BlakeHerrington
01-04-2008, 04:03 PM
Here's my Back-And-Forth Email exchange with the Transportation and Project Manager for the western region of the US.
P.S. is there any way I can attach a word document to my post?
This road washout effects access to peaks such as Goode/Booker/Buckner/Logan/Dome/Gunsight and much of the eastern NCNP
After hearing conflicting reports on the issue of whether or not Stehekin Road funding would compete with projects on the west side of the Cascades, and encountering some disagreement about the issue at the WCC meeting, I decided to go straight to the source and decide it once and for all.
The bottom line is that repairs to the Stehekin Road would not compete with, or exclude other repairs around the region.
Essentially all the pertinent questions and answers are in email exchange round #3 (last page). The first couple questions and answers might prove useful for background information, or if you love acronyms.
Q1) Does the nation park service (NCNP particularly) have to compete on any level for road repair funds with the National Forest service?
I am looking at the issue of washed-out roads in recent years, like the Cascade River Road, and trying to find out where the repair budgets begin. This is strictly to remain informed with accurate information about the issue. Very vocal pro or Anti-Road groups use a lot of figures that at time seem "off" to me and I want to know the facts.
I was curious if there is ever a decision made at some level of government where a certain amount of money could exist to be used by EITHER the NPS or the forest service to repair a road (such as those recently damaged in both the NFS and NPS in washington), and these funds are then used by one agency to the exclusion of the other.
-Blake
A1) Mr. Herrington,
Emergency repair budgets are set through the Emergency Repair (ER)
Program, which has remained static at $100 million/year nationwide,
despite recent large construction cost escalations (esp. since 2003).
Congress usually passes Supplemental Appropriations to cover the actual
need, which brings the total to an average of about $700 million per year.
This is for repair to all roads damaged by wide-area disasters, and the
bulk of it goes to the States. Within this program is the Emergency
Repair to Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) program. ERFO is really like the
51st state within the ER Program. ERFO is administered by the three
Federal Lands Highway Divisions of FHWA (Eastern, Central and Western),
which work with the Federal Land Managing Agency that sustained the
damage. ERFO would typically fund the repairs on the Dosewallips Road in
Washington State, for example. I understand that repair is currently
stalled due to concerns about environmental impacts associated with the
reconstruction of damaged roadway segment. Last year, there were enough
funds to meet the requests of all the Federal Land Managing Agencies that
requested ERFO funding.
Please see FHWA's website for more on ERFO:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/flh/erfo.htm
As for regular rehabilitation of federally owned roads, both National Park
and National Forest roads are rehabilitated through the Federal Lands
Highway Program (FLHP), which was reauthorized in Section 1119 in the
current highway spending legislation "SAFETEA-LU", which sets funding
levels through fiscal year 2009. The Federal Highway Admin. has a good
website that expains the program purpose and funding levels. Please see
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/flh/flhfs051028.htm
Please let me know if you have any questions about the repair programs - I
may not be able to explain the why, but I can probably help with the how.
Justin De Santis
Transportation Program Manager
Pacific West Region
Q2) Thanks for all the information, that is what I was getting after.
Specifically to this issue:
there is a road which was washed out due to flooding in the North Cascades National Park, and this road serves far fewer users per year than some of the roads which were also washed out in nearby National Forest land. I know the Washington Climbers Coalition (climber advocacy group) is interested in the issue of repairing these roads, and I wanted to know if/how funding one of these repair projects would directly compete with or take money away from another project.
I had assumed that repairs to roads on NPS land would come out of a Dept. of Interior budget, and not be in competition with repairs to roads on National Forest service/ Dept of Agriculture Land.
Thanks once more for further clarification, much appreciated to finally hear back from someone with the facts and knowledge here.
-Blake Herrington
A2) Bona fide emergency repairs to forest and park roads do in fact receive
funding from the same source: ERFO. But ERFO has specific rules for
eligibility, the main one being that the damage has to occur as part of a
natural disaster over a wide area. This means localized storm damage
doesn't qualify. The damage to Cascade River Road at North Cascades NP,
for example, did qualify for funding as it received heavy damage in the
Nov. 6, 2006 storm that affected park roads at Olympic, North Cascades and
Mount Rainier, as well as many state and county roads.
