II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 690

To provide for mass transportation in national parks and related public

lands.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 23, 1999

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. REID, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. BOXER, Mr.

KENNEDY, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. KERRY, and Mrs. MURRAY) 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 national parks and

related public lands.

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

5 (TRIP) Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. MASS TRANSPORTATION IN NATIONAL PARKS AND

2 RELATED PUBLIC LANDS.

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

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing:

6 ‘‘§ 5339. Mass transportation in national parks and

7 related public lands

8 ‘‘(a) POLICIES, FINDINGS, AND PURPOSES.—

9 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SYS10 TEMS.—It is in the interest of the United States to

11 encourage and promote the development of transpor12 tation systems for the betterment of the national

13 parks and other units of the National Park System,

14 national wildlife refuges, recreational areas, and

15 other public lands in order to conserve natural, his16 torical, and cultural resources and prevent adverse

17 impact, relieve congestion, minimize transportation

18 fuel consumption, reduce pollution (including noise

19 and visual pollution), and enhance visitor mobility

20 and accessibility and the visitor experience.

21 ‘‘(2) GENERAL FINDINGS.—Congress finds

22 that—

23 ‘‘(A) section 1050 of the Intermodal Sur24 face Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991

25 (Public Law 102–240) authorized a study of al26 ternatives for visitor transportation in the Na-
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1 tional Park System which was released by the

2 National Park Service in May 1994;

3 ‘‘(B) the study found that—

4 ‘‘(i) increasing traffic congestion in

5 the national parks requires alternative

6 transportation strategies to enhance re7 source protection and the visitor experience

8 and to reduce congestion;

9 ‘‘(ii) visitor use, National Park Serv10 ice units, and concession facilities require

11 integrated planning; and

12 ‘‘(iii) the transportation problems and

13 visitor services require increased coordina14 tion with gateway communities;

15 ‘‘(C) on November 25, 1997, the Depart16 ment of Transportation and the Department of

17 the Interior entered into a Memorandum of Un18 derstanding to address transportation needs

19 within and adjacent to national parks and to

20 enhance cooperation between the departments

21 on park transportation issues;

22 ‘‘(D) to initiate the Memorandum of Un23 derstanding, and to implement President Clin24 ton’s ‘Parks for Tomorrow’ initiative, outlined

25 on Earth Day, 1996, the Department of Trans-
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1 portation and the Department of the Interior

2 announced, in December 1997, the intention to

3 implement mass transportation services in the

4 Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National

5 Park, and Yosemite National Park;

6 ‘‘(E) section 3039 of the Transportation

7 Equity Act for the 21st Century authorized a

8 comprehensive study, to be conducted by the

9 Secretary of Transportation in coordination

10 with the Secretary of the Interior, and sub11 mitted to Congress on January 1, 2000, of al12 ternative transportation in national parks and

13 related public lands, in order to—

14 ‘‘(i) identify the transportation strate15 gies that improve the management of the

16 national parks and related public lands;

17 ‘‘(ii) identify national parks and re18 lated public lands with existing and poten19 tial problems of adverse impact, high con20 gestion, and pollution, or which can benefit

21 from alternative transportation modes;

22 ‘‘(iii) assess the feasibility of alter23 native transportation modes; and

24 ‘‘(iv) identify and estimate the costs

25 of those alternative transportation modes;
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1 ‘‘(F) many of the national parks and re2 lated public lands are experiencing increased

3 visitation and congestion and degradation of the

4 natural, historical, and cultural resources;

5 ‘‘(G) there is a growing need for new and

6 expanded mass transportation services through7 out the national parks and related public lands

8 to conserve and protect fragile natural, histor9 ical, and cultural resources, prevent adverse im10 pact on those resources, and reduce pollution

11 and congestion, while at the same time facili12 tating appropriate visitor mobility and accessi13 bility and improving the visitor experience;

14 ‘‘(H) the Federal Transit Administration,

15 through the Department of Transportation, can

16 assist the Federal land management agencies

17 through financial support and technical assist18 ance and further the achievement of national

