I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9604 

To provide for certain requirements of the Surface Transportation Board 

and any State, political subdivision, or qualified private organization 

requesting interim recreational use of an abandoned railway right-ofway, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 

Mr. GRAVES of Missouri introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for certain requirements of the Surface Transportation Board and any State, political subdivision, or 

qualified private organization requesting interim recreational use of an abandoned railway right-of-way, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rails to Trails Land5 owner Rights Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INTERIM USE OF RAILROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

2 Section 8 of the National Trails System Act (16 

3 U.S.C. 1247(d)) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (d)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of Trans6 portation’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) The Secretary of 

7 Transportation’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(2) To be eligible for the treatment described in this 

10 subsection, a State, political subdivision, or qualified pri11 vate organization shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) provide notice to— 

13 ‘‘(i) the owners of any property upon which 

14 the railroad right-of-way crosses, or is adjacent 

15 to the land subject to the right-of-way; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) any unit of local government with ju17 risdiction over any property upon which the 

18 railroad right-of-way crosses; 

19 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after intervening in 

20 an abandonment proceeding under this subsection, 

21 receive signed approval from each owner described in 

22 subparagraph (A)(i) for the proposed interim use; 

23 ‘‘(C) disclose the legal status of the occupancy 

24 for the right-of-way; 

25 ‘‘(D) with respect to any proposed agreement 

26 under this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(i) ensure that any agreement reached 

2 under this subsection requires the State, polit3 ical subdivision, or qualified private organiza4 tion party to such agreement to compensate the 

5 owners of property upon which such right-of6 way crosses for any additional cost attributed to 

7 the interim use, with a minimum compensation 

8 level at fair market value of such property; 

9 ‘‘(ii) provide to the Board such assurances 

10 as the Board may require, that the State, polit11 ical subdivision, or qualified private organiza12 tion has the financial resources to provide com13 pensation as described under clause (i); and 

14 ‘‘(iii) ensure that any agreement reached 

15 under this subsection requires the trail sponsor 

16 to continue all right-of-way maintenance re17 sponsibilities in perpetuity or until the right-of18 way returns to active rail service. 

19 ‘‘(3) Before issuing a notice for interim trail use de20 scribed in this subsection, and after the approval has been 

21 provided under paragraph (2)(B), the Board shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) provide for a public notice and comment 

23 period beginning not less than 90 days before a cer24 tification is awarded under this subsection; 


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1 ‘‘(B) not later than 10 days after the comple2 tion of the requirements under subparagraph (A), 

3 carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the full impact 

4 of the interim use of the railway that considers— 

5 ‘‘(i) the impact on— 

6 ‘‘(I) safety; 

7 ‘‘(II) health; 

8 ‘‘(III) security; 

9 ‘‘(IV) privacy; 

10 ‘‘(V) biosecurity; 

11 ‘‘(VI) food security; and 

12 ‘‘(VII) economic impact on owners de13 scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(i) and other 

14 local communities; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) the likelihood that the corridor will re16 turn to use as rail service if such a consider17 ation was not taken into account in such anal18 ysis. 

19 ‘‘(4) Any cost incurred carrying out the requirements 

20 of paragraph (3)(B) shall be borne by the State, political 

21 subdivision, or qualified private organization proposing the 

22 interim railway use and the Board shall not incur any such 

23 expenses until funding for carrying out such activities is 

24 received from the trail sponsor.’’; and 

25 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec2 tion, the Board may contract with an independent third 

3 party to conduct a cost-benefit analysis required to be car4 ried out under subsection (d)(3)(B).’’. 

5 SEC. 3. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

7 shall establish an advisory committee to recommend main8 tenance requirements for trail sponsors under the program 

9 described in section 8(d) of the National Trails System 

10 Act (16 U.S.C. 1247(d)) and any agreement reached 

11 under such program. 

12 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory committee estab13 lished under subsection (a) shall be composed of 11 mem14 bers appointed by the Secretary not later than 60 days 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act. The members of 

16 the committee shall be as follows: 

17 (1) 6 members selected from landowners along 

18 existing trails created under such program. 

19 (2) 3 members representing rail carriers. 

20 (3) 2 members that are trail sponsors under 

21 such program. 

22 (c) COMPENSATION; TRAVEL EXPENSES.— 

23 (1) COMPENSATION.—Members of the com24 mittee established under subsection (a) shall not reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Sep 24, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9604.IH H9604

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1 ceive compensation from the Secretary in carrying 

2 out the duties of the committee under this section. 

3 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Travel expenses in4 curred by a member of the committee in carrying 

5 out the duties of the committee under this section 

6 shall not be eligible for Federal reimbursement. 

7 (d) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—Not later than 2 years 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the committee es9 tablished under subsection (a) shall submit to the Com10 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Representa11 tives a report containing the recommendations described 

12 under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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