I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2317 

To promote green transportation infrastructure through research and 

development, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 23, 2011 

Mr. WU (for himself and Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 

and Technology 

A BILL 

To promote green transportation infrastructure through 

research and development, 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 ‘‘Promoting Green 

5 Transportation Infrastructure through Research and De6 velopment Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT. 

8 Section 102(g) of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1) in the matter preceding 

2 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Department’’ and in3 serting ‘‘Research and Innovative Technology Ad4 ministration in the Department’’; 

5 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para6 graph (7); 

7 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol8 lowing new paragraphs: 

9 ‘‘(2) IMPACT REDUCTION RESEARCH ACTIVI10 TIES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office established 

12 under paragraph (1) shall fund or coordinate 

13 research, development, and technology transfer 

14 activities focused on— 

15 ‘‘(i) reducing vehicle miles traveled; 

16 ‘‘(ii) reducing congestion; 

17 ‘‘(iii) reducing construction and main18 tenance-related emissions and energy con19 sumption; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) in coordination with the Envi21 ronmental Protection Agency and the De22 partment of Energy, assessing consumer 

23 acceptance of and infrastructure needs for 

24 alternative fuels and improved vehicle tech25 nology and other strategies to reduce 


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1 greenhouse gas emissions and conserve en2 ergy arising from surface transportation 

3 infrastructure, operation, and use. 

4 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Research activities 

5 shall include the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) Assessments of the impact, cost7 effectiveness, and collateral benefits of 

8 emissions and energy reduction strategies. 

9 ‘‘(ii) The development of technologies, 

10 tools, and techniques to reduce emissions 

11 and energy consumption throughout the 

12 life-cycle of transportation infrastructure. 

13 ‘‘(iii) Congestion reduction and speed 

14 management strategies. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Assessments of the impact of 

16 land use change on surface emissions and 

17 other factors, such as congestion, mobility, 

18 and accessibility, and barriers to land use 

19 change. 

20 ‘‘(v) Infrastructure requirements for 

21 alternative fuels and vehicles. 

22 ‘‘(vi) Traveler behaviors with respect 

23 to mode-choice, response to transportation 

24 pricing scheme, nonmotorized travel, and 

25 other emissions reducing strategies. 


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1 ‘‘(vii) Emissions and energy reduction 

2 strategies for freight transportation, in3 cluding mode shifts, freight infrastructure 

4 projects, and the effects of land use on 

5 freight movement. 

6 ‘‘(3) ADAPTATION.—The Office shall fund or 

7 coordinate research on the impacts of climate change 

8 on surface transportation infrastructure to under9 stand and assess how climate change and variability 

10 may affect transportation operation and infrastruc11 ture. 

12 ‘‘(4) ASSESSMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall as14 sess current and historical surface transpor15 tation infrastructure and fuel demand manage16 ment strategies that have been implemented at 

17 the local, State, and national levels for their so18 cial, economic, and environmental costs and 

19 benefits. 

20 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY.—The results 

21 of such assessments shall be made publicly 

22 available through the Web site of the Research 

23 and Innovative Technology Administration in 

24 the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(5) MODELING.—The Office, in consultation 

2 with the Environmental Protection Agency and other 

3 Federal agencies, shall support the development of 

4 more accurate tools and models for quantifying mo5 bile emissions and evaluating surface transportation 

6 emissions reductions strategies. The tools and mod7 els shall incorporate such factors as— 

8 ‘‘(A) vehicle speed; 

9 ‘‘(B) traffic flow; 

10 ‘‘(C) land use; 

11 ‘‘(D) nonmotorized travel; 

12 ‘‘(E) transit use; 

13 ‘‘(F) traveler behavior; and 

14 ‘‘(G) commercial traffic and freight move15 ment. 

