§ 2391 — Military Base Reuse Studies And Community Planning Assistance

(a) Whenever the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of the military department concerned publicly announces that a military installation is a candidate for closure or that a final decision has been made to close a military installation and the Secretary of Defense determines, because of the location, facilities, or other particular characteristics of the installation, that the installation may be suitable for some specific Federal, State, or local use potentially beneficial to the Nation, the Secretary of Defense may conduct such studies, including the preparation of an environmental impact statement in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), in connection with such installation and such potential use as may be necessary to provide information sufficient to make sound conclusions and recommendations regarding the possible use of the installation. (1) The Secretary of Defense may make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and supplement funds available under Federal programs administered by agencies other than the Department of Defense in order to assist State and local governments in planning community adjustments and economic diversification required (A) by the proposed or actual establishment, realignment, or closure of a military installation, (B) by the cancellation or termination of a Department of Defense contract or the failure to proceed with an approved major weapon system program, (C) by a publicly announced planned major reduction in Department of Defense spending that would directly and adversely affect a community, (D) by the encroachment of a civilian community on a military installation, (E) by threats to military installation resilience, or (F) by the closure or the significantly reduced operations of a defense facility as the result of the merger, acquisition, or consolidation of the defense contractor operating the defense facility, if the Secretary determines that an action described in clause (A), (B), (C), or (F) is likely to have a direct and significantly adverse consequence on the affected community or, in the case of an action described in clause (D) or (E), if the Secretary determines that either the encroachment of the civilian community or threats to military installation resilience is likely to impair the continued operational utility of the military installation. (2) In the case of the establishment or expansion of a military installation, assistance may be made under paragraph (1) only if (A) community impact assistance or special impact assistance is not otherwise available, and (B) the establishment or expansion involves the assignment to the installation of (i) more than 2,000 military, civilian, and contractor Department of Defense personnel, or (ii) more military, civilian, and contractor Department of Defense personnel than the number equal to 10 percent of the number of persons employed in counties or independent municipalities within fifteen miles of the installation, whichever is lesser. (3) In the case of a publicly announced planned reduction in Department of Defense spending, the closure or realignment of a military installation, the cancellation or termination of a Department of Defense contract, or the failure to proceed with a previously approved major defense acquisition program, assistance may be made under paragraph (1) only if the reduction, closure or realignment, cancellation or termination, or failure will have a direct and significant adverse impact on a community or its residents. (A) In the case of a State or local government eligible for assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense may also make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and supplement other Federal funds in order to assist the State or local government to carry out a community adjustment and economic diversification program (including State industrial extension or modernization efforts to facilitate the economic diversification of defense contractors and subcontractors) in addition to planning such a program. (B) The Secretary shall establish criteria for the selection of community adjustment and economic diversification programs to receive assistance under subparagraph (A). Such criteria shall include a requirement that the State or local government agree— (i) to provide not less than 10 percent of the funding for the program from non-Federal sources; (ii) to provide business planning and market exploration services under the program to defense contractors and subcontractors that seek modernization or diversification assistance; and (iii) to provide training, counseling, and placement services for members of the armed forces and dislocated defense workers. (C) The Secretary shall carry out this paragraph in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce. (A) The Secretary of Defense may also make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and supplement other Federal funds in order to assist a State or local government in planning community adjustments and economic diversification even though the State or local government is not currently eligible for assistance under paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines that a substantial portion of the economic activity or population of the geographic area to be subject to the advance planning is dependent on defense expenditures. (B) The Secretary of Defense may also make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and supplement other Federal funds in order to assist a State or local government in enhancing its capacities— (i) to assist communities, businesses, and workers adversely affected by an action described in paragraph (1); (ii) to support local adjustment and diversification initiatives; (iii) to stimulate cooperation between statewide and local adjustment and diversification efforts; and (iv) to support public infrastructure projects and services that enhance the capabilities and resilience of the defense industrial base and the defense industrial base workers, if the Secretary determines such support will improve operations of the Department of Defense. (C) The Secretary of Defense may also make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and supplement other Federal funds in order to assist a State or local government in enhancing the capabilities of the government to support efforts of the Department of Defense to privatize, contract for, or diversify the performance of military family support services in cases in which the capability of the Department to provide such services is adversely affected by an action described in paragraph (1). (D) The Secretary of Defense may also make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and supplement other Federal funds, in order to assist a State or local government in planning, enhancing infrastructure, and implementing measures and projects (to include resilience measures and projects involving the protection, restoration, and maintenance of natural features) that, as determined by the Secretary of Defense, will contribute to maintaining or improving military installation resilience or will prevent or mitigate encroachment that could affect operations of the Department of