Sec. 1653. Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group
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Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish a working group, to be known as the Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group (in this section referred to as the Working Group ), to examine how to integrate scientific data regarding the projected impacts and risks of climate change into infrastructure planning, design, engineering, construction, operation, and maintenance that is funded by the Federal Government.
The Working Group shall consist of the following: One or more representatives from each of the Federal agencies that participate in the U.S. Global Change Research Program. One or more representatives from the Department of the Treasury. One or more professional engineers with relevant expertise in infrastructure design. One or more scientists from the National Academy of Sciences. One or more scientists, social scientists, and experts from academic and research institutions who have expertise in— climate change projections and impacts; engineering; architecture; or other relevant areas of expertise.
One or more licensed architects with relevant expertise in infrastructure design. One or more certified planners with relevant expertise in climate change impacts. One or more representatives of State, local, and Tribal governments. One or more representatives of environmental justice groups. The Working Group shall consider and examine, at a minimum, the following matters: The current informational and institutional barriers to integrating scientific data regarding the projected impacts and risks of climate change into infrastructure planning, design, engineering, construction, operation, and maintenance that is funded by the Federal Government.
The critical information needed by engineers, certified planners, Federal, State, and local governments, and other persons charged with infrastructure upgrades and maintenance to better address the impacts and risks of climate change over the lifetime of infrastructure projects. With respect to Federal investment and planning for infrastructure, how to select an appropriate, adaptive engineering design for a range of future climate scenarios. How to incentivize and incorporate transportation systems thinking, considering how various transportation and infrastructure projects are linked together in a metropolitan region or community, into regional planning and engineering design to ensure the social, economic, and environmental benefits of transportation and infrastructure projects are maximized.
With respect to Federal investment and planning for infrastructure, how to take account of the risks of cascading infrastructure failures and develop more holistic and equitable approaches to evaluating and mitigating risks of climate change. How to ensure that Federal investments in infrastructure resilience benefit all communities, including communities of color, low-income communities, Tribal communities, and other communities that face a disproportionate risk from climate change and may have experienced long-standing unmet needs and underinvestment in critical infrastructure.
How Federal agencies can track and monitor federally-funded climate resilient infrastructure in a coordinated fashion to— help build an understanding of the costs and benefits of climate resilient infrastructure; build the capacity for climate resilient infrastructure; and plan for investments for the future. In carrying out its duties, the Working Group shall— coordinate with other Federal climate change adaptation planning efforts and strategies that advance reliability and safety in infrastructure, including the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group and the National Mitigation Investment Strategy; and consider and build upon existing information relating to climate change, including information from the most recent National Climate Assessment.
In carrying out its duties, the Working Group shall, prior to submission of a draft report under subsection (f), engage in a public stakeholder process by— holding regional public meetings with key stakeholders, including climate experts, infrastructure experts, State, local, and community groups, and infrastructure finance and insurance experts; and providing the public an opportunity to provide views, for a period of at least 60 days, to the Working Group regarding the best way to incorporate scientific data regarding the projected impacts and risks of climate change into infrastructure planning, design, engineering, construction, operation, and maintenance that is funded by the Federal Government.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall submit to the President and Congress a draft report that includes preliminary recommendations addressing the each of the matters described in subsection (c). The Working Group shall make draft report submitted under paragraph
(1)available to the public for comment for a period of not less than 60 days prior to submission of the final report under subsection (g). Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall submit to the President and Congress a final report that includes recommendations— addressing each of the matters described in subsection (c); addressing critical information gaps and challenges identified by the Working Group; for financing options for Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments to help fund climate-resilient infrastructure; for a platform or process to facilitate communication between climate scientists, infrastructure planners, engineers, and other relevant experts; for a stakeholder process— to engage with representatives of State, local, Tribal, territorial, and community groups regarding the specific challenges and inequities faced by historically marginalized communities; and to provide outreach and education, shared knowledge, and lessons learned about climate-resilient infrastructure; and for a platform for tracking Federal funding of climate-resilient infrastructure.