TESTIMONY
OF NEAL A. MCCALEB, ASSISTANT SECRETARY - INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE
INTERIOR, ON THE REAUTHORIZATION OF TEA-21 BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS AND TRANSIT, U.S.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 9, 2002
Good
morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. My name is Neal McCaleb and I am the Assistant Secretary for
Indian Affairs within the Department of the Interior (Department). It is a pleasure to be here today to provide
an overview of the Departmental programs for the reauthorization of the
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The Department is working closely with the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Administration as they develop an
Administration proposal and has submitted detailed technical reports to the
FHWA, and we will be able to report to you more fully when the Administration
has worked out its proposed program for the next Congress. I have come prepared to speak about the
Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) programs, as
well as other Departmental programs and interests of the National Park Service,
the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management in the Federal
Lands Highway Program, and I have technical experts from these other Bureaus to
answer questions concerning their Bureaus under TEA-21.
Bureau
of Indian Affairs
Transportation
systems that provide access to economic markets are the foundation for economic
development for any community. For rural Indian communities, paved roads and
safe bridges are also critical for access to basic services such as education,
health care, and law enforcement.
President
Bush pledged to improve education in America and to “leave no child
behind.” The BIA is one of only two
agencies in the Federal government that manages a school system. BIA school buses travel over 15 million
miles a year to transport almost 50,000 Indian children to and from the 185 BIA
schools. Many of the bus routes are on
one-lane, unimproved earth roads without basic shoulders or safety
barriers. Improved roads will mitigate
safety problems for school children and others who travel the reservation road
system, and will also serve as a critical economic development stimulus by
making reservations more amenable to business investment.
The
Federal Lands Highways Program currently provides $275 million annually for
Indian Reservation Roads. These funds have supported many accomplishments,
including 1,400 projects being administered by the BIA and tribal governments,
622 miles of roads have been constructed or improved and 42 percent of the
funds administered through self-determination contracts/agreements.
The
Indian Reservation Road system has 55,900 miles of road of which 33,600 are
unpaved roads. Despite the sizable Federal investment that has been made in the
roads and bridges in the IRR system, the majority of roads in Indian and Alaska
Native communities remain unpaved or in poor condition. In addition, BIA
estimates that approximately 1/3 of its current allocation could be used to
implement transit systems in rural Indian and Alaska Native communities. These types of transit facilities are a new
eligible activity authorized under TEA-21.
We
recognize, however, that we need to establish funding priorities to ensure that
available IRR funding sources are allocated to address our most pressing
needs. In addition, coordination
between Indian tribes, the BIA, the Department of Transportation and state and
local governments is required to pool all available funding resources to
address priority needs. We are also
working to establish performance measures to determine which roads should
receive funding and how they are maintained.
Over 285 million
people visit our nation’s National Parks each year. They go to experience nature’s majestic beauty, see historic and
cultural wonders, and spend time with friends and family, enjoying the vast
array of recreational and educational opportunities.
The National Park Service
is committed to ensuring that every park visitor has a memorable, educational,
safe and enjoyable visit. In order to
achieve that goal, we must restore the existing National Park Service
transportation infrastructure and develop new alternative systems of
transportation in and around parks.
The National Park
Service has 5456 miles of paved roads and parkways, 3000 miles of unpaved
roads, 1733 bridges, 71 tunnels, and 12,500 miles of trails located in parks
all across the United States. In
addition, the National Park Service owns and operates 600 vehicles such as
buses, trams and shuttles that service 102 alternative transportation systems
in 90 parks.
National Park
Service challenges include a substantial backlog of road, bridge, trail and
vehicle repair or replacement needs.
Many parks are overcrowded and experience serious traffic congestion,
noise and air pollution, and poor road conditions during the peak seasonal
periods, with sixty parks that are in regional air quality non-attainment
zones. Roadway traffic accidents cost
the park road user millions of dollars annually due to injuries and property
damage, and our nation’s $10 billion National Park Service road and bridge
infrastructure investment is gradually deteriorating. Up to 80 percent of the transit vehicles owned by the National
Park Service are more than 12 years old and many do not use the new innovative
technologies available today or use alternative fuels that burn cleaner.
We recognize, however, that we need to establish funding
priorities to ensure that available funding sources are allocated to address
our most pressing needs. We are also working to establish performance measures
to determine which roads should receive funding and how they are maintained.
In response to multiple
transportation needs, the National Park Service has developed three funding
categories for the current Transportation Equity Act for the 21st
Century (TEA-21) funding to address these important needs:
Category I – Repair,
resurfacing, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the existing park roads and
parkway infrastructure. The
Administration is working on an analysis to determine an investment level to
bring the system to “good” condition and meet current safety standards for
roads and parkways.