19 goals to enhance the environment, improve mo20 bility, create more livable communities, conserve

21 energy, and reduce pollution and congestion in

22 all regions of the country; and

23 ‘‘(I) immediate financial and technical as24 sistance by the Department of Transportation,

25 working with Federal land management agen-
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1 cies and State and local governmental authori2 ties to develop efficient and coordinated mass

3 transportation systems within and adjacent to

4 national parks and related public lands is essen5 tial to conserve natural, historical, and cultural

6 resources, relieve congestion, reduce pollution,

7 improve mobility, and enhance visitor accessi8 bility and the visitor experience.

9 ‘‘(3) GENERAL PURPOSES.—The purposes of

10 this section are—

11 ‘‘(A) to develop a cooperative relationship

12 between the Secretary of Transportation and

13 the Secretary of the Interior to carry out this

14 section;

15 ‘‘(B) to encourage the planning and estab16 lishment of mass transportation systems and

17 nonmotorized transportation systems needed

18 within and adjacent to national parks and re19 lated public lands, located in both urban and

20 rural areas, that enhance resource protection,

21 prevent adverse impacts on those resources, im22 prove visitor mobility and accessibility and the

23 visitor experience, reduce pollution and conges24 tion, conserve energy, and increase coordination

25 with gateway communities;
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1 ‘‘(C) to assist Federal land management

2 agencies and State and local governmental au3 thorities in financing areawide mass transpor4 tation systems to be operated by public or pri5 vate mass transportation authorities, as deter6 mined by local and regional needs, and to en7 courage public-private partnerships; and

8 ‘‘(D) to assist in the research and develop9 ment of improved mass transportation equip10 ment, facilities, techniques, and methods with

11 the cooperation of public and private companies

12 and other entities engaged in the provision of

13 mass transportation services.

14 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—

15 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Federal land management agen16 cy’ means the National Park Service, the United

17 States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Bureau of

18 Land Management;

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘national parks and related public

20 lands’ means the national parks and other units of

21 the National Park System, national wildlife refuges,

22 recreational areas, and other public lands managed

23 by the Federal land management agencies;

24 ‘‘(3) the term ‘qualified participant’ means a

25 Federal land management agency, or a State or local
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1 governmental authority, acting alone, in partnership,

2 or with another Governmental or nongovernmental

3 participant;

4 ‘‘(4) the term ‘qualified mass transportation

5 project’ means a project—

6 ‘‘(A) that is carried out within or adjacent

7 to national parks and related public lands; and

8 ‘‘(B) that—

9 ‘‘(i) is a capital project, as defined in

10 section 5302(a)(1) (other than preventive

11 maintenance activities);

12 ‘‘(ii) is any activity described in sec13 tion 5309(a)(1)(A);

14 ‘‘(iii) involves the purchase of rolling

15 stock that incorporates clean fuel tech16 nology or the replacement of existing buses

17 with clean fuel vehicles or the deployment

18 of mass transportation vehicles that intro19 duce new technology;

20 ‘‘(iv) relates to the capital costs of co21 ordinating the Federal land management

22 agency mass transportation systems with

23 other mass transportation systems;
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1 ‘‘(v) involves nonmotorized transpor2 tation systems, including the provision of

3 facilities for pedestrians and bicycles;

4 ‘‘(vi) involves the development of wa5 terborne access within or adjacent to na6 tional parks and related public lands, in7 cluding watercraft, as appropriate to and

8 consistent with the purposes described in

9 subsection (a)(3); or

10 ‘‘(vii) is any transportation project

11 that—

12 ‘‘(I) enhances the environment;

13 ‘‘(II) prevents adverse impact on

14 natural resources;

15 ‘‘(III) improves Federal land

16 management agency resources man17 agement;

18 ‘‘(IV) improves visitor mobility

19 and accessibility and the visitor expe20 rience;

21 ‘‘(V) reduces congestion and pol22 lution, including noise and visual pol23 lution;

24 ‘‘(VI) conserves natural, histor25 ical, and cultural resources (other
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1 than through the rehabilitation or res2 toration of historic buildings); and

3 ‘‘(VII) incorporates private in4 vestment; and

5 ‘‘(5) the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary

6 of Transportation.

