II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1581 

To foster market development of clean energy fueling facilities by steering 

infrastructure installation toward designated Clean Vehicle Corridors. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2015 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To foster market development of clean energy fueling facilities by steering infrastructure installation toward designated Clean Vehicle Corridors. 

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 ‘‘Clean Vehicle Cor5 ridors Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Traditional transportation refueling net9 works are well-established, but market uncertainties 

10 regarding alternative fuel infrastructure continue to 


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1 hamper the full use of cleaner alternative domestic 

2 energy resources in transportation. 

3 (2) Despite considerable investor interest, high4 er capital costs and an uncertain consumer base has 

5 limited expansion of cleaner alternative refueling and 

6 recharging options. 

7 (3) Reduced pollution and energy independence 

8 are important factors at a national level, but they 

9 are not a sufficient inducement to create large-scale 

10 changes. 

11 (4) While American-made fuels provide many 

12 energy security and environmental benefits, a signifi13 cant portion of imported petroleum continues to be 

14 consumed as fuel in on-road motor vehicles. 

15 (5) Motor vehicles fueled by domestically gen16 erated, cleaner alternative transportation fuels, such 

17 as compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, 

18 propane, electricity, hydrogen, and advanced 

19 biofuels, can pay for themselves over time, but sales 

20 of such vehicles, other than return-to-base vehicles, 

21 have been hampered because of insufficient refueling 

22 infrastructure. 

23 (6) Simultaneous facilitation of infrastructure 

24 development and a robust customer base is needed 

25 to avoid penalizing current users or early adopters. 


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1 (7) Facilitating focused infrastructure develop2 ment along designated routes will foster an expan3 sion of cleaner alternative fuel vehicles and increase 

4 the likelihood for commercial success. 

5 (8) Eliminating the logistical barriers that are 

6 delaying infrastructure development along Clean Ve7 hicle Corridors will— 

8 (A) provide cleaner alternative refueling 

9 stations with a larger customer base; 

10 (B) attract more buyers to the purchase of 

11 clean vehicles; and 

12 (C) provide new market outlets for clean 

13 fuel providers. 

14 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

15 The purposes of this Act are— 

16 (1) to provide market certainty to drive private 

17 and commercial capital investment in clean transpor18 tation options; 

19 (2) to promote clean transportation technologies 

20 that will— 

21 (A) lead to increased diversity and dissemi22 nation of cleaner alternative fuel options; and 

23 (B) enable the United States to bridge the 

24 gap from foreign energy imports to secure, do25 mestically produced energy; and 


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1 (3) to facilitate clean transportation incentives 

2 that will— 

3 (A) attract a critical mass of clean trans4 portation vehicles that will give cleaner alter5 native fueling stations an assured customer 

6 base and market certitude; 

7 (B) provide for ongoing increases in energy 

8 demands; 

9 (C) support the growth of jobs and busi10 nesses in the United States; 

11 (D) reduce pollution by motor vehicles; 

12 (E) decrease our Nation’s use of foreign 

13 oil; and 

14 (F) encourage innovation in transportation 

15 energy and technology. 

16 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) CLEANER ALTERNATIVE FUELS.—The term 

19 ‘‘cleaner alternative fuels’’ includes— 

20 (A) compressed natural gas; 

21 (B) liquefied natural gas; 

22 (C) liquefied petroleum gas (also known as 

23 propane); 

24 (D) plug-in electric; 


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1 (E) advanced biofuels (as defined in sec2 tion 211(o)(1)(B)(i) of the Clean Air Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 7545(o)(1)(B)(i))); 

4 (F) hydrogen; and 

5 (G) other fuels designated by the Sec6 retary. 

7 (2) CLEAN CITIES.—The term ‘‘Clean Cities’’ 

8 means the voluntary public-private partnership and 

9 technology deployment program managed by the De10 partment of Energy to meet goals in the Alternative 

11 Motor Fuels Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–494), the 

12 Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 

13 101–549), and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Pub14 lic Law 102–486). 

15 (3) HIGHWAYS.—The term ‘‘highways’’ is lim16 ited to roadways that are part of— 

17 (A) the National Highway System, as es18 tablished by the Federal Highway Administra19 tion; 

20 (B) the Dwight D. Eisenhower National 

21 System of Interstate and Defense Highways; 

22 (C) the National Truck Network, as au23 thorized by the Surface Transportation Assist24 ance Act of 1982 (Public Law 97–424) and esVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1581.IS S1581

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1 tablished by the Federal Highway Administra2 tion; and 

3 (D) other roadways most critical to trucks 

4 as determined by the Office of Freight Manage5 ment and Operations in the Federal Highway 

6 Administration and authorized by the Moving 

7 Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act 

8 (MAP–21) (Public Law 112–141). 

9 (4) SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

10 ‘‘supporting infrastructure’’ includes fueling or 

11 charging stations, rest stops, travel plazas, and other 

12 service areas on public or private property that are 

13 found to be most practically located along a Clean 

14 Vehicle Corridor. 

15 SEC. 5. CLEAN VEHICLE CORRIDORS PROGRAM. 

16 (a) CORRIDOR DESIGNATIONS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 of Transportation (referred to in this section as the 

20 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall designate not fewer than 5 

21 ‘‘Clean Vehicle Corridors’’ along Federal highways, 

22 interstates, or other contiguous highways. 

