[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1167 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1167

   To direct the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a program to 
  demonstrate the use of asphalt produced with an asphalt binder made 
             from biomass in highway construction projects.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2009

  Mr. Carnahan (for himself and Mr. Schock) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a program to 
  demonstrate the use of asphalt produced with an asphalt binder made 
             from biomass in highway construction projects.

    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 ``Green Streets Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. USE OF ASPHALT PRODUCED WITH ASPHALT BINDER MADE FROM BIOMASS 
              IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

    (a) Demonstration Program.--The Secretary of Transportation shall 
conduct a program to demonstrate the use of asphalt produced with an 
asphalt binder made from biomass (in this section referred to as 
``qualified asphalt'') in highway construction projects.
    (b) Grants.--In conducting the program, the Secretary shall make 
grants to not more than 4 States.
    (c) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under the 
program, a State shall submit to the Secretary an application that is 
in such form and contains such information as the Secretary may 
require.
    (d) Selection Criteria.--In selecting from among States applying 
for grants under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that 
qualified asphalt is tested under the program in a variety of traffic 
and weather conditions.
    (e) Use of Grants.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), a State shall 
        use the grant funds received by the State under this section to 
        acquire qualified asphalt for use in highway construction 
        projects eligible for assistance under title 23, United States 
        Code, and to conduct activities, in accordance with guidelines 
        to be issued by the Secretary, to assess the feasibility and 
        desirability of the future use of qualified asphalt in such 
        projects.
            (2) Public-private partnerships.--A State shall use not 
        less than 40 percent of the grant funds received by the State 
        under this section in a fiscal year to provide financial 
        assistance to one or more private entities for activities 
        related to the production of qualified asphalt, including the 
        design, construction, and operation of thermochemical waste 
        conversion units, subject to the terms of a partnership 
        agreement to be entered into by the State and the private 
        entity.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report on the 
results of the program, including information concerning--
            (1) potential cost savings associated with the construction 
        of highways using qualified asphalt;
            (2) the durability of highways constructed using qualified 
        asphalt; and
            (3) the environmental impact of constructing highways using 
        qualified asphalt.
    (g) Biomass Defined.--In this section, the term ``biomass'' means 
organic material derived from plants and animals, including manure, 
wood, and plant material.
    (h) Funding.--There is authorized to be appropriated from the 
Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out 
this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2015.
    (i) Contract Authority.--Funds authorized by this section shall be 
available for obligation in the same manner as if the funds were 
apportioned under chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code; except 
that such funds shall not be transferable, such funds shall remain 
available until expended, and the Federal share of the cost of a 
project under this section shall be determined in accordance with 
section 120 of such title.
                                 <all>