NATIONAL RECREATIONAL TRAILS FUNDING PROGRAM.

SEC. 1302. NATIONAL RECREATIONAL TRAILS FUNDING PROGRAM. (a) In General.— The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, using amounts available in the Fund, shall administer a program allocating moneys to the States for the purposes of providing and maintaining recreational trails. (b) Statement of Intent.— Moneys made available under this part are to be used on trails and trail-related projects which have been planned and developed under the otherwise existing laws, policies and administrative procedures within each State, and which are identified in, or which further a specific goal of, a trail plan included or referenced in a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan required by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. (c) State Eligibility.— (1) Transitional provision.— Until the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this part, a State shall be eligible to receive moneys under this Act only if such State’s application proposes to use the moneys as provided in subsection (e). (2) Permanent provision.— On and after the date that is three years after the date of the enactment of this Act, a State shall be eligible to receive moneys under this part only if— (A) a recreational trail advisory board on which both motorized and nonmotorized recreational trail users are represented exists within the State; (B) in the case of a State that imposes a tax on non-highway recreational fuel, the State by law reserves a reasonable estimation of the revenues from that tax for use in providing and maintaining recreational trails; (C) the Governor of the State has designated the State official or officials who will be responsible for administering moneys received under this Act; and (D) the State’s application proposes to use moneys received under this part as provided in subsection (e). 105 STAT. 2065 (d) Allocation of Moneys in the Fund.— (1) Administrative costs.— No more than 3 percent of the expenditures made annually from the Fund may be used to pay the cost to the Secretary for— (A) approving applications of States for moneys under this part; (B) paying expenses of the National Recreational Trails Advisory Committee; (C) conducting national surveys of nonhighway recreational fuel consumption by State, for use in making determinations and estimations pursuant to this part; and (D) if any such funds remain unexpended, research on methods to accommodate multiple trail uses and increase the compatibility of those uses, information dissemination, technical assistance, and preparation of a national trail plan as required by the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241 et al). (2) Allocation to states.— (A) Amount.— Amounts in the Fund remaining after payment of the administrative costs described in paragraph (1), shall be allocated and paid to the States annually in the following proportions: (i) Equal amounts.— 50 percent of such amounts shall be allocated equally among eligible States. (ii) Amounts proportionate to nonhighway recreational fuel use.— 50 percent of such amounts shall be allocated among eligible States in proportion to the amount of nonhighway recreational fuel use during the preceding year in each such State, respectively. (B) Use of data.— In determining amounts of nonhighway recreational fuel use for the purpose of subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary may consider data on off-highway vehicle registrations in each State. (3) Limitation on obligations.— The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) notwithstanding, the total of all obligations for recreational trails under this section shall not exceed— (A) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1992; (B) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1993; (C) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1994; (D) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1995; (E) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1996; and (F) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1997. (e) Use of Allocated Moneys.— (1) Permissible uses.— A State may use moneys received under this part for— (A) in an amount not exceeding 7 percent of the amount of moneys received by the State, administrative costs of the State; (B) in an amount not exceeding 5 percent of the amount of moneys received by the State, operation of environmental protection and safety education programs relating to the use of recreational trails; (C) development of urban trail linkages near homes and workplaces; (D) maintenance of existing recreational trails, including the grooming and maintenance of trails across snow; 105 STAT. 2066 (E) restoration of areas damaged by usage of recreational trails and back country terrain; (F) development of trail-side and trail-head facilities that meet goals identified by the National Recreational Trails Advisory Committee; (G) provision of features which facilitate the access and use of trails by persons with disabilities; (H) acquisition of easements for trails, or for trail corridors identified in a State trail plan; (I) acquisition of fee simple title to property from a willing seller, when the objective of the acquisition cannot be accomplished by acquisition of an easement or by other means; (J) construction of new trails on State, county, municipal, or private lands, where a recreational need for such construction is shown; and (K) only as otherwise permissible, and where necessary and required by a State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation plan, construction of new trails crossing Federal lands, where such construction is approved by the administering agency of the State, and the Federal agency or agencies charged with management of all impacted lands, such approval to be contingent upon compliance by the Federal agency with all applicable laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). (2) Use not permitted.— A State may not use moneys received under this part for— (A) condemnation of any kind of interest in property; (B) (i) construction of any recreational trail on National Forest System lands for motorized uses unless such lands— (I) have been allocated for uses other than wilderness by an approved Forest land and resource management plan or have been released to uses other than wilderness by an Act of Congress, and (II) such construction is otherwise consistent with the management direction in such approved land and resource management plan; or (ii) construction of any recreational trail on Bureau of Land Management lands for motorized uses unless such lands— (I) have been allocated for uses other than wilderness by an approved Bureau of Land Management resource management plan or have been released to uses other than wilderness by an Act of Congress, and (II) such construction is otherwise consistent with the management direction in such approved management plans; or (C) upgrading, expanding, or otherwise facilitating motorized use or access to trails predominantly used by non-motorized trail users and on which, as of May 1, 1991, motorized use is either prohibited or has not occurred. (3) Grants.— (A) In general.— A State may provide moneys received under this part to make grants to private individuals, 105 STAT. 2067organizations, city and county governments, and other government entities as approved by the State after considering guidance from the recreational trail advisory board satisfying the requirements of subsection (c)(2)(A), for uses consistent with this section. (B) Compliance.— A State that issues such grants under subparagraph (A) shall establish measures to verify that recipients comply with the specified conditions for the use of grant moneys. (4) Assured access to funds.— Except as provided under paragraphs (6) and (8)(B), not less than 30 percent of the moneys received annually by a State under this part shall be reserved for uses relating to motorized recreation, and not less than 30 percent of those moneys shall be reserved for uses relating to non-motorized recreation. (5) Diversified trail use.— (A) Requirement.— To the extent practicable and consistent with other requirements of this section, a State shall expend moneys received under this part in a manner that gives preference to project proposals which— (i) provide for the greatest number of compatible recreational purposes including, but not limited to, those described under the definition of “recreational trail” in subsection (g)(5); or (ii) provide for innovative recreational trail corridor sharing to accommodate motorized and non-motorized recreational trail use. This paragraph shall remain effective until such time as a State has allocated not less than 40 percent of moneys received under this part in the aforementioned manner. (B) Compliance.— The State shall receive guidance for determining compliance with subparagraph (A) from the recreational trail advisory board satisfying the requirements of subsection (c)(2)(A). (6) Small state exclusion.— Any State with a total land area of less than 3,500,000 acres, and in which nonhighway recreational fuel use accounts for less than 1 percent of all such fuel use in the United States, shall be exempted from the requirements of paragraph (4) of this subsection upon application to the Secretary by the State demonstrating that it meets the conditions of this paragraph. (7) Continuing recreational use.— At the option of each State, moneys made available pursuant to this part may be treated as Land and Water Conservation Fund moneys for the purposes of section 6(f)(3) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. (8) Return of moneys not expended.— (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), moneys paid to a State that are not expended or dedicated to a specific project within 4 years after receipt for the purposes stated in this subsection shall be returned to the Fund and shall thereafter be reallocated under the formula stated in subsection (d). (B) If approved by the State recreational trail advisory board satisfying the requirements of subsection (c)(2)(A), may be exempted from the requirements of paragraph (4) and expended or committed to projects for purposes other-105 STAT. 2068wise stated in this subsection for a period not to extend beyond 4 years after receipt, after which any remaining moneys not expended or dedicated shall be returned to the Fund and shall thereafter be reallocated under the formula stated in subsection (d). (f) Coordination of Activities.— (1) Cooperation by federal agencies.— Each agency of the United States Government that manages land on which a State proposes to construct or maintain a recreation trail pursuant to this part is encouraged to cooperate with the State and the Secretary in planning and carrying out the activities described in subsection (e). Nothing in this part diminishes or in any way alters the land management responsibilities, plans and policies established by such agencies pursuant to other applicable laws. (2) Cooperation by private persons.— (A) Written assurances.— As a condition to making available moneys for work on recreational trails that would affect privately owned land, a State shall obtain written assurances that the owner of the property will cooperate with the State and participate as necessary in the activities to be conducted. (B) Public access.— Any use of a State’s allocated moneys on private lands must be accompanied by an easement or other legally binding agreement that ensures public access to the recreational trail improvements funded by those moneys. (g) Definitions.— For the purposes of this section— (1) Eligible state.— The term “eligible State” means a State that meets the requirements stated in subsection (c). (2) Fund.— The term “Fund” means the National Recreational Trails Trust Fund established by section 9511 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (3) Nonhighway recreational fuel.— The term “non-highway recreational fuel” has the meaning stated in section 9503(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (4) Secretary.— The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Transportation. (5) Recreational trail.— The term “recreational trail” means a thoroughfare or track across land or snow, used for recreational purposes such as bicycling, cross-country skiing, day hiking, equestrian activities, jogging or similar fitness activities, trail biking, overnight and long-distance backpacking, snowmobiling, aquatic or water activity and vehicular travel by motorcycle, four-wheel drive or all-terrain off-road vehicles, without regard to whether it is a “National Recreation Trail” designated under section 4 of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1243). (6) Motorized recreation.— The term “motorized recreation” may not include motorized conveyances used by persons with disabilities, such as self-propelled wheelchairs, at the discretion of each State.