II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 403 

To encourage the research and use of innovative materials and associated 

techniques in the construction and preservation of the domestic transportation and water infrastructure system, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. SMITH, 

Mr. ROUNDS, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To encourage the research and use of innovative materials 

and associated techniques in the construction and preservation of the domestic transportation and water infrastructure system, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Innovative Materials 

5 for America’s Growth and Infrastructure Newly Expanded 

6 Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘IMAGINE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are— 

3 (1) to encourage the research and use of inno4 vative materials, in concert with traditional mate5 rials, and associated techniques in the construction 

6 and preservation of the domestic infrastructure net7 work; 

8 (2) to accelerate the deployment and extend the 

9 service life, improve the performance, and reduce the 

10 cost of infrastructure projects; and 

11 (3) to improve the economy, resilience, main12 tainability, sustainability, and safety of the domestic 

13 infrastructure network. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF INNOVATIVE MATERIAL. 

15 In this Act, the term ‘‘innovative material’’, with re16 spect to an infrastructure project, includes high perform17 ance asphalt mixtures and concrete formulations, 

18 geosynthetic materials, advanced insulating materials, ad19 vanced alloys and metals, reinforced polymer composites, 

20 advanced polymers, nanocellulose and wood-based compos21 ites, coatings, highly functional adhesives, or other corro22 sion prevention methods used in conjunction with those 

23 materials, and any other material or aggregate materials, 

24 as determined by the appropriate agency or department 

25 head. 


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1 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY INNOVATIVE MATERIALS STAND2 ARDS TASK FORCE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

6 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech7 nology shall establish an Interagency Innovative Ma8 terials Standards Task Force (referred to in this 

9 section as the ‘‘Task Force’’) composed of the heads 

10 of Federal agencies responsible for significant civil 

11 infrastructure projects, including— 

12 (A) the Administrator of the Federal High13 way Administration; 

14 (B) the Commanding General and Chief of 

15 Engineers of the Corps of Engineers; 

16 (C) the Assistant Secretary of the Army 

17 for Civil Works; and 

18 (D) the Administrator of the Environ19 mental Protection Agency. 

20 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Na21 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall 

22 serve as Chairperson of the Task Force. 

23 (b) PURPOSE.—The Task Force shall coordinate and 

24 improve, with respect to infrastructure construction, retro25 fitting, rehabilitation, and other improvements— 

26 (1) Federal testing standards; 


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1 (2) Federal design and use guidelines; 

2 (3) Federal regulations; and 

3 (4) other applicable standards. 

4 (c) REPORT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Task 

7 Force shall conduct, and submit to the appropriate 

8 committees of Congress a report that describes the 

9 results of, a study— 

10 (A) to assess the standards for the use of 

11 innovative materials in infrastructure projects; 

12 (B) to identify any barriers, regulatory or 

13 otherwise, relating to the standards described in 

14 subparagraph (A) that preclude the use of cer15 tain products or associated techniques; and 

16 (C) to identify opportunities for the devel17 opment of standardized designs that use inno18 vative materials to reduce costs, improve per19 formance, and extend the service life of infra20 structure assets. 

21 (2) REPORT.—The report under paragraph (1) 

22 shall— 

23 (A) identify any non-Federal entities or 

24 other organizations, including the American AsVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Feb 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S403.IS S403

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1 sociation of State Highway and Transportation 

2 Officials, that develop relevant standards; and 

3 (B) outline a strategy to improve coordina4 tion and information sharing between the enti5 ties described in subparagraph (A) and any rel6 evant Federal agencies. 

