Bill Summary
This bill, titled "Enhancing Tribal Road Safety Act", aims to improve the safety of tribal roads and highways. The term "Secretary" in this Act refers to the Secretary of the Interior. The bill proposes a list of projects that would be eligible for funding under section 202 of title 23, United States Code, including intersection safety improvements, installation of rumble strips or other warning devices, and construction of traffic calming features. The bill also directs the Secretary to review and propose new categorical exclusions for tribal transportation safety projects, and to enter into programmatic agreements with Indian tribes for efficient environmental reviews of these projects. The agreements would outline the responsibilities of the Indian tribe in making categorical exclusion determinations and maintaining adequate capacity for compliance.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation may affect tribal communities by providing funding for various transportation safety projects, such as improving hazardous road locations and addressing highway safety problems. This could lead to safer roads for both tribal members and non-tribal travelers.
2. The definition of "Secretary" in this Act may affect individuals who work for or with the Department of the Interior, as they may be responsible for implementing and enforcing the provisions of this legislation.
3. The requirement for programmatic agreements between the Secretary and Indian tribes may affect the efficiency and speed of environmental reviews for projects eligible for assistance under this Act. This could potentially impact the timely completion of these projects and the overall safety of tribal transportation systems.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 207 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 207
To enhance tribal road safety, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 24, 2019
Mr. Barrasso introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance tribal road safety, 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. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.
In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Interior.
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS TO CERTAIN TRIBAL
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES.
(a) Definition of Tribal Transportation Safety Project.--
(1) In general.--In this section, the term ``tribal
transportation safety project'' means a project described in
paragraph (2) that is eligible for funding under section 202 of
title 23, United States Code, and that--
(A) corrects or improves a hazardous road location
or feature; or
(B) addresses a highway safety problem.
(2) Projects described.--A project described in this
paragraph is a project for one or more of the following:
(A) An intersection safety improvement.
(B) Pavement and shoulder widening (including the
addition of a passing lane to remedy an unsafe
condition).
(C) Installation of rumble strips or another
warning device, if the rumble strips or other warning
devices do not adversely affect the safety or mobility
of bicyclists and pedestrians, including persons with
disabilities.
(D) Installation of a skid-resistant surface at an
intersection or other location with a high frequency of
crashes.
(E) An improvement for pedestrian or bicyclist
safety or the safety of persons with disabilities.
(F) Construction and improvement of a railway-
highway grade crossing safety feature, including the
installation of protective devices.
(G) The conduct of a model traffic enforcement
activity at a railway-highway crossing.
(H) Construction of a traffic calming feature.
(I) Elimination of a roadside hazard.
(J) Installation, replacement, and other
improvements of highway signage and pavement markings
or a project to maintain minimum levels of
retroreflectivity that addresses a highway safety
problem consistent with a State strategic highway
safety plan.
(K) Installation of a priority control system for
emergency vehicles at signalized intersections.
(L) Installation of a traffic control or other
warning device at a location with high crash potential.
(M) Transportation safety planning.
(N) Collection, analysis, and improvement of safety
data.
(O) Planning integrated interoperable emergency
communications equipment, operational activities, or
traffic enforcement activities (including police
assistance) relating to work zone safety.
(P) Installation of guardrails, barriers (including
barriers between construction work zones and traffic
lanes for the safety of road users and workers), and
crash attenuators.
(Q) The addition or retrofitting of structures or
other measures to eliminate or reduce crashes involving
vehicles and wildlife.
(R) Installation of yellow-green signs and signals
at pedestrian and bicycle crossings and in school
zones.
(S) Construction and operational improvements on a
high risk rural road (as defined in section 148(a) of
title 23, United States Code).
(T) Geometric improvements to a road for the
purposes of safety improvement.
(U) A road safety audit.
(V) Roadway safety infrastructure improvements
consistent with the recommendations included in the
publication of the Federal Highway Administration
entitled ``Handbook for Designing Roadways for the
Aging Population'' (FHWA-SA-14-015), dated June 2014
(or a revised or updated publication).
(W) Truck parking facilities eligible for funding
under section 1401 of MAP-21 (23 U.S.C. 137 note;
Public Law 112-141).
(X) Systemic safety improvements.
(Y) Installation of vehicle-to-infrastructure
communication equipment.
