Alabama- Federal Lands Access Program

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Establishing PDC

April 3, 2013

Eastern Federal Lands (EFL) approach to administering the Access Program.

As a result of the recent MAP-21 legislation which established the Federal Aid Access Program (Access 

Program) and with the receipt of initial program implementation guidance from Federal Lands Highway 

Headquarters staff (FHWA, HQ), the EFL staff will contact our new partners and establish the 

appropriate Points of Contact (POCs) for each partner. Our program network will include both internal 

and external staff resources. 

The internal staff resources will consist of, but not be limited to, EFLHD, HQ FLH, and the Federal Aid 

Division Office (DO) for each of the states within the EFLHD geographic area of responsibility. The 

external staff partners will come from the various Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMAs), State 

DOTs (SDOTs), local public agencies and/or local government agencies (LPAs and/or LGAs), and possibly 

the metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) within each of our states. The FLMA partners in each 

state will consist of the five legislatively defined principal partner agencies, i.e., the US Forest Service, 

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), the National Park 

Service (NPS), and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) who own and maintain at least one federal 

land parcel in that state. The FLMA partners will also include, as appropriate, any other FLMA who owns 

and maintains a federal land parcel in that state where access to that parcel is provided via any travel 

mode deemed eligible for the receipt of funds under the Access Program requirements.

Our primary task for the first 6 months of FY2013 will be to create the blanket Programming Decision 

Committee (PDC) agreement in each state. As defined in the MAP-21 legislation, the membership of the

tri-party PDC in each state will consist of the FHWA Eastern Federal Lands, the SDOT, and the LPA or 

LGA, each organization with one member representative. Reflective of the initial Access Program 

implementation guidance issued by FLH HQ, the FHWA representative in each state will be an EFL staff 

member. During this process, EFL staff will work with the respective FHWA DOs and SDOTs to establish a 

suitable and acceptable LPA representative. This will be accomplished by the conduct of the following 

activities:

1. Establish PDC representatives

a. The EFL Access Program Manager and Coordinators will each be assigned a group of 

state, District of Columbia, or territory entities for which they will preside as the PDC 

representative for the FHWA. Other FHWA staff, from either the appropriate Federal 

Aid or Federal Lands division office, may be included as support staff when needed.

b. EFL will contact their respective Federal Aid DO Forest Highway (FH) contact and solicit 

the DO’s recommendation as to the specific LPA agency and/or member position. If no 

appropriate agency or position is recommended by the DO, then the SDOT will be 

contacted and requested to recommend an SDOT and LPA PDC member.
Alabama- Federal Lands Access Program

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c. The EFL program manager will set up an initial conference call to verify all POC’s for the 

PDC members. EFL will provide the meeting minutes to all PDC participants.

d. The EFL Access Program Managers will notify the FLMA representatives in that state of 

the PDC member selection including member contact information in order to promote

the required consultation between the FLMAs and the State and local governments.

2. After the initial phone calls, EFL will send a letter to the SDOT commissioner/director, with copy 

to the FHWA DO, notifying that the Access program PDC is established and will include the 

member position titles. The PDC members will be notified of the MAP-21 legislation and MAP21 DOT website. The following links will be included:

a. Access Program Legislation: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS112hr4348enr/pdf/BILLS-112hr4348enr.pdf

b. Access Program Guidance: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/map21/guidance/guideflap.cfm

c. EFLHD Website link: http://www.efl.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/federal-lands-access.aspx

3. After the PDC is established, draft state-wide program agreements will be sent to the SDOT and 

LPA PDC representatives for their review and concurrence. The specific statewide program 

agreements will be forwarded to EFL legal counsel for review and concurrence. Upon 

acceptance of the terms and conditions contained in each program agreement by the three PDC 

members, EFL will coordinate preparing and distributing the final agreement for signature and 

final execution. SOPs may include the following:

 

a. EFL will issue calls for projects to State and local facility owners, as necessary to develop 

and maintain the TIP.

b. State and local facility owners should cooperatively engage with the respective FLMAs 

to identify FLMA priorities for access to and within Federal lands within the State. FLMA 

priorities should be consistent with the statewide long-range plan.

c. Facility owners should submit proposed projects in a standard form. (See Federal Lands 

Access Program Project Application)

i. EFL may request supplementary information as warranted. 

ii. Only the State, local or tribal entity may submit a project application to the PDC. 

iii. A local FLMA acknowledgement is required. 

iv. The State, local or tribal entity is responsible for maintenance or operation of 

the facility. 

v. The State, local or tribal entity is responsible for providing or coordinating the 

required local match.