7 (d) IMPROVED COORDINATION.—Not later than 2 

8 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Task 

9 Force shall collaborate with any non-Federal entity identi10 fied under subsection (c)(2)(A)— 

11 (1) to identify and carry out appropriate re12 search, testing methods, and processes relating to 

13 the development and use of innovative materials; 

14 (2) to develop new methods and processes relat15 ing to the development and use of innovative mate16 rials, as the applicable agency head determines to be 

17 necessary; 

18 (3) to contribute to the development of stand19 ards and guidelines for the use of innovative mate20 rials and approaches in civil infrastructure projects; 

21 (4) to develop a plan for addressing potential 

22 barriers, regulatory or otherwise, identified in sub23 section (c)(1)(B); and 

24 (5) to develop a plan for the development of 

25 standardized designs that use innovative materials to 


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1 reduce costs, improve performance, and extend the 

2 service life of infrastructure assets. 

3 SEC. 5. INNOVATIVE MATERIAL INNOVATION HUBS. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) HUB.—The term ‘‘Hub’’ means an Innova6 tive Material Innovation Hub established under this 

7 section. 

8 (2) QUALIFYING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘quali9 fying entity’’ means— 

10 (A) an institution of higher education (as 

11 defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))); 

13 (B) an appropriate Federal or State entity, 

14 including a federally funded research and devel15 opment center of the Department of Transpor16 tation; 

17 (C) a university transportation center 

18 under section 5505 of title 49, United States 

19 Code; 

20 (D) an Innovative Material Innovation 

21 Hub in existence on the date of enactment of 

22 this Act; and 

23 (E) any other relevant entity the Secretary 

24 determines to be appropriate. 


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1 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Transportation. 

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

5 out a program to enhance the development of inno6 vative materials in the United States by making 

7 awards to consortia for establishing and operating 

8 new Hubs, to be known as ‘‘Innovative Material In9 novation Hubs’’, to conduct and support multidisci10 plinary, collaborative research, development, dem11 onstration, standardized design development, and 

12 commercial application of innovative materials. 

13 (2) LOCATION OF HUBS.—To the extent prac14 ticable, each Hub shall be located at 1 centralized lo15 cation. 

16 (3) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOCUS.—The 

17 Secretary shall designate for each new Hub a unique 

18 innovative material focus, such as material develop19 ment, infrastructure applications, and other focus 

20 areas identified by the Secretary. 

21 (4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en22 sure the coordination of, and avoid unnecessary du23 plication of, the activities of each Hub with the ac24 tivities of— 


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1 (A) other research entities of the Depart2 ment of Transportation, including the Federal 

3 Highway Administration; 

4 (B) the National Laboratories (as defined 

5 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

6 (42 U.S.C. 15801)); 

7 (C) the Corps of Engineers; 

8 (D) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

9 (E) the Federal Emergency Management 

10 Agency; 

11 (F) the National Institute of Standards 

12 and Technology; 

13 (G) the Department of Defense; 

14 (H) an industry consortium meeting the 

15 requirements under subsection (c)(1); and 

16 (I) any other Federal agencies or industry 

17 consortia conducting substantially similar work. 

18 (c) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

19 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive an 

20 award for the establishment and operation of a Hub 

21 under subsection (b)(1), a consortium shall— 

22 (A) be composed of not fewer than 2 quali23 fying entities; 


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1 (B) operate subject to a binding agree2 ment, entered into by each member of the con3 sortium, that documents— 

4 (i) the proposed partnership agree5 ment, including the governance and man6 agement structure of the Hub; 

7 (ii) measures the consortium will un8 dertake to enable cost-effective implemen9 tation of activities under the program de10 scribed in subsection (b)(1); and 

11 (iii) a proposed budget, including fi12 nancial contributions from non-Federal 

13 sources; and 

14 (C) operate as a nonprofit organization. 

15 (2) APPLICATION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—A consortium seeking 

17 to establish and operate a Hub under sub18 section (b)(1) shall submit to the Secretary an 

19 application at such time, in such manner, and 

20 containing such information as the Secretary 

21 may require, including a detailed description 

22 of— 

23 (i) each element of the consortium 

24 agreement required under paragraph 

25 (1)(B); and 


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1 (ii) any existing facilities the consor2 tium intends to provide for Hub activities. 

