II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1136

To provide for mass transportation in certain federally owned or managed

areas that are open to the general public.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 28, 2001

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BAYH, Mr. CLELAND, Mr.

CORZINE, Mr. DODD, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. REID, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms.

SNOWE, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. THOMPSON, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee

on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To provide for mass transportation in certain federally owned

or managed areas that are open to the general public.

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 ‘‘Transit in Parks Act’’

5 or the ‘‘TRIP Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL LAND TRANSIT PROGRAM.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 49, United

8 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5315

9 the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 5316. Federal land transit program

2 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.—

3 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

4 ‘‘(A) section 3039 of the Transportation

5 Equity Act for the 21st Century (23 U.S.C.

6 138 note; Public Law 105–178) required a

7 comprehensive study, to be conducted by the

8 Secretary of Transportation, in coordination

9 with the Secretary of the Interior, of alternative

10 transportation needs in national parks and re11 lated public lands in order to—

12 ‘‘(i) identify the transportation strate13 gies that improve the management of na14 tional parks and related public lands;

15 ‘‘(ii) identify national parks and re16 lated public lands that have existing and

17 potential problems of adverse impact, high

18 congestion, and pollution, or that can oth19 erwise benefit from alternative transpor20 tation modes;

21 ‘‘(iii) assess the feasibility of alter22 native transportation modes; and

23 ‘‘(iv) identify and estimate the costs

24 of those alternative transportation modes;

25 ‘‘(B) many national parks are experiencing

26 increased visitation and congestion and deg-
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1 radation of the natural, historical, and cultural

2 resources;

3 ‘‘(C) there is a growing need for new and

4 expanded mass transportation services through5 out national parks to conserve and protect frag6 ile natural, historical, and cultural resources,

7 prevent adverse impact on those resources, and

8 reduce pollution and congestion while facili9 tating appropriate visitor mobility and accessi10 bility and improving the visitor experience;

11 ‘‘(D) the Department of Transportation

12 can assist the Federal land management agen13 cies through financial support and technical as14 sistance and further the achievement of na15 tional goals to—

16 ‘‘(i) enhance the environment;

17 ‘‘(ii) improve mobility;

18 ‘‘(iii) create more livable communities;

19 ‘‘(iv) conserve energy; and

20 ‘‘(v) reduce pollution and congestion

21 in all regions of the country;

22 ‘‘(E) immediate financial and technical as23 sistance by the Department of Transportation,

24 working with Federal land management agen25 cies and State and local governmental authori-
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1 ties to develop efficient and coordinated mass

2 transportation systems within and in the vicin3 ity of eligible areas, is essential to—

4 ‘‘(i) protect and conserve natural, his5 torical, and cultural resources;

6 ‘‘(ii) prevent or mitigate adverse im7 pacts on those resources;

8 ‘‘(iii) relieve congestion;

9 ‘‘(iv) minimize transportation fuel

10 consumption;

11 ‘‘(v) reduce pollution (including noise

12 pollution and visual pollution); and

13 ‘‘(vi) enhance visitor mobility, accessi14 bility, and the visitor experience; and

15 ‘‘(F) it is in the interest of the United

16 States to encourage and promote the develop17 ment of transportation systems for the better18 ment of eligible areas to meet the goals de19 scribed in clauses (i) through (vi) of subpara20 graph (E).

21 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section

22 are—

23 ‘‘(A) to develop a cooperative relationship

24 between the Secretary of Transportation and
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1 the Secretary of the Interior to carry out this

2 section;

3 ‘‘(B) to encourage the planning and estab4 lishment of mass transportation systems and

5 nonmotorized transportation systems needed

6 within and in the vicinity of eligible areas, lo7 cated in both urban and rural areas, that—

8 ‘‘(i) enhance resource protection;

9 ‘‘(ii) prevent or mitigate adverse im10 pacts on those resources;

11 ‘‘(iii) improve visitor mobility, accessi12 bility, and the visitor experience;

13 ‘‘(iv) reduce pollution and congestion;

14 ‘‘(v) conserve energy; and

15 ‘‘(vi) increase coordination with gate16 way communities;

17 ‘‘(C) to assist Federal land management

18 agencies and State and local governmental au19 thorities in financing areawide mass transpor20 tation systems and nonmotorized transportation

21 systems to be operated by public or private

22 mass transportation providers, as determined

23 by local and regional needs, and to encourage

24 public-private partnerships; and
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1 ‘‘(D) to assist in research concerning, and

2 development of, improved mass transportation

3 equipment, facilities, techniques, and methods

4 with the cooperation of public and private com5 panies and other entities engaged in the provi6 sion of mass transportation service.

7 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

8 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE AREA.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible

10 area’ means any Federally owned or managed

11 park, refuge, or recreational area that is open

12 to the general public.

