23 USC 176 – Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) program
(a)
(1)
(A) an emergency declared by the Governor of the State in which the disaster or failure occurred; or
(B) an emergency or disaster declared by the President.
(2)
(A) is owned, operated, or maintained by a Federal, State, Tribal, or local government;
(B) is used—
(i) to transport the public away from emergency events; or
(ii) to transport emergency responders and recovery resources; and
(C) is designated by the eligible entity with jurisdiction over the area in which the route is located for the purposes described in subparagraph (B).
(3)
(4)
(A) that allow a project—
(i) to better anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to changing conditions and to withstand and respond to disruptions; and
(ii) to be better able to continue to serve the primary function of the project during and after weather events and natural disasters for the expected life of the project; or
(B) that—
(i) reduce the magnitude and duration of impacts of current and future weather events and natural disasters to a project; or
(ii) have the absorptive capacity, adaptive capacity, and recoverability to decrease project vulnerability to current and future weather events or natural disasters.
Terms Used In 23 USC 176
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
(b)
(1)
(2)
(A) formula funding distributed to States to carry out subsection (c);
(B) competitive planning grants to enable communities to assess vulnerabilities to current and future weather events and natural disasters and changing conditions, including sea level rise, and plan transportation improvements and emergency response strategies to address those vulnerabilities; and
(C) competitive resilience improvement grants to protect—
(i) surface transportation assets by making the assets more resilient to current and future weather events and natural disasters, such as severe storms, flooding, drought, levee and dam failures, wildfire, rockslides, mudslides, sea level rise, extreme weather, including extreme temperature, and earthquakes;
(ii) communities through resilience improvements and strategies that allow for the continued operation or rapid recovery of surface transportation systems that—
(I) serve critical local, regional, and national needs, including evacuation routes; and
(II) provide access or service to hospitals and other medical or emergency service facilities, major employers, critical manufacturing centers, ports and intermodal facilities, utilities, and Federal facilities;
(iii) coastal infrastructure, such as a tide gate to protect highways, that is at long-term risk to sea level rise; and
(iv) natural infrastructure that protects and enhances surface transportation assets while improving ecosystem conditions, including culverts that ensure adequate flows in rivers and estuarine systems.
(c)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(A)
(i) identify the base floodplain in which the project is to be located and disclose that information to the Secretary; and
(ii) indicate to the Secretary whether the State plans to implement 1 or more components of the risk mitigation plan under section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165) with respect to the area.
(B)
(i) a highway project eligible for assistance under this title;
(ii) a public transportation facility or service eligible for assistance under chapter 53 of title 49; or
(iii) a port facility, including a facility that—
(I) connects a port to other modes of transportation;
(II) improves the efficiency of evacuations and disaster relief; or
(III) aids transportation.
(C)
(i) increasing marsh health and total area adjacent to a highway right-of-way to promote additional flood storage;
(ii) upgrades to and installation of culverts designed to withstand 100-year flood events;
(iii) upgrades to and installation of tide gates to protect highways;
(iv) upgrades to and installation of flood gates to protect tunnel entrances; and
(v) improving functionality and resiliency of stormwater controls, including inventory inspections, upgrades to, and preservation of best management practices to protect surface transportation infrastructure.
(D)
(i)
(ii)
(E)
(i)
(I) development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction activities; and
(II) construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of real property (including land related to the project and improvements to land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, acquisition of equipment directly related to improving system performance, and operational improvements.
(ii)
(F)
(i) may use not more than 40 percent of the amounts apportioned to the State under section 104(b)(8) for the construction of new capacity; and
(ii) may use not more than 10 percent of the amounts apportioned to the State under section 104(b)(8) for activities described in subparagraph (E)(i)(I).
(d)
(1)
(2)
(A) A State or political subdivision of a State.
(B) A metropolitan planning organization.
(C) A unit of local government.
(D) A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority.
(E) An Indian tribe (as defined in section 207(m)(1)).
(F) A Federal land management agency that applies jointly with a State or group of States.
(G) A multi-State or multijurisdictional group of entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (F).
(3)
(A) in the case of a State or metropolitan planning organization, developing a resilience improvement plan under subsection (e)(2);
(B) resilience planning, predesign, design, or the development of data tools to simulate transportation disruption scenarios, including vulnerability assessments;
(C) technical capacity building by the eligible entity to facilitate the ability of the eligible entity to assess the vulnerabilities of the surface transportation assets and community response strategies of the eligible entity under current conditions and a range of potential future conditions; or
(D) evacuation planning and preparation.