In fiscal year 2007, there were sufficient ERFO funds to cover all damage
repairs to federally owned roads, at least in the western region. So road
repairs were NOT competing with one another. The road you are concerned
about may be eligible for ERFO funds this year if it was damaged in the
same storm; the Forest Service has had its budgets cut in recent years, and
may not have finished surveying all their damage due to manpower shortages.
The Forest Service also has many more miles of road than the Park Service,
so I can understand how the workload may be daunting. The reporting
requirements for getting ERFO funds are fairly stringent, so it takes a bit
of work to get the funds. I'd suggest communicating your interest in the
specific roadway to the local Forest Supervisor, so that he or she can
prioritize the road for processing for repair funding.
Justin De Santis
Q3)
Sounds good. Thank you SO much Mr. DeSantis, your clarification has been great.
Just to confirm: The pre-set budgets by the FLHP are done individually per agency (ie no sharing of NPS money with wildlife refuge or NFS money) correct?
A bill has recently been put before congress to propose that the flood-prone (and damaged) section be re-routed (and the road right-of-way redrawn) to allow the road to be used again. If this were done, could these repairs and construction be paid for with the ERFO budget?
Or would this funding need to come out of the regular roads rehab budget set by the FLHP?
The potential repair to the Stehekin Road is the road in question to which we are trying to determine: "If money is spent on this project, what other projects might miss out".
Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like if FLHP money is used, there would be no inter-agency competition of funds, but is ERFO money is used there *COULD* be competition of funds depending on what other projects request money.
-Blake Herrington
A3) Mr. Herrington,
I'm glad I could help clarify some of these issues. Please see my italicized answers to your bold questions, below.
Just to confirm: The pre-set budgets for ongoing repair and maintenance by the FLHP are done individually per agency (ie no sharing of NPS money with wildlife refuge or NFS money)correct? Correct.
Do you have specific insights into the repair budget for the Stehekin Road
on the east side of the NCNP (regarding potential funding sources)? ERFO
paid for some repairs to the 2003 damage and the park has since made other
improvements to reduce the potential for future damage (armoring shoulders
with riprap etc.).
A bill has recently been put before congress to propose that the
flood-prone (and damaged) section be re-routed (and the road right-of-way
redrawn) to allow the road to be used again. If this were done, could these
repairs and construction be paid for with the ERFO budget, even if the
storm had occured years before?
Technically, the window for ERFO funding
has passed: repair projects must be under construction by the end of the
second fiscal year following the year that the disaster occurred (that
would be Sept. 30th, 2006 in this case). The intent of the ERFO program is
reestablish public access immediately after a natural disaster that
occurred over a wide area, not to replace other funds for the correction of
pre-existing deficiencies.
Or would this funding need to come out of the regular roads rehab budget
set by the FLHP?
Yes, rerouting of portions of Stehekin Valley Road is
being considered in light of the 2003 disaster. The park has initiated a
NEPA planning process to examine potential environmental effects of a
reroute, and is planning to prepare an EIS. I don't believe an act of
Congress is necessary, but if it comes with an appropriation of funds, it
would be welcome, of course.
Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like if FLHP money is used, there
would be no inter-agency competition of funds, but if ERFO money is used
there *COULD* be competition of funds depending on what other projects
request money.
Correct. However, as I indicated above, this road's
deficiencies are no longer eligible for ERFO funding anyhow. And, ERFO funds have been adequate to meet the need of requests for all federal agencies in recent years, so even if there is new damage that qualified for more ERFO funds, it is unlikely that other road repairs elsewhere on federal lands will go
without funds.
P.S. is there any way I can attach a word document to my post?
This road washout effects access to peaks such as Goode/Booker/Buckner/Logan/Dome/Gunsight and much of the eastern NCNP
After hearing conflicting reports on the issue of whether or not Stehekin Road funding would compete with projects on the west side of the Cascades, and encountering some disagreement about the issue at the WCC meeting, I decided to go straight to the source and decide it once and for all.
The bottom line is that repairs to the Stehekin Road would not compete with, or exclude other repairs around the region.
Essentially all the pertinent questions and answers are in email exchange round #3 (last page). The first couple questions and answers might prove useful for background information, or if you love acronyms.
Q1) Does the nation park service (NCNP particularly) have to compete on any level for road repair funds with the National Forest service?
