Sec. 7. Interagency Task Force for Concrete and Asphalt Innovation
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The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator of General Services, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish a task force, to be known as the Interagency Task Force for Concrete and Asphalt Innovation . In carrying out the duties of the Task Force, the Task Force shall consider strategies for— improving the durability and performance of low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, or asphalt mixtures; reducing the cost of low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, or asphalt mixtures; supporting continuous innovation and emissions reductions in the production of low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, or asphalt mixtures; increasing employment in fields related to the domestic production of low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, or asphalt mixtures; and ensuring a trained workforce in fields related to the domestic production and use of low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, or asphalt mixtures.
The Task Force shall be composed of 2 members from each of— the Department of Energy; the Department of Transportation; the General Services Administration; the Department of Defense; the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and the Environmental Protection Agency. In carrying out the duties of the Task Force, the Secretary shall consult with the following stakeholders, who shall reflect regional diversity to the maximum extent practicable: Entities in the cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixture sectors, including— ready-mix or site-mixed concrete producers; precast concrete producers; portland cement and other cement producers; aggregate producers; asphalt binder producers; asphalt mixture producers; producers of emerging cement, concrete, asphalt binder, or asphalt mixture solutions; and distributors and users of cement, concrete, asphalt binder, or asphalt mixture production.
Contracting companies with at least 1 Federal Government contract awarded in the preceding 5 years. Contracting companies with at least 1 private sector contract awarded in the preceding 5 years. Experts, including from nongovernmental organizations, on the environmental impact of cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixture production in architectural and nonarchitectural applications, with expertise in— developing codes, specifications, and standards for cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixtures; conducting performance tests on cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixtures; working with the National Institute of Building Sciences; working for State departments of transportation from different regions of the United States; and developing benchmarks for embodied greenhouse gas emissions.
Stakeholders in any other relevant industries, as determined by the Secretary. The Task Force shall— provide recommendations to the Secretary on— the use of engineering performance standards for low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixtures, including taking into account lessons learned from the reimbursement and incentives provided under section 5(a)(2); creating guidelines and best practices for the testing and evaluation of low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixtures, including taking into account lessons learned from the Manufacturing USA institutes planned, established, or supported under section 4(d); improving the product category rules governing the creation of relevant environmental product declarations for low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixture, including taking into account lessons learned from the technical assistance program established under section 458(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; and incentives that would encourage the use of low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixtures, including taking into account lessons learned from the advance purchase commitment program established under section 6(c); coordinate meetings and facilitate discussions through forums such as roundtables, workshops, or conferences to inform the recommendations provided under paragraph (1); and host briefings and provide updates to— the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives.
Once every 2 years, the Secretary, in consultation with the Task Force, shall submit to Congress a report that describes— each of the recommendations made under subsection (e)(1); and the response of the Secretary to each of those recommendations, including how best to implement each recommendation; the determinations made by the Secretary under section 458(i)(1) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; the threshold established under section 458(i)(2) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, including a justification for that threshold; changes to State and local codes and specifications facilitated by the Task Force during the period covered by the report; and meetings with cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixture producers, contractors, engineers, academics, State and local government officials, or any other relevant stakeholders coordinated by the Task Force during the period covered by the report.
The Secretary may terminate the Task Force if the Secretary determines that sufficient low-emissions cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixtures are commercially available domestically at a price comparable to the price of cement, concrete, asphalt binder, and asphalt mixtures produced through traditional methods of production.