(4)
(A)
(i)
(ii)
(I)
(II)
(aa) resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation, reconstruction, replacement, improvement, or realignment of an existing surface transportation facility eligible for assistance under this title;
(bb) the incorporation of natural infrastructure;
(cc) the upgrade of an existing surface transportation facility to meet or exceed a design standard adopted by the Federal Highway Administration;
(dd) the installation of mitigation measures that prevent the intrusion of floodwaters into surface transportation systems;
(ee) strengthening systems that remove rainwater from surface transportation facilities;
(ff) upgrades to and installation of structural stormwater controls;
(gg) a resilience project that addresses identified vulnerabilities described in the resilience improvement plan of the eligible entity, if applicable;
(hh) relocating roadways in a base floodplain to higher ground above projected flood elevation levels, or away from slide prone areas;
(ii) stabilizing slide areas or slopes;
(jj) installing riprap;
(kk) lengthening or raising bridges to increase waterway openings, including to respond to extreme weather;
(ll) increasing the size or number of drainage structures;
(mm) installing seismic retrofits on bridges;
(nn) adding scour protection at bridges;
(oo) adding scour, stream stability, coastal, and other hydraulic countermeasures, including spur dikes;
(pp) vegetation management practices in transportation rights-of-way to improve roadway safety, prevent against invasive species, facilitate wildfire control, and provide erosion control; and
(qq) any other protective features, including natural infrastructure, as determined by the Secretary.
(iii)
(I) the Secretary determines—
(aa) the benefits of the eligible activity proposed to be carried out by the eligible entity exceed the costs of the activity; and
(bb) there is a need to address the vulnerabilities of surface transportation assets of the eligible entity with a high risk of, and impacts associated with, failure due to the impacts of weather events, natural disasters, or changing conditions, such as sea level rise, wildfires, and increased flood risk; or
(II) the eligible activity proposed to be carried out by the eligible entity is included in the applicable resilience improvement plan under subsection (e)(2).
(B)
(i)
(ii)
(I) is an eligible activity under subparagraph (A)(ii), if that eligible activity will improve an evacuation route;
(II) ensures the ability of the evacuation route to provide safe passage during an evacuation and reduces the risk of damage to evacuation routes as a result of future emergency events, including restoring or replacing existing evacuation routes that are in poor condition or not designed to meet the anticipated demand during an emergency event, and including steps to protect routes from mud, rock, or other debris slides;
(III) if the eligible entity notifies the Secretary that existing evacuation routes are not sufficient to adequately facilitate evacuations, including the transportation of emergency responders and recovery resources, expands the capacity of evacuation routes to swiftly and safely accommodate evacuations, including installation of—
(aa) communications and intelligent transportation system equipment and infrastructure;
(bb) counterflow measures; or
(cc) shoulders;
(IV) is for the construction of new or redundant evacuation routes, if the eligible entity notifies the Secretary that existing evacuation routes are not sufficient to adequately facilitate evacuations, including the transportation of emergency responders and recovery resources;
(V) is for the acquisition of evacuation route or traffic incident management equipment or signage; or
(VI) will ensure access or service to critical destinations, including hospitals and other medical or emergency service facilities, major employers, critical manufacturing centers, ports and intermodal facilities, utilities, and Federal facilities.
(iii)
(I) current and future vulnerabilities to an evacuation route due to future occurrence or recurrence of emergency events that are likely to occur in the geographic area in which the evacuation route is located; and
(II) projected changes in development patterns, demographics, and extreme weather events based on the best available evidence and analysis.
(iv)
(C)
(i)
(I) A State (including the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) in, or bordering on, the Atlantic, Pacific, or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Long Island Sound, or 1 or more of the Great Lakes.
(II) A political subdivision of a State described in subclause (I).
(III) A metropolitan planning organization in a State described in subclause (I).
(IV) A unit of local government in a State described in subclause (I).
(V) A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority, in a State described in subclause (I).
(VI) An Indian tribe in a State described in subclause (I).
(VII) A Federal land management agency that applies jointly with a State or group of States described in subclause (I).
(VIII) A multi-State or multijurisdictional group of entities described in subclauses (I) through (VII).
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(I) that addresses the risks from a current or future weather event or natural disaster, including coastal flooding, coastal erosion, wave action, storm surge, or sea level change; and
(II) that reduces long-term infrastructure costs by avoiding larger future maintenance or rebuilding costs.
(v)
(I) access to coastal homes, businesses, communities, and other critical infrastructure, including access by first responders and other emergency personnel; or
(II) access to a designated evacuation route.
(5)
(A)
(B)
(i)
(ii)
(I) as part of the application, identify the floodplain in which the project is to be located and disclose that information to the Secretary; and
(II) indicate in the application whether, if selected, the eligible entity will implement 1 or more components of the risk mitigation plan under section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165) with respect to the area.
(C)
(i) a highway project eligible for assistance under this title;
(ii) a public transportation facility or service eligible for assistance under chapter 53 of title 49;
(iii) a facility or service for intercity rail passenger transportation (as defined in section 24102 of title 49); or
(iv) a port facility, including a facility that—
(I) connects a port to other modes of transportation;
(II) improves the efficiency of evacuations and disaster relief; or
(III) aids transportation.
(D)
(i) increasing marsh health and total area adjacent to a highway right-of-way to promote additional flood storage;
(ii) upgrades to and installing of culverts designed to withstand 100-year flood events;
(iii) upgrades to and installation of tide gates to protect highways; and
(iv) upgrades to and installation of flood gates to protect tunnel entrances.
