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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

20.219:  Recreational Trails Program

Objectives:  To provide funds to the States to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both nonmotorized and motorized recreational trail uses.

PROGRAM AND AWARD	FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS	FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS	INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS	ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS	POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

20.219 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:  The Governor of each State must designate the State agency or agencies responsible for administering this program. The State must have a State recreational trail advisory committee that represents both motorized and nonmotorized recreational trail users, which shall meet not less than once per fiscal year. The State agency may accept project proposals from private organizations, or from municipal, county, State, or Federal government entities, and other government entities. The projects must satisfy one or more of the permissible uses.

Beneficiary Eligibility:  The State agency designated by the Governor.

Credentials/Documentation:  Allowable costs will be determined in accordance with applicable cost principles listed in 49 CFR Part 18.22 for the kind of organization receiving the grant or subgrant.

20.219 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  Trail and trail-related projects must be planned and developed under the laws, policies, and administrative procedures within each State, and be identified in, or further a specific goal of, a recreational trail plan, or a statewide comprehensive outdoor recreation plan required by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l 4 et seq.), that is in effect. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:  The States must submit project proposals to the FHWA division office located in each State for approval. The State may submit individual projects or consolidate similar projects for the purposes of program approval. The FHWA approval constitutes a commitment to pay the Federal share of the project's cost. The State's projects also must be included in State transportation improvement programs and applicable metropolitan transportation improvement programs.

Award Procedure:  The State agency or agencies designated by the Governors decide which projects will be developed within funding levels, but the FHWA division office located in each State makes the final decision on the eligibility of specific projects for funding.

Deadlines:  There are no Federal deadlines for funding requests. An individual State may establish deadlines for projects within that State.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  From 5 days to 5 months.

Appeals:  None.

Renewals:  None.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  To be eligible, projects must be selected on the basis of State priorities within the limit of the funds apportioned to each State.

Examples of Funded Projects:  Trail projects to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both nonmotorized and motorized recreational trail uses. Examples include maintenance and construction of trails for hiking, bicycling, in-line skating, equestrian use, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, off-road motorcycling, all-terrain vehicle riding, four-wheel driving, or using other off-road motorized vehicles; development and rehabilitation of trailside and trailhead facilities; operation of educational projects and programs to promote safety and environmental protection related to recreational trails; State administrative costs related to this program.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  Apportionments to the States are based on statutory formula. All 50 States and the District of Columbia are eligible to receive apportionments. For fiscal year 1999, funds ranged from $386,275 to $2,755,455; the average was $722,549.

20.219 RELATED PROGRAMS:

• 20.205 Highway Planning and Construction.

20.219 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

20.219 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Type of Assistance:  Formula Grants; Project Grants.

Obligations:  (Grants) FY 99 $40,000,000; FY 00 est $50,000,000; and FY 01 est $50,000,000.

Budget Account Number:  69-8083-0-7-401.

Authorization:  Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Sections 1101, 1103, and 1112, Public Law 105-178, 23 U.S.C. 206.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  23 CFR, Highways and 49 CFR, Transportation. There are no regulations specifically for this program. Interim program guidance was completed on April 1, 1999; an update is expected in 2000.

20.219 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  State-level offices of the Federal Highway Administration (as listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog) or the State agency designated by the Governor to administer this program.

Headquarters Office:  Christopher B. Douwes, Office of Planning and Environment (HEPH-30), Federal Highway Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW., Room 3301, Washington DC 20590. Phone: 202-366-5013. Fax: 202-366-3409. Email: christopher.douwes@fhwa.dot.gov. Website: www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrail.htm.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

20.219 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  Funds are distributed to the States by statutory formula: 50 percent of the funds are apportioned equally among all States, and 50 percent are apportioned in proportion to the estimated amount of nonhighway recreational fuel use in each State. In general, the maximum Federal share for each project from Recreational Trails Program funds is 80 percent. A Federal agency project sponsor may provide additional Federal funds, provided the total Federal share does not exceed 95 percent. The nonfederal match must come from project sponsors or other fund sources. Funds from any other Federal program may be used for the nonFederal match if the project also is eligible under the other program. States also may allow a programmatic match: if some project sponsors in a State provide more match funds than required, other sponsors in the State may provide less. Some in-kind materials and services may be credited toward the project match.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  Funds generally become available at the beginning of the fiscal year for which they are authorized, and must be obligated within 3 years after the close of that fiscal year.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  Funds from this program may be used for: (1) Maintenance and restoration of existing trails; (2)development and rehabilitation of trailside and trailhead facilities and trail linkages; (3) purchase and lease of trail construction and maintenance equipment; (4) construction of new trails (with restrictions for new trails on Federal lands); (5) acquisition of easements or property for trails; (6) State administrative costs related to this program (limited to 7 percent of a State's funds); and (7) operation of educational programs to promote safety and environmental protection related to trails (limited to 5 percent of a State's funds). Funds may not be used for: property condemnation; constructing new trails for motorized use on National Forest or Bureau of Land Management lands unless the project is consistent with resource management plans; or facilitating motorized access on otherwise nonmotorized trails.

20.219 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  Generally, the FHWA division office in each State monitors and reviews State projects and programs.

Audits:  In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of State, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations", nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 in a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records:  Project records and documents must be retained by the State for 3 years following the final submission for Federal payment in accordance with 49 CFR 18.41.