3 (B) REQUIREMENT.—If the consortium 

4 members will not be located at 1 centralized lo5 cation, the application under subparagraph (A) 

6 shall include a communications plan that en7 sures close coordination and integration of Hub 

8 activities. 

9 (3) SELECTION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall se11 lect consortia for awards for the establishment 

12 and operation of Hubs through a competitive 

13 selection process. 

14 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting con15 sortia under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

16 shall consider— 

17 (i) the information disclosed by the 

18 consortium under this subsection; 

19 (ii) any existing facilities a consortium 

20 will provide for Hub activities; and 

21 (iii) maintaining regional variety in lo22 cations of selected Hubs. 

23 (d) TERM.—An award made to a Hub under this sec24 tion shall be for a period of not more than 5 years, subject 


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1 to the availability of appropriations, after which the award 

2 may be renewed, subject to a rigorous merit review. 

3 (e) HUB OPERATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Hub shall conduct or 

5 provide for multidisciplinary, collaborative research, 

6 development, demonstration, and commercial appli7 cation of innovative materials within the technology 

8 development focus designated under subsection 

9 (b)(3). 

10 (2) ACTIVITIES.—Each Hub shall— 

11 (A) encourage collaboration and commu12 nication among the member qualifying entities 

13 of the consortium as described in subsection 

14 (c)(1) and awardees; 

15 (B) develop and publish proposed plans 

16 and programs on a publicly accessible website; 

17 (C) submit to the Department of Trans18 portation an annual report summarizing the ac19 tivities of the Hub, including information— 

20 (i) detailing organizational expendi21 tures; and 

22 (ii) describing each project under23 taken by the Hub; and 

24 (D) monitor project implementation and 

25 coordination. 


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1 (3) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Each Hub shall 

2 maintain conflict of interest procedures, consistent 

3 with the conflict of interest procedures of the De4 partment of Transportation. 

5 (4) PROHIBITION ON CONSTRUCTION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B)— 

8 (i) no funds provided under this sec9 tion may be used for construction of new 

10 buildings or facilities for Hubs; and 

11 (ii) construction of new buildings or 

12 facilities shall not be considered as part of 

13 the non-Federal share of a Hub cost-shar14 ing agreement. 

15 (B) TEST BED AND RENOVATION EXCEP16 TION.—Nothing in this paragraph prohibits the 

17 use of funds provided under this section or non18 Federal cost share funds for the construction of 

19 a test bed or renovations to existing buildings 

20 or facilities for the purposes of research if the 

21 Secretary determines that the test bed or ren22 ovations are limited to a scope and scale nec23 essary for the research to be conducted. 


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1 SEC. 6. TURNER-FAIRBANK HIGHWAY RESEARCH CENTER. 

2 Section 503(b)(7) of title 23, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(C) INNOVATIVE MATERIALS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF INNOVATIVE MA6 TERIAL.—In this subparagraph, the term 

7 ‘innovative material’, with respect to an in8 frastructure project, includes high perform9 ance asphalt mixtures and concrete formu10 lations, geosynthetic materials, advanced 

11 insulating materials, advanced alloys and 

12 metals, reinforced polymer composites, ad13 vanced polymers, nanocellulose and wood14 based composites, coatings, highly func15 tional adhesives, or other corrosion preven16 tion methods used in conjunction with 

17 those materials, and any other material or 

18 aggregate materials, as determined by the 

19 appropriate agency or department head. 

20 ‘‘(ii) COLLABORATION WITH STATES

21 AND TRIBES.—The Secretary shall expand 

22 the capacity of the Turner-Fairbank High23 way Research Center to collaborate with 

24 relevant State and Tribal agencies— 

25 ‘‘(I) with respect to the use of in26 novative materials in construction 


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1 projects carried out by the State and 

2 Tribal agencies; and 

3 ‘‘(II) to understand and iden4 tify— 

5 ‘‘(aa) the needs of the State 

6 and Tribal agencies; and 

7 ‘‘(bb) innovative materials 

8 that may be further researched, 

9 developed, and used to meet 

10 those needs. 