Defense. (6) Funds provided to State and local governments and regional organizations under this section may be used as part or all of any required non-Federal contribution to a Federal grant-in-aid program for the purposes stated in paragraph (1). (7) To the extent practicable, the Secretary of Defense shall inform a State or local government applying for assistance under this subsection of the approval or rejection by the Secretary of the application for such assistance as follows: (A) Before the end of the 7-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary receives the application, in the case of an application for a planning grant. (B) Before the end of the 30-day period beginning on such date, in the case of an application for assistance to carry out a community adjustments and economic diversifications program. (A) In attempting to complete consideration of applications within the time period specified in paragraph (7), the Secretary of Defense shall give priority to those applications requesting assistance for a community described in subsection (f)(1). (B) If an application under paragraph (7) is rejected by the Secretary, the Secretary shall promptly inform the State or local government of the reasons for the rejection of the application. (c) The Secretary of Defense may make grants to, or conclude cooperative agreements or enter into contracts with, another Federal agency, a State or local government, or any private entity to conduct research and provide technical assistance in support of activities under this section or Executive Order 12788 (57 Fed. Reg. 2213), as amended by section 33 of Executive Order 13286 (68 Fed. Reg. 10625) and Executive Order 13378 (70 Fed. Reg. 28413). (A) The Secretary of Defense may make grants, conclude cooperative agreements, and supplement funds available under Federal programs administered by agencies other than the Department of Defense to assist State governments, local governments, and not-for-profit, member-owned utility services to address deficiencies in community infrastructure supportive of a military installation. (B) The Secretary shall establish criteria for the selection of community infrastructure projects to receive assistance under this subsection, including selection of community infrastructure projects in the following order of priority: (i) Projects that will enhance military value at a military installation, taking into consideration the military value criteria originally developed by the Secretary in compliance with the amendment made by section 3002 of the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (division B of Public Law 107–107; 115 Stat. 1344). (ii) Projects that will contribute to the training of cadets enrolled in an independent Reserve Officer Training Corps program at a covered educational institution. (iii) Projects that will enhance military installation resilience, as defined in section 101 of this title. (iv) Projects that will enhance military family quality of life at a military installation, taking into consideration subsection (e)(4)(C). (A) The criteria established for the selection of community infrastructure projects to receive assistance under this subsection shall include a requirement that, except as provided in subparagraph (B), the recipient of such assistance agrees to contribute not less than 30 percent of the funding for the community infrastructure project. (B) If a proposed community infrastructure project will be carried out in a rural area or the Secretary of Defense determines that a proposed community infrastructure project is advantageous for reasons related to national security, the Secretary— (i) shall not penalize a State or local government for offering to make a contribution of 30 percent or less of the funding for the community infrastructure project; and (ii) may reduce the requirement for a State or local government contribution to 30 percent or less or waive the cost-sharing requirement entirely. (3) In selecting community infrastructure projects to receive assistance under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider infrastructure improvements identified in the report on strategic seaports required by section 3515 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 1985). (4) Amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for assistance under paragraph (1) may remain available until expended. (e) In this section: (1) The terms “military installation” and “realignment” have the meanings given those terms in section 2687 of this title. For purposes of paragraphs (1)(D) and (E) and (5)(D) of subsection (b) and subsection (d), the term “military installation” includes a military facility owned and operated by any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands, even though the facility is not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, if the Secretary of Defense determines that the military facility is subject to significant use for training by the armed forces. (2) The term “defense facility” means any private facility producing goods or services pursuant to a defense contract. (3) The terms “community adjustment” and “economic diversification” include the development of feasibility studies and business plans for market diversification within a community adversely affected by an action described in clause (A), (B), (C), or (E) of subsection (b)(1) by adversely affected businesses and labor organizations located in the community. (A) The term “community infrastructure” means a project or facility described in subparagraph (B) that— (i) is located off of a military installation or on property under the jurisdiction of a Secretary of a military department that is subject to a real estate agreement (including a lease or easement); and (ii) is— (I) owned by a State or local government; or (II) a not-for-profit, member-owned utility service. (B) A project or facility described in this subparagraph is any of the following: (i) Any transportation project. (ii) A school, hospital, police, fire, emergency response, or other community support facility. (iii) A water, waste-water, telecommunications, electric, gas, or other utility infrastructure project. (C) For the purposes of determining whether proposed community infrastructure will enhance quality of life, the Secretary of Defense shall consider the impact of the community infrastructure on alleviating installation commuter workforce issues and the benefit of schools or other local infrastructure located off of a military installation that will support members of the armed forces and their dependents residing in the community. (5) The term “rural area” means a city, town, or unincorporated area that has a population of not more than 100,000 inhabitants. (6) The term “covered educational institution” means a college or university that is— (A) a part B institution, as defined in section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061); (B) an 1890 Institution, as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601); (C) not affiliated with a consortium; and (D) located at least 40 miles from a major military installation. (f) The authority of the Secretary of Defense to make grants under this section in any fiscal year is subject to the availability of appropriations for that purpose.