Energy Resilient Communities Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8626 To direct the Secretary of Energy to carry out a grant program to improve the energy resilience, energy democracy, and security of communities, prioritizing environmental justice communities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 20, 2020 Ms. BARRAGA´N (for herself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. SIRES, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SOTO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. NAPOLI- TANO, Mr. TONKO, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. NADLER, Ms. MOORE, Ms. HOULAHAN, and Mr. SUOZZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of Energy to carry out a grant program to improve the energy resilience, energy democ- racy, and security of communities, prioritizing environ- mental justice communities, 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 18:33 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8626 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Resilient Com- 2 munities Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. CLEAN ENERGY MICROGRID GRANT PROGRAM. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall es- 5 tablish and carry out a program to provide grants to eligi- 6 ble entities. 7 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use a 8 grant provided under the program established pursuant to 9 subsection (a) to— 10 (1) obtain technical assistance to— 11 (A) upgrade building codes and standards 12 for resiliency to climate change hazards (includ- 13 ing wildfires, flooding, sea level rise, landslides, 14 drought, storms, temperature extremes, and 15 other extreme weather events); 16 (B) develop an infrastructure resilience 17 plan to identify and overcome known climate 18 change hazards to critical community infra- 19 structure; or 20 (C) conduct a needs assessment of prospec- 21 tive clean energy microgrid projects and, as ap- 22 plicable, design prospective clean energy 23 microgrids, including assistance to address per- 24 mitting and siting challenges, understand and 25 facilitate financing options, and understand the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8626 IH technical characteristics of clean energy 1 microgrids; 2 (2) provide community outreach and collabo- 3 rative planning with respect to a prospective project 4 described in paragraph (3); or 5 (3) carry out a project to develop and con- 6 struct— 7 (A) a clean energy microgrid that supports 8 critical community infrastructure; or 9 (B) a clean energy microgrid for residences 10 of medical baseline customers. 11 (c) PRIORITY.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In providing grants under 13 the program established pursuant to subsection (a), 14 the Secretary of Energy shall give priority to an eli- 15 gible entity that proposes to use a grant to obtain 16 technical assistance described in subsection (b)(1), 17 provide outreach described in subsection (b)(2), or 18 carry out a project described in subsection (b)(3), 19 that will benefit an environmental justice commu- 20 nity. 21 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COMMUNITY 22 OUTREACH GRANTS.—After priority given under 23 paragraph (1), in providing grants to obtain tech- 24 nical assistance described in subsection (b)(1) or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8626 IH provide outreach described in subsection (b)(2), the 1 Secretary of Energy shall give priority to an eligible 2 entity proposing to obtain technical assistance or 3 provide outreach that the Secretary of Energy deter- 4 mines will further the development of clean energy 5 microgrids that are community-owned energy sys- 6 tems. 7 (3) CLEAN ENERGY MICROGRID GRANTS.—After 8 priority given under paragraph (1), in providing 9 grants under the program established pursuant to 10 subsection (a) for projects described in subsection 11 (b)(3), the Secretary of Energy shall give priority to 12 an eligible entity that— 13 (A) proposes to develop and construct a 14 clean energy microgrid that, in comparison to 15 other clean energy microgrids for which grants 16 are sought under such program, will result in 17 the greatest reduction— 18 (i) of greenhouse gas emissions; 19 (ii) of emissions of criteria air pollut- 20 ants; 21 (iii) in public health disparities in 22 communities experiencing a dispropor- 23 tionate level of air pollution; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8626 IH (iv) in the energy cost burden for 1 communities; 2 (B) proposes to develop and construct a 3 clean energy microgrid that is a community- 4 owned energy system; 5 (C) proposes to develop and construct a 6 clean energy microgrid that, in comparison to 7 other clean energy microgrids for which grants 8 are sought under such program, will provide the 9 greatest amount of resiliency benefits to a juris- 10 diction in which the microgrid is located; 11 (D) proposes to develop and construct a 12 clean energy microgrid that minimizes land use 13 impacts by— 14 (i) siting sources of clean energy with- 15 in the already-built environment, including 16 over rooftops and parking lots; 17 (ii) siting sources of clean energy on 18 existing brownfield sites or contaminated 19 sites; 20 (iii) co-locating sources of clean en- 21 ergy on agricultural lands or over res- 22 ervoirs; or 23 (iv) siting sources of clean energy on 24 compatible lands; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8626 IH (E) proposes to, in developing and con- 1 structing a clean energy microgrid, utilize or in- 2 volve small businesses or nonprofits that pri- 3 marily operate or are located within environ- 4 mental justice communities, particularly those 5 that are women-owned and operated or minor- 6 ity-owned and operated; 7 (F) has previously received a grant to ob- 8 tain technical assistance under such program; 9 or 10 (G) imposes registered apprentice utiliza- 11 tion requirements on projects, provided that 12 such requirements comply with the apprentice 13 to journey worker ratios established by the De- 14 partment of Labor or the applicable State Ap- 15 prenticeship Agency. 16 (d) EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 18 funds are made available to carry out this section, 19 the Secretary of Energy shall develop and carry out 20 an educational outreach program to inform eligible 21 entities about the program established pursuant to 22 subsection (a). 23 (2) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary of Energy 24 may enter into third-party contracts to implement 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8626 IH the educational outreach program under paragraph 1 (1). In entering into contracts pursuant to this para- 2 graph, the Secretary shall prioritize entering into 3 contracts with women-owned and operated or minor- 4 ity-owned and operated entities. 