Category II –
Completion of Congressionally Authorized Parkways. We will need to allocate a portion of our future funds to
complete the unfinished Natchez Trace Parkway multi-use trail in three urban
areas and to complete the next logical segment of the Foothill Parkway in Great
Smoky Mountains National Park.
Category III –
Alternative Transportation Systems. The
United States Department of Transportation Study, mandated by TEA-21, section
3039, supports a continued annual investment to use an integrated system
approach to visitor access and mobility using a combination of transportation
technologies, facilities, and system management strategies.
The Federal Lands
Highway Program currently provides $165 million annually for National Park
programs. Over the life of TEA-21, the National Park Service has made great
strides and many accomplishments, such as the rehabilitation of approximately 2
percent of the roads that have stabilized conditions and curtailed
deterioration for the first time since 1987.
Four of the six Congressionally mandated parkways have been
completed. Five pilot park projects
have taught us how alternative transportation reduces air and noise pollution
within the parks and helps to forge community cooperation.
National Parks are
national treasures. Maintaining parks
and park infrastructure is a Federal responsibility that has been neglected for
far too long. Over half the deferred maintenance backlog of the National Park
system is related to the infrastructure of roads in our national parks.
Secretary Norton is
committed to President Bush’s “National Park Legacy Project” which calls for
the elimination of the deferred maintenance backlog.
The Fish and Wildlife Service
The Fish and Wildlife Service manages over 570
national wildlife refuge and wetland management districts in the 50 states and
territories. The public transportation infrastructure on these units includes:
over 4,800 miles of roads, about 5,000 parking lots, over 300 bridges, over 680
miles of trails, 6 transit systems and 2 ferry boats. Visitation has increased
from 27 million visitors in 1995 to 39 million visitors in 2001. Between 2001
and 2009, visitation is expected to increase over 50%. Visitor generated sales
in regional economies is expected to be over $1 billion per year by 2009.
The Federal Lands
Highway Program currently provides $20 million annually for Refuge Road programs.
The Federal Highway Administration completed the first
nationwide inventory and condition assessment of Fish and Wildlife Service managed,
public use roads and parking lots in 2002. The FHWA condition assessment and
other studies determined that 77% of the roads, 76% of the parking lots, 55% of
the bridges and 67% of the trails are in fair to poor condition; substantial
efforts are need to improve these facilities. Further, funding is needed for
alternative transportation systems identified in the Congressionally mandated
Department of Transportation Study
The Department also supports the National Scenic
Byways Program, the Public Lands Discretionary Program, and Transportation
Enhancements Program. These programs provide significant opportunities to work
in partnership with the States and local governments. The innovative financing
opportunities provided under the Transportation Enhancements program could also
benefit other Title 23 and Title 49 funding programs and provide greater
opportunities for the Service to work with the States and local communities.
Bureau of Land Management
In the American West, a rapidly growing population
makes BLM lands more important than ever before. In the lower 48 states, nearly
two-thirds of BLM managed lands are now within an hour drive of urban areas. In
2001, more than sixty-two million visits took place on BLM lands, a 38 percent
increase since 1991.
BLM lands are used increasingly for commodity
production that contribute to the nation’s economy. BLM administered lands contain 349 coal leases, about 49,000 oil
and gas leases, of which about 20,000 are producing, and about 290,000 active
mining claims. In 2000, these activities generated nearly $1.7 billion in
Federal revenues, with energy and mineral royalties, rents, bonuses, sales, and
fees accounting for 94 % of the total. BLM lands produce about 31% of the
nation’s coal, 41% of its geothermal electrical energy, 11% of its natural gas,
and 5% of its oil.
BLM lands provide important opportunities for
recreation, including hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, boating, mountain
biking, driving off-road vehicles, bird watching, and visiting natural resource
and cultural heritage areas. The BLM administers:
·
approximately 117,00
miles of fishable streams,
·
2.9 million acres of
lakes and reservoirs,
·
6,400 miles of floatable
rivers,
·
500 boating access
points,
·
over 60 national Back
Country Byways totaling 3,200 miles, and
·
300 Watchable Wildlife
sites
Moreover, the establishment of new National Landscape
Conservation Areas and a number of new National Monuments over the past decade
has greatly increased visits to BLM- managed public lands for public enjoyment.
In FY ‘02 BLM received $900,0000 from the FHWA
discretionary fund for Planning and Coordination, which was expended for
coordination with State highway departments and county governments for state
projects and future planning. BLM has not been included in road funding
authorizations.
We recognize, however, that we need to establish
funding priorities to ensure available Public Lands Highway funds are allocated
to better serve local interests by providing access to public lands for the
purposes of recreation and important resource uses and can help local
communities meet important economic needs. We are also working to establish
performance measures to determine which roads should receive funding and how
they are maintained.
Thank you for the opportunity to present the views of
the Department on this important issue.
I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.