Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.7534 | Sponsor: Rep. Gallego, Ruben (D-AZ)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2022
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a grant program for state, tribal and local governments; metropolitan planning organizations; and certain nonprofits (or consortia of nonprofits) to carry out activities to mitigate heat in urban areas. HUD must coordinate with the Environmental Protection Agency on the program.

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish 
 an excess urban heat mitigation grant program, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Heat stress is a leading weather-related cause of death 
        in the United States, with over 600 people killed in the United 
        States by extreme heat every year, and many more experiencing 
        respiratory problems and heat-related illness.
            (2) Urban areas are likely to experience higher 
        temperatures than surrounding areas due to manmade factors such 
        as low solar reflectance, low tree cover, high building 
        density, high impervious surface cover, and waste heat 
        emissions.
            (3) Underserved communities are disproportionately impacted 
        by extreme heat. In the United States, low-income census blocks 
        have 15.2 percent less tree cover and an average land surface 
        temperature that is 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than high-income 
        blocks.
            (4) Studies show that in 97 percent of the largest 
        urbanized areas in the United States, people of color live in 
        census tracts with higher surface urban heat island intensity 
        than non-Hispanic Whites, indicating that heat exposure is 
        unequally distributed by race.
            (5) Urban heat is not only a public health threat but an 
        economic one, as rising heat leads to increased roadway 
        maintenance costs, higher residential and commercial summer 
        energy costs, and lost labor productivity, as well as the cost 
        to patients and health care infrastructure for heat-related 
        hospitalizations and emergency department visits.
            (6) Excess urban heat causes increased energy consumption, 
        elevated emission of air pollutants and greenhouse gasses, and 
        impaired water quality.
            (7) Heat waves are expected not only to occur more 
        frequently in the United States but will also be of longer 
        duration, lasting 10 to 20 days longer by the end of the 
        century.
            (8) Solutions exist that communities can implement now to 
        mitigate the challenge of urban heat. One example is the 
        planting of urban trees to offset or reverse the urban heat 
        island effect. Studies in multiple United States cities have 
        shown that urban trees can offset projected increases in heat-
        related mortality in 2050 by 40 to 99 percent.

SEC. 3. URBAN HEAT MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in 
coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, establish an urban heat mitigation grant program to provide 
amounts to eligible entities for use in association with eligible 
projects.
    (b) Eligible Project.--Eligible projects in this grant program are 
those designed to mitigate heat in urban areas, either by working to 
combat the causes of higher temperatures, or mitigating the impacts 
thereof. These may include--
            (1) cool pavements;
            (2) cool roofs;
            (3) tree planting and maintenance with, wherever possible, 
        preference for--
                    (A) native tree species; and
                    (B) tree species with high shade production and 
                carbon sequestration;
            (4) green roofs;
            (5) bus stop shelters;
            (6) shade structures;
            (7) cooling centers with, wherever possible, preference 
        for--
                    (A) cooling centers that collaborate with existing 
                community centers and spaces;
                    (B) cooling centers with year-round accessibility, 
                and
                    (C) cooling centers that incorporate holistic 
                resilience hubs and community efforts;
            (8) outreach to communities about resources available under 
        this section; and
            (9) local heat mitigation education efforts.
    (c) Set-Aside.--Not less than 50 percent of the amount of financial 
assistance provided under this Act in any fiscal year shall be provided 
to eligible entities to implement projects in low-income communities 
and Environmental Justice communities as defined in this Act.
    (d) Technical Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Not more than 3 percent of any amounts 
        appropriated under this Act may be used to provide technical 
        assistance to eligible entities applying for assistance under 
        this Act.
            (2) Preference.--Technical assistance shall be provided 
        with a preference for eligible entities applying with an intent 
        to serve Environmental Justice communities.
            (3) Inclusions.--Technical assistance may include--
                    (A) assistance developing a complete application;
                    (B) financial analysis and budget development;
                    (C) support for project integration;
                    (D) assessment of project readiness; and
                    (E) implementation of technical assistance 
                activities once a grant is received.
    (e) Application.--To be considered for a grant under this Act, an 
eligible entity shall submit an application at such time and in such 
manner as required by the Secretary in guidance issued not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and including--
            (1) how the entity will use grant funds;
            (2) how the eligible projects funded would combat extreme 
        heat or excess urban heat effects and improve quality of life 
        for impacted communities;
            (3) a robust engagement plan that outlines how the entity 
        will meaningfully engage with the communities in which their 
        eligible projects take place throughout project implementation. 