13 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘eligible

14 area’ includes—

15 ‘‘(i) a unit of the National Park Sys16 tem;

17 ‘‘(ii) a unit of the National Wildlife

18 Refuge System; and

19 ‘‘(iii) a recreational area managed by

20 the Bureau of Land Management.

21 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.—

22 The term ‘Federal land management agency’ means

23 a Federal agency that manages an eligible area.

24 ‘‘(3) MASS TRANSPORTATION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘mass trans2 portation’ means transportation by bus, rail, or

3 any other publicly or privately owned convey4 ance that provides to the public general or spe5 cial service on a regular basis.

6 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘mass trans7 portation’ includes sightseeing service.

8 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANT.—The term

9 ‘qualified participant’ means—

10 ‘‘(A) a Federal land management agency;

11 or

12 ‘‘(B) a State or local governmental author13 ity with jurisdiction over land in the vicinity of

14 an eligible area acting with the consent of the

15 Federal land management agency,

16 alone or in partnership with a Federal land manage17 ment agency or other Governmental or nongovern18 mental participant.

19 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED PROJECT.—The term ‘qualified

20 project’ means a planning or capital project in or in

21 the vicinity of an eligible area that—

22 ‘‘(A) is an activity described in section

23 5302(a)(1), 5303(g), or 5309(a)(1)(A);

24 ‘‘(B) involves—
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1 ‘‘(i) the purchase of rolling stock that

2 incorporates clean fuel technology or the

3 replacement of buses of a type in use on

4 the date of enactment of this section with

5 clean fuel vehicles; or

6 ‘‘(ii) the deployment of mass transpor7 tation vehicles that introduce innovative

8 technologies or methods;

9 ‘‘(C) relates to the capital costs of coordi10 nating the Federal land management agency

11 mass transportation systems with other mass

12 transportation systems;

13 ‘‘(D) provides a nonmotorized transpor14 tation system (including the provision of facili15 ties for pedestrians, bicycles, and nonmotorized

16 watercraft);

17 ‘‘(E) provides waterborne access within or

18 in the vicinity of an eligible area, as appropriate

19 to and consistent with the purposes described in

20 subsection (a)(2); or

21 ‘‘(F) is any other mass transportation

22 project that—

23 ‘‘(i) enhances the environment;

24 ‘‘(ii) prevents or mitigates an adverse

25 impact on a natural resource;
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1 ‘‘(iii) improves Federal land manage2 ment agency resource management;

3 ‘‘(iv) improves visitor mobility and ac4 cessibility and the visitor experience;

5 ‘‘(v) reduces congestion and pollution

6 (including noise pollution and visual pollu7 tion); and

8 ‘‘(vi) conserves a natural, historical,

9 or cultural resource (excluding rehabilita10 tion or restoration of a nontransportation

11 facility).

12 ‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

13 the Secretary of Transportation.

14 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL AGENCY COOPERATIVE ARRANGE15 MENTS.—The Secretary shall develop cooperative arrange16 ments with the Secretary of the Interior that provide for—

17 ‘‘(1) technical assistance in mass transpor18 tation;

19 ‘‘(2) interagency and multidisciplinary teams to

20 develop Federal land management agency mass

21 transportation policy, procedures, and coordination;

22 and

23 ‘‘(3) the development of procedures and criteria

24 relating to the planning, selection, and funding of

25 qualified projects and the implementation and over-
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1 sight of the program of projects in accordance with

2 this section.

3 ‘‘(d) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter

5 into a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, inter6 agency agreement, intra-agency agreement, or other

7 agreement to carry out a qualified project under this

8 section.

9 ‘‘(2) OTHER USES.—A grant, cooperative agree10 ment, interagency agreement, intra-agency agree11 ment, or other agreement for a qualified project

12 under this section shall be available to finance the

13 leasing of equipment and facilities for use in mass

14 transportation, subject to any regulation that the

15 Secretary may prescribe limiting the grant or agree16 ment to leasing arrangements that are more cost-ef17 fective than purchase or construction.

18 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON USE OF AVAILABLE

19 AMOUNTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may allocate

21 not more than 5 percent of the amount made avail22 able for a fiscal year under section 5338(j) for use

23 by the Secretary in carrying out planning, research,

24 and technical assistance under this section, including
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1 the development of technology appropriate for use in

2 a qualified project.

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS FOR PLANNING, RESEARCH, AND

4 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Amounts made available

5 under this subsection are in addition to amounts

6 otherwise available for planning, research, and tech7 nical assistance under this title or any other provi8 sion of law.

9 ‘‘(3) AMOUNTS FOR QUALIFIED PROJECTS.—No

10 qualified project shall receive more than 12 percent

11 of the total amount made available under section

12 5338(j) for any fiscal year.

