108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1168
To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a program to
increase the use of recyclable material in the construction of Federal-aid
highways.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 3, 2003
Mr. BINGAMAN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
A BILL
To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a program to
increase the use of recyclable material in the construction of Federal-aid
highways.
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 `Recycled Roads Act of 2003'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(1) in 2000, there were more than 3,951,000 miles of highways in the United
States;
(2) in the early 1990s, as much as 350,000,000 tons of raw and recyclable
material were used annually for highway construction, rehabilitation, and
maintenance;
(3) in 2002, the Federal Government provided $26,348,000,000, or more than
34 percent of funding, for highways in the United States;
(4) at least 45 States recycle a total of 73,000,000 tons of reclaimed asphalt
pavement annually, the use of which results in an annual savings of approximately
$300,000,000 as compared with the cost of using raw material;
(5) in 2002, the Federal Highway Administration issued a policy encouraging
States to use recycled material in highway construction because recycling
and reuse can offer engineering, economic, and environmental benefits;
(6) greater incorporation of recyclable material in highway construction
would--
(A) provide a significant new national market for the use of recyclable
material;
(B) create new markets and incentives for recycling in small communities;
(C) conserve raw material; and
(D) reduce the quantities of waste deposited in landfills in the United
States (which would produce an additional savings for the Federal Government
and State governments); and
(7) the increased use of recyclable material in highway construction could--
(A) provide additional opportunities for rural economic development; and
(B) encourage expanded use of biomass products.
SEC. 3. USE OF RECYCLABLE MATERIAL IN FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION.
(a) IN GENERAL- Subchapter I of chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code,
is amended by inserting after section 138 the following:
`Sec. 139. Use of recyclable material in Federal-aid highway construction
`(a) DEFINITION OF RECYCLABLE MATERIAL- In this section:
`(1) IN GENERAL- The term `recyclable material' means any material described
in paragraph (2) that is determined by the Secretary, in consultation with
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency--
`(A) to be recyclable and usable in construction of a Federal-aid highway;
and
`(B) to have undergone a recycling process to prepare the material for
further use.
`(2) MATERIALS- The materials referred to in paragraph (1) are--
`(C) a used tire or tire product;
`(F) any other suitable material that does not contain a total concentration
of any toxic constituent that poses a risk to human health or the environment--
`(i) during preconstruction activity, including storage, transportation,
or preparation of the material for use in road construction;
`(ii) during the useful life of the road; or
`(iii) after the useful life of the road, including subsequent recycling,
reuse, or disposal of components of or debris from the road.
`(1) ESTABLISHMENT- The Secretary shall establish a recycled roads incentive
grant program to encourage the expanded use by States and Indian tribes
of a diverse range of recyclable material in the construction of Federal-aid
highways.
`(2) GRANTS- In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall provide to
each State or qualified (as determined by the Secretary) Indian tribe--
`(A) a grant, in an amount not to exceed $125,000 for a fiscal year, to
be used by the State or Indian tribe in employing a coordinator to promote
the use of a diverse range of recyclable material in Federal-aid highway
construction; and
`(B) a grant, on a competitive basis, in an amount not to exceed $1,400,000
for a fiscal year, to be used by the State or Indian tribe in carrying
out projects and activities to promote the expanded use of a diverse range
of recyclable material in Federal-aid highway construction and maintenance,
such as projects and activities to--
`(i) eliminate economic barriers;
`(iii) provide outreach, training, or technical assistance; or
`(iv) collect program and performance data.
`(A) REDISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS- If funds made available for use in providing
grants under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) for a fiscal year
remain after the Secretary has provided grants under the subparagraph
for the fiscal year, the Secretary--
`(i) may use the remaining funds to provide additional grants under
that paragraph for the fiscal year; but
`(ii) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, shall not use
the funds to provide grants or assistance under any other program under
this title.
`(B) TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION- In providing a grant
to a State or Indian tribe under paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary shall
encourage cooperation between transportation and environmental programs
carried out by the State or Indian tribe.
`(C) EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES- To the maximum extent
practicable, the Secretary shall treat an Indian tribe as a State for
the purpose of a grant provided under paragraph (2).
`(4) STATE AND TRIBAL REPORTS- For the fiscal year in which the program
under this section is implemented and each fiscal year thereafter, each
State and Indian tribe that receives a grant under paragraph (2) shall--
`(A) collect a sampling of data pertaining to the use by the State or
Indian tribe, during the fiscal year covered by the report, of recyclable
material in the projects for construction of Federal-aid highways in the
State or on land under the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe that are carried
out under this section or any other provision of this title using at least
$1,000,000 in Federal funds, including a description of--
`(i) each type of recyclable material used;
`(ii) the quantity of each recyclable material used; and
`(iii) the proportion that--
`(I) the quantity of each recyclable material used; bears to
`(II) the quantity of all recyclable material and raw material used;
and
`(B) submit to the Secretary a report describing those data.
`(5) QUALITY CONTROL- The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent
practicable, that data provided by a State or Indian tribe under paragraph
(4) is of a sufficient quality and range to permit the Secretary to assess
national accomplishments involving the use of recyclable material.
`(1) INITIAL REPORT- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment
of the Recycled Roads Act of 2003, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report on the program to be carried out under this
section that includes--
`(A) an overview of program requirements;
`(B) an analysis of any significant issues relating to the program; and
`(C) a proposed timeline for implementation of the program.
`(2) ANNUAL REPORTS- Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of the Recycled Roads Act of 2003, and annually thereafter on the date of
issuance of the annual program performance report under section 1116 of
title 31, United States Code, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report on the program under this section, including,
for each recyclable material used in the construction of a Federal-aid highway
during the period covered by the report, the information described in subsection
(b)(4).
`(d) REGULATIONS- The Secretary shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary
to carry out this section.
`(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated
from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account)--
`(1) $10,125,000 for use in providing grants under subsection (b)(2)(A)
for each fiscal year; and
`(2) $113,400,000 for use in providing grants under subsection (b)(2)(B)
for each fiscal year.'.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The analysis for subchapter I of chapter 1 of title
23, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 138 the following:
`139. Use of recyclable material in Federal-aid highway construction.'.
END
