SURFACE TRANSPORTATION-ENVIRONMENT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM.

SEC. 5107. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION-ENVIRONMENT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. Chapter 5 of title 23, United States Code (as added by section 5101 of this title), is amended by adding at the end the following: “§507. Surface transportation-environment cooperative research program “(a) In General.— The Secretary shall establish and carry out a surface transportation-environment cooperative research program. “(b) Contents.— The program to be carried out under this section shall include research designed— “(1) to develop more accurate models for evaluating transportation control measures and transportation system designs that are appropriate for use by State and local governments, including metropolitan planning organizations, in designing implementation plans to meet Federal, State, and local environmental requirements; 112 STAT. 435 “(2) to improve understanding of the factors that contribute to the demand for transportation, including transportation system design, demographic change, land use planning, and communications and other information technologies; “(3) to develop indicators of economic, social, and environmental performance of transportation systems to facilitate analysis of potential alternatives; “(4) to study the relationship between highway density and ecosystem integrity, including the impacts of highway density on habitat integrity and overall ecosystem health, and develop a rapid assessment methodology for use by transportation and regulatory agencies in determining the relationship between highway density and ecosystem integrity; and “(5) to meet additional priorities as determined by the advisory board established under subsection (c), including recommendations of the National Research Council in the report entitled ‘Environmental Research Needs in Transportation’. “(c) Advisory Board.— “(1) Establishment.— In consultation with the Secretary of Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, the Secretary shall establish an advisory board to recommend environmental and energy conservation research, technology, and technology transfer activities related to surface transportation. “(2) Membership.— The advisory board shall include— “(A) representatives of State transportation and environmental agencies; “(B) transportation and environmental scientists and engineers; and “(C) representatives of metropolitan planning organizations, transit operating agencies, and environmental organizations. “(d) National Academy of Sciences.— The Secretary may make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, the National Academy of Sciences to carry out such activities relating to the research, technology, and technology transfer activities described in subsection (b) as the Secretary determines appropriate.”.