13 ‘‘(f) PLANNING PROCESS.—In undertaking a quali14 fied project under this section—

15 ‘‘(1) if the qualified participant is a Federal

16 land management agency—

17 ‘‘(A) the Secretary, in cooperation with the

18 Secretary of the Interior, shall develop trans19 portation planning procedures that are con20 sistent with—

21 ‘‘(i) the metropolitan planning provi22 sions under sections 5303 through 5305;

23 ‘‘(ii) the statewide planning provisions

24 under section 135 of title 23; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) the public participation require2 ments under section 5307(c); and

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of a qualified project that

4 is at a unit of the National Park system, the

5 planning process shall be consistent with the

6 general management plans of the unit of the

7 National Park system; and

8 ‘‘(2) if the qualified participant is a State or

9 local governmental authority, or more than 1 State

10 or local governmental authority in more than 1

11 State, the qualified participant shall—

12 ‘‘(A) comply with sections 5303 through

13 5305;

14 ‘‘(B) comply with the statewide planning

15 provisions under section 135 of title 23;

16 ‘‘(C) comply with the public participation

17 requirements under section 5307(c); and

18 ‘‘(D) consult with the appropriate Federal

19 land management agency during the planning

20 process.

21 ‘‘(g) COST SHARING.—

22 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENTAL SHARE.—The Secretary,

23 in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior,

24 shall establish the share of assistance to be provided

25 under this section to a qualified participant.
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1 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing the de2 partmental share of the net project cost of a quali3 fied project, the Secretary shall consider—

4 ‘‘(A) visitation levels and the revenue de5 rived from user fees in the eligible area in

6 which the qualified project is carried out;

7 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the qualified par8 ticipant coordinates with a public or private

9 mass transportation authority;

10 ‘‘(C) private investment in the qualified

11 project, including the provision of contract serv12 ices, joint development activities, and the use of

13 innovative financing mechanisms;

14 ‘‘(D) the clear and direct benefit to the

15 qualified participant; and

16 ‘‘(E) any other matters that the Secretary

17 considers appropriate to carry out this section.

18 ‘‘(3) NONDEPARTMENTAL SHARE.—Notwith19 standing any other provision of law, Federal funds

20 appropriated to any Federal land management agen21 cy may be counted toward the nondepartmental

22 share of the cost of a qualified project.

23 ‘‘(h) SELECTION OF QUALIFIED PROJECTS.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte25 rior, after consultation with and in cooperation with
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1 the Secretary, shall determine the final selection and

2 funding of an annual program of qualified projects

3 in accordance with this section.

4 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining wheth5 er to include a project in the annual program of

6 qualified projects, the Secretary of the Interior shall

7 consider—

8 ‘‘(A) the justification for the qualified

9 project, including the extent to which the quali10 fied project would conserve resources, prevent

11 or mitigate adverse impact, and enhance the en12 vironment;

13 ‘‘(B) the location of the qualified project,

14 to ensure that the selected qualified projects—

15 ‘‘(i) are geographically diverse nation16 wide; and

17 ‘‘(ii) include qualified projects in eligi18 ble areas located in both urban areas and

19 rural areas;

20 ‘‘(C) the size of the qualified project, to

21 ensure that there is a balanced distribution;

22 ‘‘(D) the historical and cultural signifi23 cance of a qualified project;

24 ‘‘(E) safety;
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1 ‘‘(F) the extent to which the qualified

2 project would—

3 ‘‘(i) enhance livable communities;

4 ‘‘(ii) reduce pollution (including noise

5 pollution, air pollution, and visual pollu6 tion);

7 ‘‘(iii) reduce congestion; and

8 ‘‘(iv) improve the mobility of people in

9 the most efficient manner; and

10 ‘‘(G) any other matters that the Secretary

11 considers appropriate to carry out this section,

12 including—

13 ‘‘(i) visitation levels;

14 ‘‘(ii) the use of innovative financing or

15 joint development strategies; and

16 ‘‘(iii) coordination with gateway com17 munities.

18 ‘‘(i) QUALIFIED PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN AD19 VANCE.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When a qualified partici21 pant carries out any part of a qualified project with22 out assistance under this section in accordance with

23 all applicable procedures and requirements, the Sec24 retary may pay the departmental share of the net

25 project cost of a qualified project if—
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1 ‘‘(A) the qualified participant applies for

2 the payment;

3 ‘‘(B) the Secretary approves the payment;

4 and

5 ‘‘(C) before carrying out that part of the

6 qualified project, the Secretary approves the

7 plans and specifications in the same manner as

8 plans and specifications are approved for other

9 projects assisted under this section.

10 ‘‘(2) INTEREST.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The cost of carrying

12 out part of a qualified project under paragraph

13 (1) includes the amount of interest earned and

14 payable on bonds issued by a State or local gov15 ernmental authority, to the extent that proceeds

16 of the bond are expended in carrying out that

17 part.

