proposed project and determines that 4 the project is justified because the project— 5 ‘‘(A) addresses a need to eliminate the 6 grade crossing as determined by the Secretary, 7 consistent with the goals of the Program under 8 subsection (b)(2); 9 ‘‘(B) will generate significant benefits 10 based upon the factors listed in subsection 11 (e)(1), as determined by the Secretary; 12 ‘‘(C) is cost effective based on an analysis 13 of whether the benefits described in subpara- 14 graph (B) are expected to outweigh the project 15 costs; and 16 ‘‘(D) is supported by other Federal or non- 17 Federal financial commitments or revenues ade- 18 quate to fund construction of the project. 19 ‘‘(5) RATINGS.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 21 create a data driven ranking to evaluate, rate, 22 and rank large projects. The Secretary shall de- 23 velop a methodology that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6224.IH H6224 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 6224 IH ‘‘(i) quantifies each factor listed in 1 subsection (e)(1)(A) on a numeric point 2 scale, with zero being the lowest number 3 and the maximum number determined 4 based on the Secretary’s methodology; 5 ‘‘(ii) calculates a numerical ‘safety 6 score’ based on how the project would ad- 7 dress each of the factors listed in sub- 8 section (e)(1)(A) with zero being the lowest 9 number and the maximum number deter- 10 mined based on the Secretary’s method- 11 ology; 12 ‘‘(iii) evaluates on a 5-point scale (the 13 points of which include ‘high’, ‘medium- 14 high’, ‘medium’, ‘med [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]