(E)
(i)
(ii)
(I)
(II)
(iii)
(F)
(i)
(I) development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction activities; and
(II) construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of real property (including land related to the project and improvements to land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, acquisition of equipment directly related to improving system performance, and operational improvements.
(ii)
(G)
(i)
(I) may use not more than 40 percent of the amount of the grant for the construction of new capacity; and
(II) may use not more than 10 percent of the amount of the grant for activities described in subparagraph (F)(i)(I).
(ii)
(H)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(6)
(A) consult with the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Commerce; and
(B) solicit technical support from the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(7)
(A) retain not more than a total of 5 percent of the funds made available to carry out this subsection and to review applications for grants under this subsection; and
(B) transfer portions of the funds retained under subparagraph (A) to the relevant Administrators to fund the award and oversight of grants provided under this subsection.
(e)
(1)
(A)
(B)
(i)
(I) in the case of a State or an eligible entity that is a State or a metropolitan planning organization, the State or eligible entity has—
(aa) developed a resilience improvement plan in accordance with this subsection; and
(bb) prioritized the project on that resilience improvement plan; and
(II) in the case of an eligible entity not described in subclause (I), the eligible entity is located in a State or an area served by a metropolitan planning organization that has—
(aa) developed a resilience improvement plan in accordance with this subsection; and
(bb) prioritized the project on that resilience improvement plan.
(ii)
(I) in the case of a State or an eligible entity that is a State or a metropolitan planning organization, the resilience improvement plan developed in accordance with this subsection has been incorporated into the metropolitan transportation plan under section 134 or the long-range statewide transportation plan under section 135, as applicable; and
(II) in the case of an eligible entity not described in subclause (I), the eligible entity is located in a State or an area served by a metropolitan planning organization that incorporated a resilience improvement plan into the metropolitan transportation plan under section 134 or the long-range statewide transportation plan under section 135, as applicable.
(iii)
(I)
(II)
(2)
(A) shall be for the immediate and long-range planning activities and investments of the State or metropolitan planning organization with respect to resilience of the surface transportation system within the boundaries of the State or metropolitan planning organization, as applicable;
(B) shall demonstrate a systemic approach to surface transportation system resilience and be consistent with and complementary of the State and local mitigation plans required under section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165);
(C) shall include a risk-based assessment of vulnerabilities of transportation assets and systems to current and future weather events and natural disasters, such as severe storms, flooding, drought, levee and dam failures, wildfire, rockslides, mudslides, sea level rise, extreme weather, including extreme temperatures, and earthquakes;
(D) may—
(i) designate evacuation routes and strategies, including multimodal facilities, designated with consideration for individuals without access to personal vehicles;
(ii) plan for response to anticipated emergencies, including plans for the mobility of—
(I) emergency response personnel and equipment; and
(II) access to emergency services, including for vulnerable or disadvantaged populations;
(iii) describe the resilience improvement policies, including strategies, land-use and zoning changes, investments in natural infrastructure, or performance measures that will inform the transportation investment decisions of the State or metropolitan planning organization with the goal of increasing resilience;
(iv) include an investment plan that—
(I) includes a list of priority projects; and
(II) describes how funds apportioned to the State under section 104(b)(8) or provided by a grant under the program would be invested and matched, which shall not be subject to fiscal constraint requirements; and
(v) use science and data and indicate the source of data and methodologies; and
(E) shall, as appropriate—
(i) include a description of how the plan will improve the ability of the State or metropolitan planning organization—
(I) to respond promptly to the impacts of weather events and natural disasters; and
(II) to be prepared for changing conditions, such as sea level rise and increased flood risk;
(ii) describe the codes, standards, and regulatory framework, if any, adopted and enforced to ensure resilience improvements within the impacted area of proposed projects included in the resilience improvement plan;
(iii) consider the benefits of combining hard surface transportation assets, and natural infrastructure, through coordinated efforts by the Federal Government and the States;
(iv) assess the resilience of other community assets, including buildings and housing, emergency management assets, and energy, water, and communication infrastructure;
(v) use a long-term planning period; and
(vi) include such other information as the State or metropolitan planning organization considers appropriate.
(3)
(f)
(1)
(A) establish, for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness and impacts of projects carried out with a grant under subsection (d)—
(i) subject to paragraph (2), transportation and any other metrics as the Secretary determines to be necessary; and
(ii) procedures for monitoring and evaluating projects based on those metrics; and
(B) select a representative sample of projects to evaluate based on the metrics and procedures established under subparagraph (A).
(2)
(A) publish the proposed metrics in the Federal Register; and
(B) provide to the public an opportunity for comment on the proposed metrics.
(g)
(1)
(2)
(A)
(i) each project for which a grant was provided under subsection (d);
(ii) information relating to project applications received;
(iii) the manner in which the consultation requirements were implemented under subsection (d);
(iv) recommendations to improve the administration of subsection (d), including whether assistance from additional or fewer agencies to carry out the program is appropriate;
(v) the period required to disburse grant funds to eligible entities based on applicable Federal coordination requirements; and
(vi) a list of facilities that repeatedly require repair or reconstruction due to emergency events.
(B)
(h)