18 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The rate of interest

19 under this paragraph may not exceed the most

20 favorable rate reasonably available for the

21 qualified project at the time of borrowing.

22 ‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION.—The qualified par23 ticipant shall certify, in a manner satisfactory

24 to the Secretary, that the qualified participant
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1 has exercised reasonable diligence in seeking

2 the most favorable interest rate.

3 ‘‘(j) FULL FUNDING AGREEMENT; PROJECT MAN4 AGEMENT PLAN.—If the amount of assistance anticipated

5 to be required for a qualified project under this section

6 is more than $25,000,000—

7 ‘‘(1) the qualified project shall, to the extent

8 that the Secretary considers appropriate, be carried

9 out through a full funding agreement in accordance

10 with section 5309(g); and

11 ‘‘(2) the qualified participant shall prepare a

12 project management plan in accordance with section

13 5327(a).

14 ‘‘(k) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Qualified

15 participants shall be subject to—

16 ‘‘(1) the requirements of section 5333;

17 ‘‘(2) to the extent that the Secretary determines

18 to be appropriate, requirements consistent with

19 those under subsections (d) and (i) of section 5307;

20 and

21 ‘‘(3) any other terms, conditions, requirements,

22 and provisions that the Secretary determines to be

23 appropriate to carry out this section, including re24 quirements for the distribution of proceeds on dis-
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1 position of real property and equipment resulting

2 from a qualified project assisted under this section.

3 ‘‘(l) INNOVATIVE FINANCING.—A qualified project

4 assisted under this section shall be eligible for funding

5 through a State Infrastructure Bank or other innovative

6 financing mechanism otherwise available to finance an eli7 gible project under this chapter.

8 ‘‘(m) ASSET MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary may

9 transfer the interest of the Department of Transportation

10 in, and control over, all facilities and equipment acquired

11 under this section to a qualified participant for use and

12 disposition in accordance with any property management

13 regulations that the Secretary determines to be appro14 priate.

15 ‘‘(n) COORDINATION OF RESEARCH AND DEPLOY16 MENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coopera18 tion with the Secretary of the Interior, may under19 take, or make grants or contracts (including agree20 ments with departments, agencies, and instrumental21 ities of the Federal Government) or other agree22 ments for research, development, and deployment of

23 new technologies in eligible areas that will—

24 ‘‘(A) conserve resources;
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1 ‘‘(B) prevent or mitigate adverse environ2 mental impact;

3 ‘‘(C) improve visitor mobility, accessibility,

4 and enjoyment; and

5 ‘‘(D) reduce pollution (including noise pol6 lution and visual pollution).

7 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Secretary

8 may request and receive appropriate information

9 from any source.

10 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—Grants and contracts under

11 paragraph (1) shall be awarded from amounts allo12 cated under subsection (e)(1).

13 ‘‘(o) REPORT.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta15 tion with the Secretary of the Interior, shall annu16 ally submit to the Committee on Transportation and

17 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and

18 to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban

19 Affairs of the Senate a report on the allocation of

20 amounts to be made available to assist qualified

21 projects under this section .

22 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL AND SUPPLEMENTAL REPORTS.—

23 A report required under paragraph (1) shall be in24 cluded in the report submitted under section

25 5309(p).’’.
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1 (b) AUTHORIZATIONS.—Section 5338 of title 49,

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

3 following:

4 ‘‘(j) SECTION 5316.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

6 appropriated to carry out section 5316 $65,000,000

7 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007.

8 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available

9 under this subsection for any fiscal year shall re10 main available for obligation until the last day of the

11 third fiscal year commencing after the last day of

12 the fiscal year for which the amounts were initially

13 made available under this subsection.’’.

14 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

15 (1) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections

16 for chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is

17 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec18 tion 5315 the following:

‘‘5316. Federal land transit program.’’.

19 (2) PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT.—Sec20 tion 5327(c) of title 49, United States Code, is

21 amended in the first sentence—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘or 5311’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘5311, or 5316’’; and

24 (B) by striking ‘‘5311, or’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘5311, 5316, or’’.
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1 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 53 of title

2 49, United States Code, is amended—

3 (1) in section 5309—

4 (A) by redesignating subsection (p) as sub5 section (q); and

6 (B) by redesignating the second subsection

7 designated as subsection (o) (as added by sec8 tion 3009(i) of the Federal Transit Act of 1998

9 (112 Stat. 356)) as subsection (p);

10 (2) in section 5328(a)(4), by striking

11 ‘‘5309(o)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘5309(p)(1)’’; and

12 (3) in section 5337, by redesignating the second

13 subsection designated as subsection (e) (as added by

14 section 3028(b) of the Federal Transit Act of 1998

15 (112 Stat. 367)) as subsection (f).

Æ