23 U.S.C. § 520 Transportation Resilience and Adaptation Centers of Excellence

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023 Edition
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-19 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/06/2023)

(a) DEFINITION OF CENTER OF EXCELLENCE.-In this section, the term "Center of Excellence" means a Center of Excellence for Resilience and Adaptation designated under subsection (b).

(b) DESIGNATION.-The Secretary shall designate 10 regional Centers of Excellence for Resilience and Adaptation and 1 national Center of Excellence for Resilience and Adaptation, which shall serve as a coordinator for the regional Centers, to receive grants to advance research and development that improves the resilience of regions of the United States to natural disasters and extreme weather by promoting the resilience of surface transportation infrastructure and infrastructure dependent on surface transportation.

(c) ELIGIBILITY.-An entity eligible to be designated as a Center of Excellence is-

(1) an institution of higher education (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1002 )); or

(2) a consortium of nonprofit organizations led by an institution of higher education.

(d) APPLICATION.-To be eligible to be designated as a Center of Excellence, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including a proposal that includes a description of the activities to be carried out with a grant under this section.

(e) SELECTION.-

(1) REGIONAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.-The Secretary shall designate 1 regional Center of Excellence in each of the 10 Federal regions that comprise the Standard Federal Regions established by the Office of Management and Budget in the document entitled "Standard Federal Regions" and dated April 1974 (circular A-105).

(2) NATIONAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE.-The Secretary shall designate 1 national Center of Excellence to coordinate the activities of all 10 regional Centers of Excellence to minimize duplication and promote coordination and dissemination of research among the Centers.

(3) CRITERIA.-In selecting eligible entities to designate as a Center of Excellence, the Secretary shall consider-

(A) the past experience and performance of the eligible entity in carrying out activities described in subsection (g);

(B) the merits of the proposal of an eligible entity and the extent to which the proposal would-

(i) advance the state of practice in resilience planning and identify innovative resilience solutions for transportation assets and systems;

(ii) support activities carried out under the PROTECT program under section 176;