49 U.S.C. § 70102 — National freight strategic plan

Page 1812 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 70102 Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 70101 was transferred and renumbered as section 50901 of Title 51, National and Commercial Space Programs. AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–58 substituted ‘‘Assist- ant Secretary for Multimodal Freight’’ for ‘‘Under Sec- retary of Transportation for Policy’’ in introductory provisions. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amend- ment note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Or- ganization and Employees. § 70102. National freight strategic plan (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary for Multimodal Freight (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’) shall— (1) develop a national freight strategic plan in accordance with this section; and (2) publish the plan on the public Internet Web site of the Department of Transportation. (b) CONTENTS.—The national freight strategic plan shall include— (1) an assessment of the condition and per- formance of the National Multimodal Freight Network established under section 70103; (2) forecasts of freight volumes for the suc- ceeding 5-, 10-, and 20-year periods; (3) an identification of major trade gateways and national freight corridors that connect major population centers, trade gateways, and other major freight generators; (4) an identification of bottlenecks on the National Multimodal Freight Network that create significant freight congestion, based on a quantitative methodology developed by the Assistant Secretary, which shall include, at a minimum— (A) information from the Freight Analysis Framework of the Federal Highway Admin- istration; and (B) to the maximum extent practicable, an estimate of the cost of addressing each bot- tleneck and any operational improvements that could be implemented; (5) an assessment of statutory, regulatory, technological, institutional, financial, and other barriers to improved freight transpor- tation performance, and a description of op- portunities for overcoming the barriers; (6) a process for addressing multistate projects and encouraging jurisdictions to col- laborate; (7) strategies to improve freight intermodal connectivity; (8) an identification of corridors providing access to energy exploration, development, in- stallation, or production areas; (9) an identification of corridors providing access to major areas for manufacturing, agri- culture, or natural resources; (10) an identification of best practices for improving the performance of the National Multimodal Freight Network, including crit- ical commerce corridors and rural and urban access to critical freight corridors; (11) an identification of best practices to mitigate the impacts of freight movement on communities; (12) best practices for reducing environ- mental impacts of freight movement (includ- ing reducing local air pollution from freight movement, stormwater runoff, and wildlife habitat loss resulting from freight facilities, freight vehicles, or freight activity); (13) possible strategies to increase the resil- ience of the freight system, including the abil- ity to anticipate, prepare for, or adapt to con- ditions, or withstand, respond to, or recover rapidly from disruptions, including extreme weather and natural disasters; (14) strategies to promote United States eco- nomic growth and international competitive- ness; (15) consideration of any potential unique impacts of the national freight system on rural and other underserved and historically disadvantaged communities; (16) strategies for decarbonizing freight movement, as appropriate; and (17) consideration of the impacts of e-com- merce on the national multimodal freight sys- tem. (c) UPDATES.—Not later than 5 years after the date of completion of the national freight stra- tegic plan under subsection (a), and every 5 years thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall update the plan and publish the updated plan on the public Internet Web site of the Department of Transportation. (d) CONSULTATION.—The Assistant Secretary shall develop and update the national freight strategic plan— (1) after providing notice and an opportunity for public comment; and (2) in consultation with State departments of transportation, metropolitan planning orga- nizations, and other appropriate public and private transportation stakeholders. (Added Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title VIII, § 8001(a), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1606; amended Pub. L. 117–58, div. B, title I, §§ 21101(d)(2), 21102, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 656, 657.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 70102 was transferred and renumbered as section 50902 of Title 51, National and Commercial Space Programs. AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21101(d)(2)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘The Assistant Secretary for Multimodal Freight (referred to in this section as the ‘Assistant Secretary’)’’ for ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21101(d)(2)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ for ‘‘Under Secretary’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(12) to (17). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21102, added pars. (12) to (17). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21101(d)(2)(C), substituted ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ for ‘‘Under Secretary’’. Page 1813 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 70103 Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 117–58, § 21101(d)(2)(D), substituted ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ for ‘‘Under Secretary’’ in intro- ductory provisions. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amend- ment note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Or- ganization and Employees. § 70103. National Multimodal Freight Network (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary for Multimodal Freight (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’) shall establish a National Multimodal Freight Network in ac- cordance with this section— (1) to assist States in strategically directing resources toward improved system perform- ance for the efficient movement of freight on the Network; (2) to inform freight transportation plan- ning; (3) to assist in the prioritization of Federal investment; and (4) to assess and support Federal invest- ments to achieve the national multimodal freight policy goals described in section 70101(b) of this title and the national highway freight program goals described in section 167 of title 23. (b) DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL MULTIMODAL FREIGHT NETWORK.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary, after soliciting input from stakeholders, in- cluding multimodal freight system users, transportation providers, metropolitan plan- ning organizations, local governments, ports, airports, railroads, and States, through a pub- lic process to identify critical freight facilities and corridors, including critical commerce corridors, that are vital to achieve the na- tional multimodal freight policy goals de- scribed in section 70101(b) of this title and the national highway freight program goals de- scribed in section 167 of title 23, and after pro- viding notice and an opportunity for comment on a draft system, shall designate a National Multimodal Freight Network with the goal of— (A) improving network and intermodal connectivity; and (B) using measurable data as part of the assessment of the significance of freight movement, including the consideration of points of origin, destinations, and linking components of domestic and international supply chains. (2) FACTORS.—In designating or redesig- nating the National Multimodal Freight Net- work, the Assistant Secretary shall consider— (A) origins and destinations of freight movement within, to, and from the United States; (B) volume, value, tonnage, and the stra- tegic importance of freight; (C) access to border crossings, airports, seaports, and pipelines; (D) economic factors, including balance of trade; (E) access to major areas for manufac- turing, agriculture, or natural resources; (F) access to energy exploration, develop- ment, installation, and production areas; (G) intermodal links and intersections that promote connectivity; (H) freight choke points and other impedi- ments contributing to significant measur- able congestion, delay in freight movement, or inefficient modal connections; (I) impacts on all freight transportation modes and modes that share significant freight infrastructure; (J) facilities and transportation corridors identified by a multi-State coalition, a State, a State freight advisory committee, or a metropolitan planning organization, using national or local data, as having crit- ical freight importance to the region; (K) major distribution centers, inland intermodal facilities, and first- and last-mile facilities; and (L) the significance of goods movement, including consideration of global and domes- tic supply chains. (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In designating or re- designating the National Multimodal Freight Network, the Assistant Secretary shall— (A) use, to the extent practicable, measur- able data to assess the significance of goods movement, including the consideration of points of origin, destinations, and linking components of the United States global and domestic supply chains; (B) consider— (i) the factors described in paragraph (2); and (ii) any changes in the economy that af- fect freight transportation network de- mand; and (C) provide to the States an opportunity to submit proposed designations from the States in accordance with paragraph (4). (4) STATE INPUT.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that proposes additional designations for the National Multimodal Freight Network shall— (i) consider nominations for additional designations from metropolitan planning organizations and State freight advisory committees, as applicable, within the State; (ii) consider nominations for additional designations from owners and operators of port, rail, pipeline, and airport facilities; and (iii) ensure that additional designations are consistent with the State transpor- tation improvement program or freight plan. (B) CRITICAL RURAL FREIGHT FACILITIES AND CORRIDORS.—As part of the designations under subparagraph (A), a State may des- ignate a freight facility or corridor within the borders of the State as a critical rural freight facility or corridor if the facility or corridor— (i) is a rural principal arterial; (ii) provides access or service to energy exploration, development, installation, or production areas;