[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3319 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3319

To amend title 23, United States Code, to require corrosion mitigation 
  and prevention plans for bridges receiving Federal funding, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2008

   Mr. Brown introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to require corrosion mitigation 
  and prevention plans for bridges receiving Federal funding, 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 ``Bridge Life Extension Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) corrosion of highway bridges costs the United States 
        economy $8,300,000,000 each year, according to the Federal 
        Highway Administration report numbered FHWA-RD-01-157 that was 
        submitted to Congress in 2002;
            (2) the ongoing cost of corrosion on United States highway 
        bridges represents a needless waste of taxpayer dollars;
            (3) \1/3\ of the ongoing cost of corrosion on United States 
        highway bridges would be saved if existing, fully-developed 
        corrosion prevention technologies were applied to bridge decks 
        and bridge deck substructures;
            (4) the application of corrosion technologies to United 
        States highway bridges is necessary, but currently underused; 
        and
            (5) the application of corrosion prevention strategies 
        should be required in the design and rehabilitation of bridge 
        structures that use Federal funding and the development of new 
        corrosion prevention technologies should be encouraged.

SEC. 3. CORROSION MITIGATION AND PREVENTION PLANS FOR BRIDGES RECEIVING 
              FEDERAL FUNDING.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 149 the following:
``Sec. 150. Corrosion mitigation and prevention plans
    ``(a) Definition of Corrosion Expert.--In this section, the term 
`corrosion expert' means an individual who is--
            ``(1) accredited or certified as being qualified by an 
        international technical society dedicated to the mitigation and 
        prevention of corrosion; or
            ``(2) a registered professional engineer who has 
        certification or licensing that includes education and 
        experience in corrosion prevention and control of bridges.
    ``(b) Submission of Plans.--The Secretary may approve Federal 
assistance for a project for construction of a bridge using amounts 
apportioned under section 104(b)(1) or 104(b)(3) or a project for 
replacement or rehabilitation of a bridge under section 144 only if--
            ``(1) the 1 or more States applying for the assistance 
        develop and submit to the Secretary a corrosion mitigation and 
        prevention plan for the bridge; and
            ``(2) the Secretary approves the plan.
    ``(c) Plan Requirements.--The Secretary may approve a corrosion 
mitigation and prevention plan for a bridge submitted under subsection 
(b) only if the plan contains, at a minimum, the following:
            ``(1) An estimate of the expected useful life of the 
        bridge.
            ``(2) An estimate of the environmental exposure of the 
        bridge, including marine, industrial, and rural exposure or 
        location, deicer application, rainfall, temperature, freeze-
        thaw, and other factors that influence corrosion prevention and 
        corrosion mitigation strategies.
            ``(3) An identification of the functional classification of 
        the bridge.
            ``(4) Details of corrosion mitigation and prevention 
        methods that will be used with respect to the bridge, taking 
        into account--
                    ``(A) material selection;
                    ``(B) coating considerations;
                    ``(C) cathodic protection considerations;
                    ``(D) design considerations for corrosion; and
                    ``(E) concrete requirements.
            ``(5) Details of a project maintenance program for the life 
        of the bridge.
            ``(6) A certification that the plan was developed by the 1 
        or more States submitting the plan and approved by a corrosion 
        expert.
            ``(7) A certification that each individual conducting 
        inspections of Federal-aid highway bridges in each State 
        submitting the plan receives training from a corrosion expert.
    ``(d) Approval and Disapproval.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall approve or 
        disapprove each corrosion mitigation and prevention plan 
        submitted under subsection (b).
            ``(2) Action upon disapproval.--If the Secretary 
        disapproves a plan, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) inform each State that submitted the plan of 
                the reasons for the disapproval; and
                    ``(B) permit each of those States to resubmit the 
                plan with such modifications as the Secretary 
                determines to be necessary.
    ``(e) Modifications Following Plan Approval.--The 1 or more States 
submitting a corrosion mitigation and prevention plan approved under 
subsection (d) may modify the plan to incorporate newly developed 
corrosion prevention techniques, methods, applications, and best 
practices if the 1 or more States provide advance written notice of the 
modification to the Secretary.
    ``(f) Applicability.--
            ``(1) In general.--This section shall take effect beginning 
        on the first day of the second fiscal year beginning after the 
        date of enactment of this section.
            ``(2) Waivers.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary may waive the application of requirements of this 
        section with respect to a bridge for the 180-day period 
        beginning on the first day referred to in paragraph (1) if--
                    ``(A) a corrosion mitigation and prevention plan 
                has been submitted for the bridge before that first 
                day; and
                    ``(B) the Secretary determines that such a waiver 
                is appropriate.
    ``(g) Funding.--Funds made available to a State under sections 
104(b)(1), 104(b)(3), and 144 may be used by the State for activities 
to comply with this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 149 the following:

``150. Corrosion mitigation and prevention plans.''.
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