16 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY.—The results of 

17 the research and development carried out under this 

18 subsection shall be made publicly available to na19 tional, State, and local transportation planners and 

20 decisionmakers.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. REGIONAL GREEN TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH 

22 CENTERS. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 55 of 

24 title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

25 section 5505 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 5505A. REGIONAL GREEN TRANSPORTATION RE2 SEARCH CENTERS. 

3 ‘‘(a) GREEN TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

4 RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—The Adminis5 trator of the Research and Innovative Technology Admin6 istration of the Department of Transportation shall make 

7 grants to institutions of higher education or consortia 

8 thereof to establish and operate university transportation 

9 centers to carry out research, development, and technology 

10 transfer activities in the field of green transportation in11 frastructure. 

12 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—The purpose of centers estab13 lished pursuant to this section shall be to— 

14 ‘‘(1) generate innovative and cost-effective ap15 proaches to mitigating environmental impacts 

16 throughout the lifecycle of transportation infrastruc17 ture; 

18 ‘‘(2) develop holistic approaches to integrating 

19 green infrastructure into existing wastewater man20 agement systems; 

21 ‘‘(3) promote adoption of innovative green 

22 transportation infrastructure systems by State and 

23 local governments and the private sector; and 

24 ‘‘(4) manage technology transfer programs to 

25 disseminate information on best management prac26 tices in the area of green transportation infrastrucVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:18 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2317.IH H2317

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1 ture to State and local governments and the private 

2 sector. 

3 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—In order to be eligible to 

5 receive a grant under this section, a nonprofit insti6 tution of higher learning or consortia thereof shall 

7 submit to the Administrator an application that is in 

8 such form and contains such information as the Ad9 ministrator may require. 

10 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL CENTERS.—To the greatest ex11 tent practicable, the Administrator shall ensure that 

12 there is at least one grant recipient from each of the 

13 10 United States Government regions that comprise 

14 the Standard Federal Regional Boundary System. 

15 ‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.—Except as other16 wise provided by this section, the Administrator 

17 shall select each recipient of a grant under this sec18 tion through a merit-reviewed competitive process on 

19 the basis of the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) Demonstrated expertise in transpor21 tation research and environmental impacts of 

22 transportation infrastructure. 

23 ‘‘(B) Demonstrated research capacity and 

24 technology transfer resources. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Existing or proposed partnerships 

2 with State and local governments and private 

3 industry involved in transportation-related con4 struction, environmental impact mitigation, or 

5 other areas related to green transportation in6 frastructure research. 

7 ‘‘(D) Capability to provide leadership in 

8 developing national best management practices, 

9 regional best management practices, or both in 

10 the field of green transportation infrastructure. 

11 ‘‘(E) Expertise in specific regional climate 

12 characteristics which impact the effectiveness of 

13 green transportation infrastructure technologies 

14 and practices. 

15 ‘‘(F) Demonstrated ability to disseminate 

16 results of research and education programs 

17 through a statewide or regionwide continuing 

18 education program. 

19 ‘‘(G) The strategic plan the recipient pro20 poses to carry out under the grant. 

21 ‘‘(d) ACTIVITIES.—The types of activities the Admin22 istrator may support under this section include the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(1) Research and development of innovative 

25 technologies, construction techniques, or best manVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:18 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2317.IH H2317

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1 agement processes that mitigate the environmental 

2 impact of transportation infrastructure, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) assessments of the life-cycle environ4 mental impact of local existing or planned 

5 transportation infrastructure; 

6 ‘‘(B) integration of green transportation 

7 infrastructure elements into existing transpor8 tation or waste management systems; and 

9 ‘‘(C) research, development, testing, and 

10 evaluation of new technologies or best manage11 ment practices. 

12 ‘‘(2) Establishment and operation of a regional 

13 technology transfer program to disseminate informa14 tion on new technologies and best management prac15 tices to State and local governments, institutions of 

16 higher education, and private industry in the region. 

