Bridge Corrosion Prevention and Repair Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4064 To require that certain aspects of bridge projects be carried out by certified contractors, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 13, 2023 Mr. GARAMENDI (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure A BILL To require that certain aspects of bridge projects be carried out by certified contractors, 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 ‘‘Bridge Corrosion Pre- 4 vention and Repair Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. CORROSION PREVENTION FOR BRIDGES. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) APPLICABLE BRIDGE PROJECT.—The term 8 ‘‘applicable bridge project’’ means a project for con- 9 struction, replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:06 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4064.IH H4064 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4064 IH or protection, other than de minimis work, as deter- 1 mined by the entity carrying out the project, on— 2 (A) a bridge project that receives financial 3 assistance under title 23, United States Code; 4 or 5 (B) a project for a railroad bridge (as de- 6 fined in section 237.5 of title 49, Code of Fed- 7 eral Regulations (or successor regulations)) that 8 receives financial assistance under title 49, 9 United States Code. 10 (2) CERTIFIED CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘cer- 11 tified contractor’’ means a contracting or subcon- 12 tracting firm that has been certified by a third-party 13 organization recognized industry-wide that evaluates 14 the capability of the contractor or subcontractor to 15 properly perform 1 or more specified aspects of an 16 applicable bridge project described in subsection 17 (b)(2). 18 (3) QUALIFIED TRAINING PROGRAM.—The term 19 ‘‘qualified training program’’ means a training pro- 20 gram in corrosion control, mitigation, and prevention 21 that is— 22 (A) offered by an organization that pro- 23 vides trainees with a certification that meets 24 the ANSI/NACE Number 13/SSPC–ACS–1 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:06 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4064.IH H4064 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4064 IH standard (or a successor standard) or another 1 standard approved by the Administrator of the 2 Federal Highway Administration; or 3 (B) an industrial coatings applicator train- 4 ing program— 5 (i) registered under the Act of August 6 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘Na- 7 tional Apprenticeship Act’’) (50 Stat. 664, 8 chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.); and 9 (ii) that meets the standards of sub- 10 part A of part 29 and part 30 of title 29, 11 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 12 regulations). 13 (b) APPLICABLE BRIDGE PROJECTS.— 14 (1) QUALITY CONTROL.—A certified contractor 15 shall carry out aspects of an applicable bridge 16 project described in paragraph (2). 17 (2) ASPECTS OF APPLICABLE BRIDGE 18 PROJECTS.—Aspects of an applicable bridge project 19 referred to in paragraph (1) include— 20 (A) surface preparation or coating applica- 21 tion on steel, concrete, or rebar of an applicable 22 bridge project; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:06 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4064.IH H4064 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4064 IH (B) removal of a lead-based or other haz- 1 ardous coating from steel or concrete of an ex- 2 isting applicable bridge project; and 3 (C) shop painting of structural steel or 4 rebar fabricated for installation on an applica- 5 ble bridge project. 6 (3) CORROSION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—In 7 carrying out an applicable bridge project, the entity 8 carrying out the project shall— 9 (A) implement a corrosion management 10 system that utilizes industry-recognized stand- 11 ards and corrosion mitigation and prevention 12 methods to address different considerations, in- 13 cluding— 14 (i) surface preparation; 15 (ii) protective coatings; 16 (iii) materials selection; 17 (iv) cathodic protection; 18 (v) corrosion engineering; 19 (vi) personnel training; and 20 (vii) best practices in environmental 21 protection to prevent environmental deg- 22 radation and uphold public health; and 23 (B) require certified contractors, for the 24 purpose of carrying out aspects of applicable 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:06 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4064.IH H4064 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4064 IH bridge projects described in paragraph (2), to 1 employ a substantial number of individuals that 2 are trained and certified by a qualified training 3 program. 4 (4) CERTIFICATION.—For an applicable bridge 5 project that includes an aspect described in para- 6 graph (2), the entity carrying out the project shall 7 only accept bids from a certified contractor that pre- 8 sents written proof that the certification of the con- 9 tractor meets the relevant SSPC–QP standards (or 10 a successor standard). 11 (c) TRAINING PROGRAM.—As a condition of entering 12 into a contract for an applicable bridge project, each cer- 13 tified contractor shall provide training for each individual 14 who is not a certified coating applicator but that the cer- 15 tified contractor employs to carry out aspects of applicable 16 bridge projects described in subsection (b)(2). 17 SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING FOR 18 CORROSION CONTROL WORK ON RAIL 19 BRIDGES. 20 Section 22402(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, 21 is amended— 22 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 23 the end; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:06 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4064.IH H4064 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4064 IH (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as sub- 1 paragraph (G); and 2 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(F) to perform corrosion control work on 5 rail bridges; or’’. 6 SEC. 4. STUDY ON EFFICACY OF WEATHERING STEEL. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 8 (1) weathering steel is often used for bridge 9 construction projects because of its ability to with- 10 stand weather conditions better than other forms of 11 steel; 12 (2) the recent collapse of the Fern Hollow 13 Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in January 14 2022 highlights the real threat that corrosion poses 15 to the bridges of the United States; 16 (3) more research is needed into the 17 vulnerabilities of weathering steel; and 18 (4) States and units of local government need 19 more information on when and how to address the 20 risk of corrosion to weathering steel. 21 (b) STUDY.—Not later than 18 months after the date 22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 23 shall— 24 (1) carry out a study on best practices for— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:06 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4064.IH H4064 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4064 IH (A) the frequency and method of inspect- 1 ing corrosion on weathering steel bridges; and 2 (B) addressing corrosion on weathering 3 steel bridges; 4 (2) submit to the Committee on Environment 5 and Public Works of the Senate, the Committee on 6 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen- 7 ate, and the Committee on Transportation and In- 8 frastructure of the House of Representatives a re- 9 port on the results of the study under paragraph 10 (1); and 11 (3) make the report under paragraph (2) avail- 12 able to State departments of transportation, metro- 13 politan planning organizations (as defined in section 14 134(b) of title 23, United States Code), regional 15 transportation planning organizations (as defined in 16 that section), and units of local government that 17 own bridge assets. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:06 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4064.IH H4064 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS