TEA-21 Legislative Summary

On June 9, 1998, President Clinton signed the "Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21)". TEA-21 is a comprehensive bill which funds various surface transportation programs at a total of $217 billion over six years. It includes transportation programs and provisions that address a wide range of needs in parks within the NPS jurisdiction. It also gives the NPS the opportunity to work with partners outside park boundaries, such as state and local governments and gateway communities, to help develop transportation solutions that preserve natural resources and improve access to visitors beginning at the point of origin.

TEA-21 replaces the last transportation authorization program, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. 'ISTEA', as the program was referred to, expired at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 1997. ISTEA provided approximately $84 million per year for the Park Roads and Parkways (PRP) Program of the Federal Lands Highway Program (FLHP) compared to $165 million annually beginning in FY 1999 from TEA-21. In addition, TEA-21 dedicates more than $167 million to specific transportation projects affecting the National Park System. These dollars are derived from the Highway Trust Fund which is paid for through user fees from Federal gasoline taxes.

Funding Opportunities Under TEA-21 | TEA-21 Highlight Details

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES UNDER TEA-21

TEA-21 offers new or expanded funding opportunities for the NPS. These opportunities are provided through dedicated funds to NPS transportation as well as funds allocated to the states. Many NPS partners can gain funding assistance from the states to carryout projects under TEA-21. Access to these funds is crucial to the NPS goal of reversing the declining condition of the Service's vast system of roads, bridges, tunnels, bike paths and trails. These funds also enable the NPS to improve the circulation of visitors and employees without detracting from the surrounding environment and encourage a regional approach to transportation solutions. Some of the funding opportunity highlights in TEA-21 for the NPS include:

• Increased funds for transportation projects in national parks, including $940 million out of FLHP for the PRP Program and approximately $167 million in funds for specific high priority transportation projects and other studies affecting the parks. This includes expanded transit eligibility for PRP Program funds.
• Authorization to use NPS annually appropriated funds and FLHP funds as the "local match" for many types of federally funded highway, transit, and other transportation projects.
• A strong emphasis on transportation planning, with greater coordination and partnerships among State and local transportation agencies.
• Authorization to study transit needs in national parks and related public lands, to identify transportation strategies for national parks and assess the feasibility and costs of alternative transportation modes.
• New transportation project and program opportunities for the NPS and its partners from a variety of TEA-21 programs that address national priorities for environmental protection and preservation in the development of transportation systems. Among these are the Transportation Enhancement portion of the Surface Transportation Program, Clean Fuels, Scenic Byways, and Recreational Trails Programs.

TEA-21 HIGHLIGHT DETAILS

Federal Lands Highway Program: Funding for Federal Highways Administration's (FHWA's) FLHP jumped from about $2.5 billion under ISTEA to over $4 billion under TEA-21. Under the PRP Program, a total of $115 million has been allocated for FY 1998, with $165 million for FY 1999-2003. This is equal to $940 million before subtracting the funds for agency costs for FLHP program administration, also known as "administrative takedown", and an obligation limitation.

High Priority Projects: TEA-21 includes specific funding authorizations for mandated and "high priority" projects. Each project has specific authorizations and limitations prescribed in the legislation. High priority projects or studies affecting national parks includes over $250 million in funds. Over 50 projects could affect NPS sites, including improvements and upgrades for NPS parkways - the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, the Natchez Trace Parkway, the Foothills Parkway and others; a visitor center for New River Gorge National River; over $19 million for the Beartooth Highway adjacent to Yellowstone National Park; and upgrades of roads in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and other parks.

Expanded Opportunities for Funding Local Match: One of the most important changes in TEA-21 for the National Park Service is new flexibility for providing the local matching (non-Federal) share of many types of projects. FLHP funds may now be used as the local match for projects funded by the Interstate Maintenance, National Highway System, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality and Surface Transportation programs, provided the project relates to access to or within Federal lands. Even greater flexibility is given to NPS annually appropriated funds, which may be used to pay the non-Federal share of Recreational Trails and Scenic Byways Programs in addition to the programs mentioned above. This new authority makes the National Park Service a more attractive partner to local areas since we can now contribute money to fund local transportation projects.

Opportunities for NPS to Participate in State and Regional Transportation Planning: TEA-21 requires the development of transportation planning procedures for each land management agency that are consistent with the State and metropolitan planning processes established under ISTEA. Thus, all major NPS transportation projects will be developed in cooperation with State and metropolitan transportation planning organizations and will be included in their transportation plans. TEA-21 also requires that each State, while developing its transportation plans, consider the concerns of Federal land management agencies operating within the boundaries of the State.

Participation in statewide and metropolitan transportation planning is important to the NPS. It provides the opportunity to influence decision making on state plans and TIPs. That is important because it is during the planning process that funding decisions are made on projects that interest NPS units. While the new planning provisions emphasize a cooperative approach to planning and transportation decision making, they do not significantly affect the way the NPS internally identifies and prioritizes projects.

Study of Transit Needs In National Parks: TEA-21 authorizes and funds a comprehensive study of alternative transportation needs in national parks and related public lands in order to: conserve natural, historical, and cultural resources and prevent adverse impact; relieve congestion; minimize fuel consumption, reduce pollution (including noise and visual pollution); and enhance visitor mobility and accessibility and the visitor experience. The study will identify transportation strategies for national parks and assess the feasibility and costs of alternative transportation modes.

Program of Interest to the NPS: There are many discretionary, competitive funding programs administered by each state. To get state approval for projects that are important to national park units and our partners will require active networking by NPS officials with transportation officials and other interested parties, such as non-profit advocacy groups, to generate support needed at the State and local levels. Partnering with gateway communities to promote projects of mutual public benefit is key to generating local and State support. The new authority to contribute money to the state/local match that is required for Federal transportation funding programs will also make the NPS a more attractive partner at the transportation project funding "bargaining table". The non-FLHP state transportation programs that the NPS and our partners might wish to compete for include:

Transportation Enhancement Activities: TEA-21 provides expanded funding for Surface Transportation Program Transportation "Enhancement" (TE) projects, which are projects intended to integrate transportation facilities into their surrounding communities by increasing public access and enjoyment. Enhancements can also be stand-alone projects with an identifiable relationship to the intermodal transportation system. TE projects should be generated from the metropolitan and statewide transportation planning process, and must be based on strong community support.

Because of the diverse array of projects that can be funded through this program, the TE program could easily be considered the most important federal transportation funding program for the NPS next to the PRP Program. Past examples of NPS use of enhancement funds include the development of Visitor Use Centers (Intermodal Center for the Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi), right-of-way acquisition (RTCA in partnership with Portland Trails, Maine), historic preservation through land and easement acquisition in Civil War sites (Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland), and development of bicycle and pedestrian trails (San Antonio Missions NHP, Texas), and a regional, way-finding system (i.e., sign system with trail blazers, etc.) for historic sites and natural features (Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor).

Procedures for applying for TE funding and the criteria used for competitive selection vary by State and sometimes by region. That is why national park units should become familiar with regional and State transportation planning procedures for competing for TE and other transportation funds. Partnering with local governments and gateway communities, environmental advocacy groups, or facility user groups helps raise the visibility of the project(s) to regional and State transportation agencies and officials.

National Scenic Byways Program: In September 1996, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation designated the first All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways. All-American Roads are considered the country's finest byways, and are considered to be destinations unto themselves. National Scenic Byways possess outstanding qualities in six possible areas: archaeological, historical, recreational, cultural, scenic, and natural.

Like NPS units, All American Roads and National Scenic Byways are important components of tourism activity and are important national historic, cultural, and scenic treasures. Many of these roads run adjacent to, travel within, or provide access to national park units.

Recreational Trails Program: This program can be used to develop and maintain the trail networks located in our park units. However, this program will be particularly useful to the NPS Long Distance and Heritage Trail networks such as the Lewis and Clark Heritage Trail and the National Freedom Trail in Boston, because such trails are not eligible for traditional funding programs such as the PRP program.

TEA-21 raises the federal share from 50 percent to 80 percent, reducing the "local" match requirements to only 20 percent of total project cost. Other Federal programs and agencies may provide additional Federal share (up to 95 percent). "Soft match" provisions such as donations of funds, materials, services, or right-of-way are allowed, including soft matches from public agencies.

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program: Some of the eligible activities that fall under CMAQ include capital improvements to transit systems that lead to an increase in transit ridership, implementation of shared ride services and other Transportation Demand Management strategies, traffic flow improvements, and pedestrian and bicycle improvements.

Eligibility is limited to serving areas that do not meet with the Federal air quality targets (non-attainment areas), or did not meet these targets in the past (maintenance areas). Funds are distributed to States by a formula that considers an area's population and the severity of its air quality problems. Additional weight is given to areas that do not meet the carbon monoxide targets in non-attainment and maintenance areas.

Other Programs: A number of other opportunities may exist to fund NPS transportation activities. Programs related to transit, safety, research, ferries, clean fuels, emergency relief, boating, and other activities may be relevant to certain NPS sites. Additional information on TEA-21 funding programs is available on the Federal Highway Administration TEA-21 internet website located at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tea21/index.htm.