7 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL AGENCY COOPERATIVE ARRANGE8 MENTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop

10 a cooperative relationship with the Secretary of the

11 Interior, which shall provide for—

12 ‘‘(A) the exchange of technical assistance;

13 ‘‘(B) interagency and multidisciplinary

14 teams to develop Federal land management

15 agency transportation policy, procedures, and

16 coordination; and

17 ‘‘(C) the development of procedures and

18 criteria relating to the planning, selection, and

19 funding of qualified mass transportation

20 projects, and implementation and oversight of

21 the project plan in accordance with the require22 ments of this section.

23 ‘‘(2) PROJECT SELECTION.—The Secretary,

24 after consultation and in cooperation with the Sec25 retary of the Interior, shall determine the final selec-
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1 tion and funding of projects in accordance with this

2 section.

3 ‘‘(d) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may con5 tract for or enter into grants, cooperative agree6 ments, or other agreements with a qualified partici7 pant to carry out a qualified mass transportation

8 project under this section.

9 ‘‘(2) OTHER USES.—A grant or cooperative

10 agreement or other agreement for a qualified mass

11 transportation project under this section also is

12 available to finance the leasing of equipment and fa13 cilities for use in mass transportation, subject to

14 regulations the Secretary prescribes limiting the

15 grant or cooperative arrangement or other agree16 ment to leasing arrangements that are more cost ef17 fective than purchase or construction.

18 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON USE OF AVAILABLE

19 AMOUNTS.—The Secretary may not use more than 5 per20 cent of the amount made available for a fiscal year under

21 section 5338(j) to carry out planning, research, and tech22 nical assistance under this section, including the develop23 ment of technology appropriate for use in a qualified mass

24 transportation project. Amounts made available under this

25 subsection are in addition to amounts otherwise available
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1 for planning, research, and technical assistance under this

2 title or any other provision of law.

3 ‘‘(f) PLANNING PROCESS.—In undertaking a quali4 fied mass transportation project under this section—

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

6 land management agency—

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

8 Secretary of the Interior, shall develop trans9 portation planning procedures that are con10 sistent with sections 5303 through 5305; and

11 ‘‘(B) the General Management Plans of

12 the units of the National Park System shall be

13 incorporated into the planning process;

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

15 local governmental authority, or more than 1 State

16 or local governmental authority in more than 1

17 State, the qualified participant shall comply with

18 sections 5303 through 5305;

19 ‘‘(3) if the national parks and related public

20 lands at issue lie in multiple States, there shall be

21 cooperation in the planning process under sections

22 5303 through 5305, to the maximum extent prac23 ticable, as determined by the Secretary, between

24 those States and the Secretary of the Interior; and
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1 ‘‘(4) the qualified participant shall comply with

2 the public participation requirements of section

3 5307(c).

4 ‘‘(g) GOVERNMENT’S SHARE OF COSTS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab6 lish the Federal Government share of assistance to

7 a qualified participant under this section.

8 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing the

9 Government’s share of the net costs of a qualified

10 transportation project under paragraph (1), the Sec11 retary shall consider—

12 ‘‘(A) visitation levels and the revenue de13 rived from user fees in the national parks and

14 related public lands at issue;

15 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the qualified par16 ticipant coordinates with an existing public or

17 private mass transportation authority;

18 ‘‘(C) private investment in the qualified

19 mass transportation project, including the pro20 vision of contract services, joint development ac21 tivities, and the use of innovative financing

22 mechanisms;

23 ‘‘(D) the clear and direct benefit to a

24 qualified participant assisted under this section;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(E) any other matters that the Secretary

2 considers appropriate to carry out this section.