5 (3) PRIORITY.—The educational outreach pro- 6 gram under paragraph (1) shall prioritize— 7 (A) providing information on the program 8 established pursuant to subsection (a) to eligi- 9 ble entities that serve an environmental justice 10 community and to environmental justice com- 11 munities; and 12 (B) promoting public understanding of the 13 community benefits of clean energy microgrids 14 for critical community infrastructure. 15 (e) COST SHARE.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 17 graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of technical 18 assistance, outreach, or a project for which a grant 19 is provided pursuant to the program established pur- 20 suant to subsection (a) shall not exceed 60 percent 21 of such cost. 22 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 23 The Federal share of the cost of technical assistance 24 that is obtained for, outreach that is provided to, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8626 IH a project that is carried out in, an environmental 1 justice community, and for which a grant is provided 2 pursuant to the program established pursuant to 3 subsection (a) shall not exceed 90 percent of such 4 cost. 5 (f) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The amount of a 6 grant provided to an eligible entity under this section to 7 carry out a project described in subsection (b)(3) may not 8 exceed $10,000,000. 9 (g) USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFAC- 10 TURED GOODS.— 11 (1) No funds authorized under this section shall 12 be made available with respect to a project unless all 13 of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in 14 the project are produced in the United States. 15 (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in any case 16 or category of cases in which the Secretary of En- 17 ergy finds that— 18 (A) applying paragraph (1) would be in- 19 consistent with the public interest; 20 (B) iron, steel, and the relevant manufac- 21 tured goods are not produced in the United 22 States in sufficient and reasonably available 23 quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8626 IH (C) inclusion of iron, steel, and manufac- 1 tured goods produced in the United States will 2 increase the cost of the overall project by more 3 than 25 percent. 4 (3) If the Secretary of Energy receives a re- 5 quest for a waiver under this subsection, the Sec- 6 retary shall make available to the public on an infor- 7 mal basis a copy of the request and information 8 available to the Secretary concerning the request, 9 and shall allow for informal public input on the re- 10 quest for at least 15 days prior to making a finding 11 based on the request. The Secretary shall make the 12 request and accompanying information available by 13 electronic means, including on the official public 14 website of the Department of Energy. 15 (4) This subsection shall be applied in a man- 16 ner consistent with the United States obligations 17 under international agreements. 18 (h) PREVAILING WAGES.—All laborers and mechan- 19 ics employed by contractors or subcontractors in the per- 20 formance of construction, alteration, or repair work as- 21 sisted, in whole or in part, by a grant under this section 22 shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing 23 on similar construction in the locality as determined by 24 the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8626 IH of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code. With respect 1 to the labor standards in this subsection, the Secretary 2 of Labor shall have the authority and functions set forth 3 in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 4 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United 5 States Code. 6 (i) PROJECT LABOR.—An eligible entity that uses a 7 grant provided under this section to construct a clean en- 8 ergy microgrid shall ensure, to the greatest extent prac- 9 ticable, that any subgrantee of such eligible entity, and 10 any subgrantee thereof, that carries out such construction 11 employs at least 40 percent of laborers or mechanics for 12 such construction that are individuals who— 13 (1) are domiciled, if the applicable construction 14 area is— 15 (A) a major urban area, not further than 16 15 miles from such construction area; or 17 (B) not a major urban area, not further 18 than 50 miles from such construction area; 19 (2) are displaced and unemployed energy work- 20 ers; 21 (3) are members of the Armed Forces serving 22 on active duty, separated from active duty, or retired 23 from active duty; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8626 IH (4) have been incarcerated or served time in a 1 juvenile or adult detention or correctional facility, or 2 been placed on probation, community supervision, or 3 in a diversion scheme; 4 (5) have a disability; 5 (6) are homeless; 6 (7) are receiving public assistance; 7 (8) lack a general education diploma or high 8 school diploma; 9 (9) are emancipated from the foster care sys- 10 tem; 11 (10) reside or work in an environmental justice 12 community; or 13 (11) are registered apprentices with fewer than 14 15 percent of the required graduating apprentice 15 hours in a program. 16 (j) REPORTS.—The Secretary of Energy shall submit 17 to Congress, and make available on the public website of 18 the Department of Energy, an annual report on the pro- 19 gram established pursuant to subsection (a) that includes, 20 with respect to the previous year— 21 (1) the number of grants provided; 22 (2) the total dollar amount of all grants pro- 23 vided; 24 (3) a list of grant disbursements by State; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8626.IH H8626 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8626 IH (4) for each grant provided— 1 (A) a description of the technical assist- 2 ance obtained, outreach provided, or project 3 carried out with grants funds; and 4 (B) whether the grant is provided to obtain 5 technical assistance, provide outreach, or carry 6 out a project with respect to an environmental 7 justice community; and 8 (5) for each grant provided to carry out a clean 9 energy microgrid project— 10 (A) employment data for such project, in- 11 cluding the number of jobs created and what 12 percent of laborers and mechanics hired for 13 such project meet the criteria under subsection 14 (i); 15 (B) the greenhouse gas and criteria air 16 p [Text truncated for display. 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