FHWA > Special Federal-aid Funding > Discretionary > Program Information > Public Lands Highway Discretionary > PLHD Program Information |
Public Lands Highway DiscretionaryPLHD Program Information (February 2008)Background:The Public Lands Highways (PLH) Program was originally established in 1930 by the Amendment Relative to Construction of Roads through Public Lands and Federal Reservations. Funding was provided from the General Fund of the Treasury. The intent of the program is to improve access to and within the Federal lands of the nation. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1970 changed the funding source for the program from the General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund, effective in fiscal year (FY) 1972. The program has been continued with each highway or transportation act since then, and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, Public Law 109-59) continues the program through FY 2009. Statutory References:23 U.S.C. 202, 203 & 204;SAFETEA-LU, Section 1101(a)(9)(D) Funding:
For FY 2008, Section 1101(a)(9)(D) of SAFETEA-LUauthorizes $290 million for the Public Lands Highway program. Under the provisions of 23 U.S.C. 202(b), the PLHD share of this authorization is 34 percent, or $98,600,000. Under the provisions of Section 186 of Division K of the FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 110-161), Congress designated the FY 2008 PLHD funds for specific projects listed in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act. In addition, Section 186 rescinds the excess authorized IMD funds not needed for the designated projects. Therefore, $21,264,182 of the $98.6 million authorization is rescinded, leaving an authorization of $77,335,818. In addition, under the provisions of Section 120(e), Redistribution of Certain Authorized Funds, of Division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, any authorized funds, which are not available for obligation due to the imposition of an obligation limitation, are not allocated for the PLHD program, but are redistributed to the States in accordance with Section 120(e). For FY 2008, the obligation limitation is 92.4 percent. Therefore, only $71,458,296 of the $77,335,818 reduced authorization will be available to fund these FY 2008 designated PLHD projects. Each designated amount in the Joint Explanatory Statement has to be proportionally reduced accordingly. Federal Share:In accordance with 23 U.S.C. 204(b), the Federal share of the costs for any project eligible under this program is 100 percent. Obligation Limitation:The PLHD funds are subject to obligation limitation; however, 100 percent obligation authority is provided with the allocation of funds for the selected projects. The obligation limitation reduces the available funding for the program under the provisions of SAFETEA-LU Section 1102(f). For FY 2008, these provisions are in Section 120(e) of Division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Eligibility:Under the provisions of 23 U.S.C. 202(b)(1)(A), the funds shall be allocated "among those States having unappropriated or unreserved public lands, nontaxable Indian lands or other Federal reservations, on the basis of need in such States." Since all of the States have some Federal lands, all are eligible to apply for PLHD funding. In accordance with 23 U.S.C. 204(b)(5), the PLH funds are available for "any kind of transportation project eligible for assistance under Title 23, United States Code, that is within, adjacent to, or provides access to" Federal lands or facilities. Under the provisions of 23 U.S.C. 204(b)(1)(A), the PLH funds are available for transportation planning, research, engineering, and construction of the highways, roads, and parkways, and of transit facilities within the Federal public lands. Under the provisions of 23 U.S.C. 204(b)(1)(B), the PLH funds are also available for operation and maintenance of transit facilities located on Federal public lands. Under 23 U.S.C. 204(h), eligible projects under the PLH program may also include the following:
For FY 2008, the designated projects, in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, must meet the above statutory eligibility criteria, because Congress did not include any "notwithstanding any other provision of law" eligibility provision this year. Selection Criteria:The only statutory criterion is found in 23 U.S.C. 202(b)(1)(B): "The Secretary shall give preference to those projects which are significantly impacted by Federal land and resource management activities that are proposed by a State that contains at least 3 percent of the total public land in the United States." The following eleven States have at least 3 percent of the Federal public lands in the United States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. Under the provisions of Section 186 of Division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress has statutorily designated the PLHD funds for FY 2008 for specific projects listed in the Joint Explanatory Statement. Therefore, the above selection criteria, under23 U.S.C. 202(b)(1)(B), does not apply for FY 2008 PLHD funding. Also, because of the statutory designation of FY 2008 PLHD funds, previously developed administrative selection criteria for the PLHD program, such as equitable distribution of funding, leveraging of private or other public funding, State priorities, expeditious completion of a project, or the transportation benefits of the project, will also not be considered. Solicitation Procedure:For FY 2008, since all PLHD funding has been designated by Congress for specific projects, applications will only be solicited for those projects. As indicated previously, these designated projects must still meet the eligibility requirements under Sections 202 and 204 of Title 23. A memorandum is issued by the FHWA Headquarters Office of Program Administration to the FHWA division offices requesting submission of applications. The division offices send the memo to the State DOTs, who are responsible for submitting the applications to FHWA. Submission Requirements:Only State DOTs may submit applications for funding under this program. Because Congress designated the projects to be funded in FY 2008, a short application form will be used. The application for each project must include the following information (12 items). Those applications that do not include these items are considered incomplete and funding will not be available for those projects until an acceptable application is submitted. The application for each project must be submitted electronically in MS Word format, and be limited to two pages .
Announcement of Awards / Allocation of FundsAfter the applications are received, it is required that Congress be notified before the funds are allocated to the States. When this Congressional notification process is completed, the Office of Program Administration will issue an announcement by email to all FHWA division offices, announcing the PLHD projects that will be funded and the amount of funding for each project. At that time, States may request that funds be allocated for any projects for which the funds are ready to be obligated. The State transportation agency shall send an email to the FHWA division office indicating the project, the amount requested for allocation, and the date by which the funds will be obligated. The Office of Program Administration will issue the allocation memorandum within a few days of receiving the allocation request. State Transportation Agency Responsibilities:
FHWA Division Office Responsibilities:
FHWA Headquarters Program Office Responsibilities:
FHWA Headquarters Program Office Contact:Larry Beidel, Highway Engineer, Office of Program Administration |
ContactAron Reif |
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This page last modified on 02/08/08 |