        Such plan should demonstrate how the entity plans to--
                    (A) foster meaningful, reciprocal relationships 
                with community-based organizations;
                    (B) engage in respectful, good-faith consultation 
                with diverse community stakeholders; and
                    (C) empower members of the community to participate 
                in decision making; and
            (4) how the entity will address the intersection between 
        human health, environment, and built environment.
    (f) Matching Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (2), 
        the Federal share of the cost of an eligible project carried 
        out with amounts from the urban heat mitigation grant program 
        shall be 80 percent.
            (2) Waiver.--The Secretary may increase the Federal share 
        requirement described in paragraph (1) from 80 percent to 100 
        percent for projects carried out by an eligible entity that 
        demonstrates economic hardship, as determined by the Secretary.
    (g) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 
shall give priority to applicants that are low-income communities and 
Environmental Justice communities.
    (h) Reporting Requirement.--The Secretary shall, each year, submit 
a report to the Congress that identifies what eligible entities have 
received grants under this Act and the geographic and economic 
distribution of such entities.
    (i) Oversight.--
            (1) In general.--In order to ensure the effectiveness of 
        projects that receive grants under this Act, the Secretary 
        shall use not more than 5 percent of any amounts appropriated 
        under this Act to establish an oversight board to help select 
        grant recipients and review the progress made by grantees on a 
        yearly basis.
            (2) Evaluation.--The board established pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall develop and apply a rubric to evaluate how 
        well grant projects are doing in reaching their objective to 
        combat the causes and effects of excess urban heat, and will 
        serve in an advisory capacity to the Secretary.
            (3) Membership.--Members of the board established pursuant 
        to paragraph (1) may include the following:
                    (A) Representatives from the Environmental 
                Protection Agency, particularly from the Heat Island 
                Reduction Program.
                    (B) Representatives from the Department of Health 
                and Human Services, particularly from the Office of 
                Climate Change and Health Equity.
                    (C) Representatives from the Department of Energy, 
                particularly from the Office of Energy Efficiency and 
                Renewable Energy.
                    (D) Representatives from nonprofits with proven 
                leadership in urban heat mitigation or environmental 
                justice, as determined by the Secretary. Such 
                representatives will have to certify that they do not 
                have a direct or financial stake in any projects being 
                considered that are administered under this grant 
                program.
                    (E) Representatives from academia and research 
                studying the effects of and mitigation of excess urban 
                heat, environmental justice, or related areas. Such 
                representatives will have to certify that they do not 
                have a direct or financial stake in any projects being 
                considered that are administered under this grant 
                program.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act, $30,000,000 in fiscal years 2023, 
2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a State;
                    (B) a metropolitan planning organization;
                    (C) a unit of local government;
                    (D) a Tribal government;
                    (E) a nonprofit organization working in 
                coordination with an entity in this list; and
                    (F) a consortium of nonprofit organizations.
            (2) Environmental justice.--The term ``environmental 
        justice'' means the fair treatment and meaningful involvement 
        of all people regardless of race, color, culture, national 
        origin, income, and educational levels with respect to the 
        development, implementation, and enforcement of protective 
        environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
            (3) Environmental justice communities.--The term 
        ``environmental justice communities'' means minority, low-
        income, tribal, or indigenous populations or geographic 
        locations in the United States that potentially experience 
        disproportionate environmental harms and risks. This 
        disproportionality can be as a result of greater vulnerability 
        to environmental hazards, lack of opportunity for public 
        participation, or other factors. Increased vulnerability may be 
        attributable to an accumulation of negative or lack of positive 
        environmental, health, economic, or social conditions within 
        these populations or places. The term describes situations 
        where multiple factors, including both environmental and socio-
        economic stressors, may act cumulatively to affect health and 
        the environment and contribute to persistent environmental 
        health disparities.
            (4) Excess urban heat effect.--The term ``excess urban heat 
        effect'' refers to the phenomenon of local urban warming, 
        resulting from manmade factors such as low solar reflectance, 
        low tree cover, high building density, high impervious surface 
        cover, and waste heat emissions.
            (5) Extreme heat.--The term ``extreme heat'' means a 
        prolonged period of excessively hot weather, with temperatures 
        well above climatological normals for a given location and 
        season.
            (6) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
        organization'' has the meaning given in section 501(c)(3) of 
        title 26, United States Code, and exempt from taxation under 
        section 501(a) of such title.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
            (8) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101(a) of title 23, United States Code.
            (9) Tribal government.--The term ``Tribal government'' 
        means the recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska 
        Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 
        component band, or component reservation, individually 
        identified (including parenthetically) in the list published 
        most recently as of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant 
        to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List 
        Act of 1994.
            (10) Urban areas.--The term ``urban areas'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 101(a)(33) of title 23, United States 
        Code.
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