23 (2) CONSULTATION.—Before making a designa24 tion under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 


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1 (A) consult with the Secretary of Energy 

2 regarding the analysis of data collected by both 

3 agencies at cleaner alternative fueling projects 

4 authorized by this Act and other Acts to better 

5 understand usage patterns and petroleum dis6 placement to inform Corridor designation; 

7 (B) receive approval from the Secretary of 

8 Energy; 

9 (C) consult with the Secretary of Com10 merce, the Secretary of the Interior, and the 

11 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

12 Agency; 

13 (D) consult with State, tribal, and local 

14 governments through whose jurisdictions the 

15 proposed corridor runs or abuts; 

16 (E) gather information from Federal, 

17 State, tribal, and local governments, nongovern18 mental organizations, businesses, Clean Cities, 

19 and individuals to help determine which high20 ways should be included in the corridors des21 ignated under paragraph (1); 

22 (F) consider existing programs, whether 

23 Federal, State, tribal, local, or private, which 

24 can be leveraged to achieve the purposes of this 

25 Act; 


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1 (G) give preference to corridors that con2 nect Clean Cities, as designated by the Depart3 ment of Energy; and 

4 (H) give consideration to air quality non5 attainment areas, as determined by the Admin6 istration of the Environmental Protection Agen7 cy. 

8 (b) INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FOR CLEANER

9 ALTERNATIVE FUELS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor11 tation shall encourage the addition of cleaner alter12 native fuel options and other supporting infrastruc13 ture along Clean Vehicle Corridors. These refueling 

14 stations should provide at least 1 cleaner alternative 

15 fuel and allow any motor vehicle that operates on 

16 such fuels to refuel at distances comfortably within 

17 vehicle refueling or charging range without the need 

18 for prior arrangement. Existing and private facilities 

19 should be encouraged to be included in the Clean 

20 Vehicle Corridors network. 

21 (2) INCENTIVES.—To promote Clean Vehicle 

22 Corridors, the Secretary may provide waivers to 

23 statutory restrictions for cleaner alternative fuel 

24 projects and vehicles along Clean Vehicle Corridors, 

25 including— 


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1 (A) modifying HOV/HOT lane restrictions 

2 under section 166 of title 23, United States 

3 Code, to accommodate vehicles using cleaner al4 ternative fuels; 

5 (B) modifying weight limits under section 

6 127 of title 23, United States Code, to accom7 modate the additional weight to vehicles caused 

8 by cleaner alternative fuel technology such as 

9 fuel cylinders for natural gas or auxiliary power 

10 sources; 

11 (C) deeming Clean Vehicle Corridor 

12 projects designated under subsection (a) as eli13 gible projects for an increased Federal funding 

14 share under section 1116 of the Moving Ahead 

15 for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP– 

16 21) (Public Law 112–141); 

17 (D) allowing owners and operators of pub18 licly owned supporting infrastructure to des19 ignate parking spaces that are conveniently lo20 cated near major facilities for use by vehicles 

21 that use cleaner alternative fuels; 

22 (E) allowing the inclusion of cleaner alter23 native fueling infrastructure projects in State 

24 energy conservation plans, in accordance with 


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1 section 362(d)(5) of the Energy Policy and 

2 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322(d)(5)); and 

3 (F) giving areas surrounding Clean Cities 

4 a priority preference for Department of Energy 

5 funding opportunities. 

6 (c) INFORMATION AND RESOURCES ON CLEAN VEHI7 CLE CORRIDORS.— 

8 (1) WEBSITE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

10 Transportation shall maintain a publicly acces11 sible website containing information and re12 sources for Clean Vehicle Corridors. 

13 (B) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary, in 

14 consultation with Federal agencies, Tribes, 

15 States, and Clean Cities, shall— 

16 (i) identify best practices and case 

17 studies of communities and complementary 

18 programs that have successfully promoted 

19 cleaner alternative fuel use; and 

20 (ii) post the information described in 

21 clause (i) on the website referred to in sub22 paragraph (A). 

23 (C) AVAILABLE MECHANISMS.—The Sec24 retary shall— 


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1 (i) identify existing technical and fi2 nancial mechanisms available to promote 

3 the development of cleaner alternative fuel 

4 infrastructure; and 

5 (ii) post the information described in 

6 clause (i) on the website referred to in sub7 paragraph (A). 

8 (D) HYPERLINK.—The Secretary shall en9 sure that the website referred to in subpara10 graph (A) is linked to the Alternative Fuels 

11 Data Center maintained by the Department of 

12 Energy. 

13 (2) DATA GATHERING.—The Secretary shall 

14 collaborate with the Secretary of Energy and all rel15 evant Clean Vehicle Corridor stakeholders to collect 

16 data on cleaner alternative fueling station usage pat17 terns, including energy consumption, performance, 

18 petroleum displacement, and other factors deemed 

19 important by the Secretaries to inform Corridor des20 ignation and performance. 

21 (3) INTERSTATE COMPACTS.— 

22 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Two or more con23 tiguous States may enter into an interstate 

24 compact to establish Clean Vehicle Corridor 


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1 partnerships to facilitate planning for and 

2 siting of necessary facilities within those States. 

3 (B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in 

5 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 

6 the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary 

7 of the Interior, and the Administrator of 

8 the Environmental Protection Agency, may 

9 provide technical assistance to interstate 

10 compact partnerships established pursuant 

11 to subparagraph (A). 

12 (ii) FEDERAL AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

13 contained in clause (i) or in any compact 

14 may be construed— 

15 (I) to limit the applicability of 

16 any Federal law; 

17 (II) to diminish or otherwise im18 pair the jurisdiction of any Federal 

19 agency; or 

20 (III) to alter, amend, or other21 wise affect any Federal law governing 

22 the judicial review of any action taken 

23 pursuant to any compact. 

24 (C) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.—Each com25 pact established pursuant to subparagraph (A) 


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1 shall acknowledge that Congress may withdraw 

2 its consent under this paragraph every 3 years 

3 after the compact has taken effect. 

Æ 


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