Will CLEAN TEA be the next federal transportation funding bill?

Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable New Transportation Efficiency Act of 2009

October 11, 2009

"Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable New Transportation Efficiency Act" is a bill in the House (H.R. 1329) and Senate (S. 575) that would set aside 10 percent of funds generated from the auction of carbon emissions allowances from a future cap and trade climate bill to fund a Low Greenhouse Gas Transportation Fund.

The bill would require States and regional and local governments with a population over 200,000 to establish a goal of reducing emissions from the transportation sector and develop a transportation greenhouse gas reduction plan. The plan would be integrated into existing state and regional transportation plans and approved by the USDOT and EPA.

Funds in the Low Greenhouse Gas Transportation Fund would be awarded through a competitive grant process to regional and local governments, based on the quality of their plan. Projects eligible for grant funding include: transit, passenger and freight rail, biking and pedestrian improvements, travel demand management such as vanpools and telecommuting, as well as land use changes that would help make communities more walkable. Regional and local governments with a population under 200,000 could voluntarily develop a plan to become eligible for funding.

The bill also includes a provision to improve research, data collection, and tools to measure and evaluate the greenhouse gas impacts of transportation projects and plans.

The Problem

According to Smart Growth America:

"The transportation sector is the second largest and fastest-growing contributor to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the U.S., in large part due to steadily rising trends in the number of miles that cars and trucks travel each year. Despite some stagnation in the last year because of the economy, driving—or vehicle miles traveled rates—have grown by three times the rate of population growth over the past 15 years and is expected to grow by 50% by 2030, largely because we’ve designed the vast majority of our communities in ways that give people no other option but to drive everywhere."

Smart Growth America's fact sheet also notes:

"People want to live in communities where they can walk. In every survey the National Association of Realtors has done, more than half of the respondents say they want to live in walkable places that have good public transportation access. Yet few places in the U.S. provide these options—which is why they’re so desirable and as a result, increasingly expensive. This isn’t just a solution for big cities—many smaller towns across the country are using smart growth solutions to help revitalize their main streets and help people live closer to their jobs and places they need to run errands. Using smart growth strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a win for the environment, the economy, and the quality of life for Americans."

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