[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4884 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4884
To require the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the
Secretary of Agriculture, to establish a joint natural infrastructure
science program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 19, 2022
Ms. Hirono introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the
Secretary of Agriculture, to establish a joint natural infrastructure
science 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 ``Natural Infrastructure Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the American Society of Civil Engineers has estimated
that the direct, cumulative repair needs for public
infrastructure in the United States is $4,600,000,000,000; and
(2) installing natural infrastructure is often lower-cost,
more resilient, and more beneficial to the public than
repairing or replacing gray infrastructure.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Natural infrastructure.--The term ``natural
infrastructure'' means constructed landscape features and
systems that employ nature-based solutions that promote, use,
restore, or emulate natural ecological processes.
(2) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the joint natural
infrastructure science program established under section 4(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United
States Geological Survey.
SEC. 4. JOINT NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE SCIENCE PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest
Service, shall establish a joint natural infrastructure science program
to respond to the emerging research needs of civil engineers, local
governments, developers, and the construction industry.
(b) Coordination.--In administering the Program, the Secretary
shall work closely with research programs at institutions of higher
education to supplement the current research efforts undertaken by
those institutions of higher education.
(c) Purposes.--The principal purposes of the Program shall be--
(1) to provide, with respect to natural infrastructure,
practical research that--
(A) is responsive to the needs of civil engineers,
local governments, developers, and the construction
industry; and
(B) takes into account, to the maximum extent
practicable, local cultural considerations;
(2) to engage with and listen to clients of the Program,
including civil engineers, local governments, developers, and
the members of the construction industry--
(A) to learn the needs of those clients; and
(B) to develop focused, strategic lines of new
research responsive to those needs;
(3)(A) to solicit proposals from scientists for funding
provided under the Program; and
(B) to award funding to those scientists through a
competitive, rigorous peer-review process that is designed to
ensure that the best projects are funded; and
(4) to disseminate research findings, including associated
environmental valuations, using a suite of communication tools
to ensure that civil engineers, local governments, developers,
and members of the construction industry are aware of,
understand, and can use the information to make sound decisions
and implement projects.
(d) Program Plan.--Not later than September 30, 2023, the Secretary
shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives a Program plan that includes--
(1) an assessment of the current state of knowledge about
natural infrastructure;
(2) an integrated approach to improve knowledge sharing;
(3) an approach for project monitoring and evaluation; and
(4) an approach for setting research priorities.
(e) Stakeholder Advisory Group.--
(1) Membership.--The Secretary shall establish a
stakeholder advisory group consisting of technical experts,
including, at a minimum, 5 individuals selected from among the
following potential members:
(A) A representative of a local government.
(B) A developer.
(C) A representative of a construction industry
association or construction company.
(D) A civil engineer or environmental engineer.
(E) A researcher from an institution of higher
education.
(F) A member of an Alaska Native organization, a
Native Hawaiian organization, or an Indian Tribe (as
those terms are defined in section 2 of the Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25
U.S.C. 3001)) with experience with natural
infrastructure.
(G) An environmental scientist.
(2) Duties.--The stakeholder advisory group established
under paragraph (1) shall meet not less frequently than
annually--
(A) to consider both immediate and long-term
scientific needs with respect to research relating to
natural infrastructure;
(B) to suggest to the Secretary appropriate topic
areas for research relating to natural infrastructure,
specific issues to be researched within those topic
areas, and information transfer needs for which the
Secretary shall solicit proposals in accordance with
subsection (c)(3); and
(C) to assist the Secretary in drafting the Program
plan described in subsection (d).
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For each of fiscal years 2023
through 2033, there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section $4,000,000, including for activities to be carried out by the
Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture under this section.
SEC. 5. ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
(a) Evaluation.--Subject to the availability of appropriations,
beginning in fiscal year 2023, the Secretary shall annually--
(1) select not fewer than 30 natural infrastructure
projects completed under the Program or by any other entity or
individual in the United States; and
(2) assess the costs and effectiveness of those natural
infrastructure projects.
(b) Geographic and Project Diversity.--The Secretary, to the
maximum extent practicable, shall select natural infrastructure
projects under subsection (a)(1) that, taken together, reflect a
diversity of--
(1) geographic locations; and
(2) types of natural infrastructure.
(c) Report.--Beginning in fiscal year 2024, and annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall publish a report that--
(1) lists the natural infrastructure projects selected
under subsection (a)(1);
(2) discloses--
(A) the costs of those natural infrastructure
projects; and
(B) the results of the assessment of the
effectiveness of those natural infrastructure projects
carried out under subsection (a)(2); and
(3) if applicable, includes recommendations to improve the
construction, costs, and effectiveness of future natural
infrastructure projects.
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