Sustainable, Livable And Green (S.L.A.G.) Highway Construction Act of 2012

Sustainable, Livable And Green (S.L.A.G.) Highway Construction Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to establish in the Office of Pavement Technology of the Federal Highway Administration the position of Recovered Mineral Component Ombudsman to: (1) act as a liaison between the states and the DOT on federally funded highway projects; (2) encourage states to use recovered mineral component (RMC) to drive down costs and be more environmentally sensitive; and (3) provide information on projects that use RMC, its safety, and training and educational seminars on RMC environmental benefits.

Urges the Secretary to amend comprehensive procurement guidelines for federally-funded asphalt and concrete highway projects to include specifications that encourage the use of such RMCs as ground granulated blast furnace slag, blast furnace slag aggregate, and steel furnace slag aggregate.

Requires the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish standards to ensure that the use of RMCs does not violate the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or any other environmental law.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6492 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6492

To provide for the establishment, in the Office of Pavement Technology 
  of the Federal Highway Administration, of the position of Recovered 
                      Mineral Component Ombudsman.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2012

    Mr. Clarke of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the establishment, in the Office of Pavement Technology 
  of the Federal Highway Administration, of the position of Recovered 
                      Mineral Component Ombudsman.

    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 ``Sustainable, Livable And Green 
(S.L.A.G.) Highway Construction Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. RECOVERED MINERAL COMPONENT OMBUDSMAN; PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES.

    (a) Recovered Mineral Component Ombudsman Position.--The Secretary 
of Transportation shall establish in the Office of Pavement Technology 
of the Federal Highway Administration the position of Recovered Mineral 
Component Ombudsman.
    (b) Duties of Ombudsman.--The duties of the Recovered Mineral 
Component Ombudsman shall include--
            (1) acting as a liaison between the States and the 
        Department of Transportation on federally funded highway 
        projects;
            (2) encouraging States to use recovered mineral component 
        (referred to in this Act as ``RMCs'') to drive down costs and 
        be more environmentally sensitive; and
            (3) providing information on--
                    (A) the safety of using RMCs;
                    (B) data on projects that use RMCs; and
                    (C) training and educational seminars on the 
                environmental benefits, and on the cost saving 
                benefits, of using RMCs through partnerships with the 
                RMC industry groups supported by the Administration.
    (c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``recovered 
mineral components'' and ``RMCs'' means--
            (1) ground granulated blast furnace slag;
            (2) blast furnace slag aggregate;
            (3) steel furnace slag aggregate; and
            (4) any other industry co-product or recovered by-product 
        the Federal Highway Administrator in consultation with an 
        agency head, determines should be treated as recovered mineral 
        component under this section for uses in asphalt or concrete 
        projects paid for, in whole or by part, by such agency.
    (d) Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines.--The Secretary of 
Transportation is encouraged to amend the comprehensive procurement 
guidelines applicable to federally related asphalt and concrete 
projects to include specifications that encourage the use of ground 
granulated blast furnace slag, blast furnace slag aggregate, and steel 
furnace slag aggregate.
    (e) Environmental Standards.--Not later than 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Environmental 
Protection Agency shall establish standards to ensure that the use of 
RMCs does not violate the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) or any other environmental law.
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