(Z) Pedestrian hybrid beacons.
(AA) Roadway improvements that provide separation
between pedestrians and motor vehicles, including
medians and pedestrian crossing islands.
(BB) A physical infrastructure safety project not
described in subparagraphs (A) through (AA).
(b) New Categorical Exclusions.--
(1) Review of existing categorical exclusions.--The
Secretary shall review the categorical exclusions under section
771.117 of title 23, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor
regulations), to determine which, if any, are applicable for
use by the Secretary in review of projects eligible for
assistance under section 202 of title 23, United States Code.
(2) Review of tribal transportation safety projects.--The
Secretary shall identify tribal transportation safety projects
that meet the requirements for categorical exclusions under
sections 1507.3 and 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(3) Proposal.--The Secretary shall issue a proposed rule,
in accordance with sections 1507.3 and 1508.4 of title 40, Code
of Federal Regulations, to propose any categorical exclusions
identified under paragraphs (1) and (2).
(4) Deadline.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and after considering any comments on
the proposed rule issued under paragraph (3), the Secretary
shall promulgate a final rule for the categorical exclusions,
in accordance with sections 1507.3 and 1508.4 of title 40, Code
of Federal Regulations.
(5) Technical assistance.--The Secretary of Transportation
shall provide technical assistance to the Secretary in carrying
out this subsection.
(c) Reviews of Tribal Transportation Safety Projects.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary or the head of another
Federal agency responsible for a decision related to a tribal
transportation safety project shall complete any approval or
decision for the review of the tribal transportation safety
project required under the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or any other applicable Federal
law on an expeditious basis using the shortest existing
applicable process.
(2) Review of applications.--Not later than 45 days after
the date of receipt of a complete application by an Indian
tribe for approval of a tribal transportation safety project,
the Secretary shall--
(A) take final action on the application; or
(B) provide the Indian tribe a schedule for
completion of the review described in paragraph (1),
including the identification of any other Federal
agency that has jurisdiction with respect to the
project.
(3) Decisions under other federal laws.--In any case in
which a decision under any other Federal law relating to a
tribal transportation safety project (including the issuance or
denial of a permit or license) is required, not later than 45
days after the Secretary has made all decisions of the lead
agency under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to the project, the head of
the Federal agency responsible for the decision shall--
(A) make the applicable decision; or
(B) provide the Indian tribe a schedule for making
the decision.
(4) Extensions.--The Secretary or the head of an applicable
Federal agency may extend the period under paragraph (2) or
(3), as applicable, by an additional 30 days by providing the
Indian tribe notice of the extension, including a statement of
the need for the extension.
(5) Notification and explanation.--In any case in which a
required action is not completed by the deadline under
paragraph (2), (3), or (4), as applicable, the Secretary or the
head of a Federal agency, as applicable, shall--
(A) notify the Committee on Indian Affairs of the
Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the
House of Representatives of the failure to comply with
the deadline; and
(B) provide to the Committees described in
subparagraph (A) a detailed explanation of the reasons
for the failure to comply with the deadline.
SEC. 3. PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENTS FOR CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall enter into programmatic
agreements with Indian tribes that establish efficient administrative
procedures for carrying out environmental reviews for projects eligible
for assistance under section 202 of title 23, United States Code.
(b) Inclusions.--A programmatic agreement under subsection (a)--
(1) may include an agreement that allows an Indian tribe to
determine, on behalf of the Secretary, whether a project is
categorically excluded from the preparation of an environmental
assessment or environmental impact statement under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and
(2) shall--
(A) require that the Indian tribe maintain adequate
capacity in terms of personnel and other resources to
carry out applicable agency responsibilities pursuant
to section 1507.2 of title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations (or successor regulations);
(B) set forth the responsibilities of the Indian
tribe for making categorical exclusion determinations,
documenting the determinations, and achieving
acceptable quality control and quality assurance;
(C) allow--
(i) the Secretary to monitor compliance of
the Indian tribe with the terms of the
agreement; and
(ii) the Indian tribe to execute any needed
corrective action;
(D) contain stipulations for amendments,
termination, and public availability of the agreement
once the agreement has been executed; and
(E) have a term of not more than 5 years, with an
option for renewal based on a review by the Secretary
of the performance of the Indian tribe.
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