11 ‘‘(iii) ACTIVITIES.—The collaboration 

12 described in clause (ii) may include— 

13 ‘‘(I) the development of new 

14 training for State and Tribal agencies; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(II) the expansion of technical 

17 training that involves State or Tribal 

18 departments of transportation in the 

19 development of new construction de20 signs for innovative materials at the 

21 Turner-Fairbank Highway Research 

22 Center. 

23 ‘‘(iv) PRIORITY RESEARCH.—The Tur24 ner-Fairbank Highway Research Center 

25 shall prioritize research relating to— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the use of innovative mate2 rials in— 

3 ‘‘(aa) bridges with a span 

4 equal to or greater than 50 feet; 

5 ‘‘(bb) highway reconstruc6 tion and rehabilitation; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) rural road infrastruc8 ture; 

9 ‘‘(II) the development of stand10 ardized designs using innovative mate11 rials; and 

12 ‘‘(III) coastal resiliency. 

13 ‘‘(v) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA14 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro15 priated to carry out this subparagraph 

16 $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

17 through 2024.’’. 

18 SEC. 7. INNOVATIVE BRIDGE PROGRAM. 

19 (a) DEFINITION OF ADMINISTRATOR.—In this sec20 tion, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator 

21 of the Federal Highway Administration. 

22 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es23 tablish a grant program, to be known as the ‘‘Innovative 

24 Bridge Program’’, to provide grants to State departments 

25 of transportation, Tribal governments, or units of local 


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1 government for coastal and rural infrastructure bridge 

2 projects. 

3 (c) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

4 under subsection (b), a State department of transpor5 tation or unit of Tribal or local government shall submit 

6 to the Administrator an application at such time, in such 

7 manner, and containing such information as the Adminis8 trator may require. 

9 (d) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—To be eligible to receive 

10 a grant under subsection (b) or (g), a coastal or rural in11 frastructure bridge project or a value engineering project 

12 shall— 

13 (1) be for the purpose of construction, preserva14 tion, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of a bridge 

15 with a span equal to or greater than 50 feet; 

16 (2) be carried out in a manner so as to reduce 

17 traffic impact; 

18 (3) use innovative materials that— 

19 (A) are resistant to corrosion; and 

20 (B) extend the service life of the bridge; 

21 and 

22 (4) reduce preservation costs, as compared to 

23 conventionally designed and constructed bridges. 


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1 (e) PREFERENCES.—In providing grants under this 

2 section, the Administrator shall give preference to pro3 posed projects that— 

4 (1) use materials that are domestically pro5 duced and sourced; 

6 (2) use nontraditional production techniques, 

7 such as factory prefabrication; and 

8 (3) retrofit a bridge. 

9 (f) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION FOR AT-RISK AREAS.— 

10 In providing grants under this section, the Administrator 

11 shall give special consideration to projects located in rural 

12 areas or areas prone to coastal or inland flooding due to 

13 severe storms (such as hurricanes or rain bursts), storm 

14 surges, or projected sea level rise during the projected life15 time of the project. 

16 (g) VALUE ENGINEERING USING INNOVATIVE MATE17 RIALS.—Of the amounts made available to carry out this 

18 section, the Administrator shall set aside $10,000,000 for 

19 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 to provide funding 

20 to 1 or more State departments of transportation or units 

21 of Tribal or local government that submit to the Adminis22 trator an application to carry out value engineering of a 

23 standard bridge design to enhance the performance of the 

24 bridge (including extending the service life of the bridge, 

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1 tion and preservation costs) through the use of innovative 

2 materials. 