3 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding

4 any other provision of law, Federal funds appro5 priated to any Federal land management agency

6 may be counted toward the non-Federal share of the

7 costs of any mass transportation project that is eligi8 ble for assistance under this section.

9 ‘‘(h) SELECTION OF QUALIFIED MASS TRANSPOR10 TATION PROJECTS.—In awarding assistance for a quali11 fied mass transportation project under this section, the

12 Secretary shall consider—

13 ‘‘(1) project justification, including the extent

14 to which the project would conserve the resources,

15 prevent adverse impact, and enhance the environ16 ment;

17 ‘‘(2) the location of the qualified mass transpor18 tation project, to assure that the selection of

19 projects—

20 ‘‘(A) is geographically diverse nationwide;

21 and

22 ‘‘(B) encompasses both urban and rural

23 areas;

24 ‘‘(3) the size of the qualified mass transpor25 tation project, to assure a balanced distribution;
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1 ‘‘(4) historical and cultural significance of a

2 project;

3 ‘‘(5) safety;

4 ‘‘(6) the extent to which the project would en5 hance livable communities;

6 ‘‘(7) the extent to which the project would re7 duce pollution, including noise and visual pollution;

8 ‘‘(8) the extent to which the project would re9 duce congestion and improve the mobility of people

10 in the most efficient manner; and

11 ‘‘(9) any other matters that the Secretary con12 siders appropriate to carry out this section.

13 ‘‘(i) PROJECTS OF REGIONAL OR NATIONAL SIGNIFI14 CANCE.—

15 ‘‘(1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—In addition to

16 other qualified mass transportation projects, the

17 Secretary may select a qualified mass transportation

18 project that is of regional or national significance, or

19 that has significant visitation, or that can benefit

20 from alternative transportation solutions to problems

21 of resource management, pollution, congestion, mo22 bility, and accessibility. Such projects shall meet the

23 criteria set forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) of

24 section 5309(e), as applicable.

25 ‘‘(2) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—
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1 ‘‘(A) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting a

2 qualified mass transportation project described

3 in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider,

4 as appropriate, in addition to the considerations

5 set forth in subsection (h)—

6 ‘‘(i) visitation levels;

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

8 joint development strategies;

9 ‘‘(iii) coordination with the gateway

10 communities; and

11 ‘‘(iv) any other matters that the Sec12 retary considers appropriate to carry out

13 this subsection.

14 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN LOCATIONS.—For fiscal

15 years 2000 through 2003, projects described in

16 paragraph (1) may include the following loca17 tions:

18 ‘‘(i) Grand Canyon National Park.

19 ‘‘(ii) Zion National Park.

20 ‘‘(iii) Yosemite National Park.

21 ‘‘(iv) Acadia National Park.

22 ‘‘(C) LIMIT.—No project assisted under

23 this subsection shall receive more than 12 per24 cent of the total amount made available under

25 this section in any fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(D) FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREE2 MENTS.—A project assisted under this sub3 section whose net project cost is greater than

4 $25,000,000 shall be carried out through a full

5 funding grant agreement in accordance with

6 section 5309(g).

7 ‘‘(j) UNDERTAKING PROJECTS IN ADVANCE.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may pay the

9 Government’s share of the net project cost to a

10 qualified participant that carries out any part of a

11 qualified mass transportation project without assist12 ance under this section, and according to all applica13 ble procedures and requirements, if—

14 ‘‘(A) the qualified participant applies for

15 the payment;

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

17 and

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

19 project, the Secretary approves the plans and

20 specifications in the same way as other projects

21 assisted under this chapter.

22 ‘‘(2) INTEREST.—The cost of carrying out a

23 part of a project referred to in paragraph (1) in24 cludes the amount of interest earned and payable on

25 bonds issued by the State or local governmental au-
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1 thority, to the extent proceeds of the bond are ex2 pended in carrying out that part. However, the

3 amount of interest under this paragraph may not ex4 ceed the most favorable interest terms reasonably

5 available for the project at the time of borrowing.

