Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Natural Infrastructure and Resilience Act”.
Natural Infrastructure and Resilience Act
A BILL
To amend title 23, United States Code, to make certain natural infrastructure projects eligible for surface transportation block grant funding, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Natural infrastructure and resilience
In general— Section 101(a) of title 23, United States Code, is amended—
by redesignating paragraphs (17) through (34) as paragraphs (18), (19), (20), (21), (22), (23), (25), (26), (27), (28), (29), (30), (31), (32), (33), (34), and (35), respectively;
by inserting after paragraph (16) the following:
“(17) Natural infrastructure—The term “natural infrastructure” means infrastructure that uses, restores, or emulates natural ecological processes and—
“(A) is created through the action of natural physical, geological, biological, and chemical processes over time;
“(B) is created by human design, engineering, and construction to emulate or act in concert with natural processes; or
“(C) involves the use of plants, soils, and other natural features, including through the creation, restoration, or preservation of vegetated areas using materials appropriate to the region to manage stormwater and runoff, to attenuate flooding and storm surges, and for other related purposes.”
by inserting after paragraph (23) (as so redesignated) the following:
“(24) Resilience—The term “resilience”, with respect to a project, means a project with the ability to anticipate, prepare for, or adapt to conditions or withstand, respond to, or recover rapidly from disruptions, including the ability—
“(A)
“(i) to resist hazards or withstand impacts from weather events and natural disasters; or
“(ii) to reduce the magnitude, duration, or impact of a disruptive weather event or natural disaster to a project; and
“(B) to have the absorptive capacity, adaptive capacity, and recoverability to decrease project vulnerability to weather events or other natural disasters.”
in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (32) (as so redesignated)—
by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”;
by striking “through the implementation” and inserting the following:
“(i) the implementation”
by adding at the end the following:
“(ii) the consideration of incorporating natural infrastructure.”
Surface transportation block grant program— Section 133(b) of title 23, United States Code, is amended—
by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (15) as paragraphs (5) through (16), respectively; and
by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
“(4) Projects that use natural infrastructure alone or in combination with other eligible projects to enhance resilience of a transportation facility otherwise eligible for assistance under this section.”