3 (h) RECORDKEEPING; REPORTS.— 

4 (1) RECORDKEEPING.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis6 trator shall develop a project recordkeeping system 

7 that maintains comprehensive, current, and accurate 

8 information on each grant provided under this sec9 tion. 

10 (2) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

11 development of the recordkeeping system described 

12 in paragraph (1), and every 2 years thereafter, the 

13 Administrator shall submit to the appropriate com14 mittees of Congress, including the Committee on 

15 Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and 

16 make publicly available a report describing, with re17 spect to each project that receives a grant under this 

18 section— 

19 (A) the status of the project; 

20 (B) the location of the project; 

21 (C) for each bridge in the project, the in22 ventory number of the bridge in the National 

23 Bridge Inventory pursuant to section 144 of 

24 title 23, United States Code; 


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1 (D) a detailed description of the scope of 

2 the project; 

3 (E) the amount of project costs paid by 

4 funds provided under this section and the total 

5 project costs; 

6 (F) for each bridge involved in the project, 

7 the bridge condition, operations, and perform8 ance of the bridge; and 

9 (G) in every third report submitted under 

10 this paragraph, the results of the regular moni11 toring and evaluation of the maintenance de12 mands, projects, needs, and costs of each bridge 

13 in the project during the previous 6 years. 

14 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

16 carry out this section $65,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

17 2020 through 2024. 

18 SEC. 8. WATER INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION PROGRAM. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the En20 vironmental Protection Agency (referred to in this section 

21 as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall establish a grant program, 

22 to be known as the ‘‘Water Infrastructure Innovation Pro23 gram’’, to provide grants for the design and installation 

24 of water infrastructure projects, including wastewaster 

25 transport and treatment systems and drinking water 


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1 treatment and distribution systems, that use innovative 

2 materials to reduce total costs, including operation and 

3 preservation expenses, and extend the service life of in4 stalled structures. 

5 (b) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

6 under this section, an applicant shall submit to the Admin7 istrator an application at such time, in such manner, and 

8 containing such information as the Administrator may re9 quire. 

10 (c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—To be eligible to receive 

11 a grant under this section, a water infrastructure project 

12 shall— 

13 (1) serve a community with a population be14 tween 3,301 and 99,999; and 

15 (2) use innovative materials that— 

16 (A) are resistant to degradation; 

17 (B) extend service life; or 

18 (C) provide long-term protection of water 

19 facilities and systems. 

20 (d) PREFERENCE.—In providing grants under this 

21 section, the Administrator shall give preference to pro22 posed projects that use materials that are domestically 

23 produced and sourced. 

24 (e) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION FOR AT-RISK

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1 ministrator shall give special consideration to projects lo2 cated in areas that are prone to saltwater intrusion or 

3 flooding due to severe storms, rain bursts, storm surges, 

4 or projected sea level rise during the projected lifetime of 

5 the project. 

6 (f) RECORDKEEPING; REPORTS.— 

7 (1) RECORDKEEPING.—Not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis9 trator shall develop a project recordkeeping system 

10 that maintains comprehensive, current, and accurate 

11 information on each grant provided under this sec12 tion. 

13 (2) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

14 development of the recordkeeping system described 

15 in paragraph (1), and every 2 years thereafter, the 

16 Administrator shall submit to the appropriate com17 mittees of Congress, including the Committee on 

18 Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and 

19 make publicly available a report describing, with re20 spect to each project that receives a grant under this 

21 section— 

22 (A) the status of the project; 

23 (B) the location of the project; 

24 (C) a detailed description of the scope of 

25 the project; 


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1 (D) the amount of project costs paid by 

2 funds provided under this section and the total 

3 project costs; 

4 (E) the condition, operations, and perform5 ance of the project; and 

6 (F) in every third report submitted under 

7 this paragraph, the results of the regular moni8 toring and evaluation of the maintenance de9 mands, projects, needs, and costs of the project 

10 during the previous 6 years. 

11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

13 carry out this section $65,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

14 2020 through 2024. 

Æ 


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