6 The applicant shall certify, in a manner that is sat7 isfactory to the Secretary, that the applicant has

8 shown reasonable diligence in seeking the most fa9 vorable financial terms.

10 ‘‘(3) COST CHANGE CONSIDERATIONS.—The

11 Secretary shall consider changes in project cost indi12 ces when determining the estimated cost under para13 graph (2).

14 ‘‘(k) PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT.—The Sec15 retary may use not more than 0.5 percent of amounts

16 made available under this section for a fiscal year to over17 see projects and participants in accordance with section

18 5327.

19 ‘‘(l) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifi21 cally provided in this section, but subject to para22 graph (2) of this subsection, the Secretary shall re23 quire that all grants, contracts, cooperative agree24 ments, or other agreements under this section shall

25 be subject to the requirements of sections 5307(d),
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1 5307(i), and any other terms, conditions, require2 ments, and provisions that the Secretary determines

3 are necessary or appropriate to carry out this sec4 tion, including requirements for the distribution of

5 proceeds on disposition of real property and equip6 ment resulting from the project assisted under this

7 section.

8 ‘‘(2) LABOR STANDARDS.—Sections

9 5323(a)(1)(D) and 5333(b) apply to assistance pro10 vided under this section.

11 ‘‘(m) STATE INFRASTRUCTURE BANKS.—A project

12 assisted under this section shall be eligible for funding

13 through a State Infrastructure Bank or other innovative

14 financing mechanism otherwise available to finance an eli15 gible mass transportation project under this chapter.

16 ‘‘(n) ASSET MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary may

17 transfer the Department of Transportation interest in and

18 control over all facilities and equipment acquired under

19 this section to a qualified participant for use and disposi20 tion in accordance with property management rules and

21 regulations of the department, agency, or instrumentality

22 of the Federal Government.

23 ‘‘(o) COORDINATION OF RESEARCH AND DEPLOY24 MENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES.—The Secretary may un25 dertake, or make grants or contracts (including agree-
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1 ments with departments, agencies, and instrumentalities

2 of the Federal Government) or other agreements for re3 search, development, and deployment of new technologies

4 that will conserve resources and prevent adverse environ5 mental impact, improve visitor mobility, accessibility and

6 enjoyment, and reduce pollution, including noise and vis7 ual pollution, in the national parks and related public

8 lands. The Secretary may request and receive appropriate

9 information from any source. This subsection does not

10 limit the authority of the Secretary under any other provi11 sion of law.

12 ‘‘(p) REPORT.—The Secretary, in consultation with

13 the Secretary of the Interior, shall report annually to the

14 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the

15 House of Representatives and to the Committee on Bank16 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, on the

17 allocation of amounts to be made available to assist quali18 fied mass transportation projects under this section. Such

19 reports shall be included in each report required under

20 section 5309(p).’’.

21 (b) AUTHORIZATIONS.—Section 5338 of title 49,

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

23 following:

24 ‘‘(j) SECTION 5339.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

2 appropriated to carry out section 5339 $50,000,000

3 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2003.

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

5 under this subsection for any fiscal year shall re6 main available for obligation until the last day of the

7 third fiscal year commencing after the last day of

8 the fiscal year for which the amounts were initially

9 made available under this subsection.’’.

10 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

11 chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is amended

12 by adding at the end the following:

‘‘5339. Mass transportation in national parks and related public lands.’’.

13 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 53 of title

14 49, United States Code, is amended—

15 (1) in section 5309—

16 (A) by redesignating subsection (p) as sub17 section (q); and

18 (B) by redesignating the second subsection

19 designated as subsection (o) (as added by sec20 tion 3009(i) of the Federal Transit Act of 1998

21 (112 Stat. 356–357)) as subsection (p);

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

23 ‘‘5309(o)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘5309(p)(1)’’; and

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

25 subsection designated as subsection (e) (as added by
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1 section 3028(b) of the Federal Transit Act of 1998

2 (112 Stat. 367)) as subsection (f).

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