17 ‘‘(3) Study of the impact of State, local, and 

18 Federal regulations on the implementation of green 

19 transportation infrastructure technologies and prac20 tices. These studies shall include collaboration with 

21 appropriate Federal agencies to evaluate the effect 

22 of and possible changes to Federal and State regula23 tions that impede implementation of green transpor24 tation infrastructure. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Public education efforts to raise awareness 

2 of green transportation infrastructure technologies, 

3 including activities to raise awareness and foster col4 laboration among regional governments, private in5 dustry, and other public and private stakeholders. 

6 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL MEETING.—The Administrator shall 

7 convene an annual meeting of the Centers established pur8 suant to this section in order to foster collaboration and 

9 communication among Center participants and dissemi10 nate best management practices. 

11 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘green 

12 transportation infrastructure’ includes infrastructure 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(1) preserves and restores natural processes, 

15 landforms (such as flood plains), natural vegetated 

16 streamside buffers, wetlands, or other topographical 

17 features that can slow, filter, and naturally store 

18 stormwater runoff and floodwaters for future water 

19 supply and recharge of natural aquifers; 

20 ‘‘(2) utilizes natural design techniques that in21 filtrate, filter, store, evaporate, and detain water 

22 close to its source; 

23 ‘‘(3) minimizes the use of impervious surfaces 

24 in order to slow or infiltrate precipitation; 


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1 ‘‘(4) minimizes life-cycle energy consumption, 

2 including during construction, maintenance, use by 

3 vehicles, and destruction and recycling; and 

4 ‘‘(5) minimizes life-cycle air pollution.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec6 tions for such subchapter is amended by inserting after 

7 the item relating to section 5505 the following new item: 

‘‘5505A. Regional Green Transportation Research Centers.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. PAVEMENT RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, 

9 AND EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Re11 search and Innovative Technology Administration of the 

12 Department of Transportation shall, in consultation with 

13 appropriate Department modal agencies, establish a pave14 ment research, deployment, and education program (in 

15 this section referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program shall be 

17 to— 

18 (1) address the need to advance pavement re19 search; and 

20 (2) coordinate technology transfer efforts re21 lated to paving materials. 

22 (c) FUNCTION.—The Program, in coordination with 

23 Department modal agencies, shall provide funding to uni24 versity transportation centers established under section 

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1 tions of higher education to conduct research, develop2 ment, and technology transfer activities about paving ma3 terials and practices. 

4 (d) ACTIVITIES.—Activities carried out by the Pro5 gram shall include— 

6 (1) research and development of innovative 

7 technologies and techniques to reduce the cost and 

8 environmental impact of paving materials and prac9 tices, including research on— 

10 (A) paving materials with improved dura11 bility; 

12 (B) methods that decrease the energy use 

13 in, and emissions resulting from, paving prac14 tices; 

15 (C) paving materials that decrease environ16 mental impact; 

17 (D) methods to decrease the overall life18 cycle cost of paving materials and practices; 

19 (E) construction techniques to increase 

20 safety and reduce construction time and traffic 

21 disruption and congestion; 

22 (F) pavement evaluation technologies and 

23 techniques; and 

24 (G) paving materials utilizing more recy25 cled and locally available natural material; 


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1 (2) effective technology transfer, including ef2 forts on— 

3 (A) identifying and addressing barriers to 

4 implementation for developed paving materials 

5 and practices; and 

6 (B) addressing the data needs of stake7 holders by developing independent studies and 

8 assessments on topics, including— 

9 (i) durability of paving technologies; 

10 (ii) emissions from construction prac11 tices; 

12 (iii) life-cycle cost-effectiveness of pav13 ing materials and strategies; and 

14 (iv) environmental impact of paving 

15 technologies; and 

16 (3) establishing grants to institutions of higher 

17 education to develop training and education pro18 grams for workforce professionals in the areas of 

19 paving materials and practices. 

20 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

22 a report to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech23 nology and the Committee on Transportation and Infra24 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com25 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 


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1 Senate on the results of the long-term pavement perform2 ance program and how the Department intends to orga3 nize, maintain, and utilize the database. 

Æ 


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