I am looking at the issue of washed-out roads in recent years, like the Cascade River Road, and trying to find out where the repair budgets begin. This is strictly to remain informed with accurate information about the issue. Very vocal pro or Anti-Road groups use a lot of figures that at time seem "off" to me and I want to know the facts.
I was curious if there is ever a decision made at some level of government where a certain amount of money could exist to be used by EITHER the NPS or the forest service to repair a road (such as those recently damaged in both the NFS and NPS in washington), and these funds are then used by one agency to the exclusion of the other.
-Blake
A1) Mr. Herrington,
Emergency repair budgets are set through the Emergency Repair (ER)
Program, which has remained static at $100 million/year nationwide,
despite recent large construction cost escalations (esp. since 2003).
Congress usually passes Supplemental Appropriations to cover the actual
need, which brings the total to an average of about $700 million per year.
This is for repair to all roads damaged by wide-area disasters, and the
bulk of it goes to the States. Within this program is the Emergency
Repair to Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) program. ERFO is really like the
51st state within the ER Program. ERFO is administered by the three
Federal Lands Highway Divisions of FHWA (Eastern, Central and Western),
which work with the Federal Land Managing Agency that sustained the
damage. ERFO would typically fund the repairs on the Dosewallips Road in
Washington State, for example. I understand that repair is currently
stalled due to concerns about environmental impacts associated with the
reconstruction of damaged roadway segment. Last year, there were enough
funds to meet the requests of all the Federal Land Managing Agencies that
requested ERFO funding.
Please see FHWA's website for more on ERFO:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/flh/erfo.htm
As for regular rehabilitation of federally owned roads, both National Park
and National Forest roads are rehabilitated through the Federal Lands
Highway Program (FLHP), which was reauthorized in Section 1119 in the
current highway spending legislation "SAFETEA-LU", which sets funding
levels through fiscal year 2009. The Federal Highway Admin. has a good
website that expains the program purpose and funding levels. Please see
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/flh/flhfs051028.htm
Please let me know if you have any questions about the repair programs - I
may not be able to explain the why, but I can probably help with the how.
Justin De Santis
Transportation Program Manager
Pacific West Region
Q2) Thanks for all the information, that is what I was getting after.
Specifically to this issue:
there is a road which was washed out due to flooding in the North Cascades National Park, and this road serves far fewer users per year than some of the roads which were also washed out in nearby National Forest land. I know the Washington Climbers Coalition (climber advocacy group) is interested in the issue of repairing these roads, and I wanted to know if/how funding one of these repair projects would directly compete with or take money away from another project.
I had assumed that repairs to roads on NPS land would come out of a Dept. of Interior budget, and not be in competition with repairs to roads on National Forest service/ Dept of Agriculture Land.
Thanks once more for further clarification, much appreciated to finally hear back from someone with the facts and knowledge here.
-Blake Herrington
A2) Bona fide emergency repairs to forest and park roads do in fact receive
funding from the same source: ERFO. But ERFO has specific rules for
eligibility, the main one being that the damage has to occur as part of a
natural disaster over a wide area. This means localized storm damage
doesn't qualify. The damage to Cascade River Road at North Cascades NP,
for example, did qualify for funding as it received heavy damage in the
Nov. 6, 2006 storm that affected park roads at Olympic, North Cascades and
Mount Rainier, as well as many state and county roads.
In fiscal year 2007, there were sufficient ERFO funds to cover all damage
repairs to federally owned roads, at least in the western region. So road
repairs were NOT competing with one another. The road you are concerned
about may be eligible for ERFO funds this year if it was damaged in the
same storm; the Forest Service has had its budgets cut in recent years, and
may not have finished surveying all their damage due to manpower shortages.
The Forest Service also has many more miles of road than the Park Service,
so I can understand how the workload may be daunting. The reporting
requirements for getting ERFO funds are fairly stringent, so it takes a bit
of work to get the funds. I'd suggest communicating your interest in the
specific roadway to the local Forest Supervisor, so that he or she can
prioritize the road for processing for repair funding.
Justin De Santis
Q3)
Sounds good. Thank you SO much Mr. DeSantis, your clarification has been great.
Just to confirm: The pre-set budgets by the FLHP are done individually per agency (ie no sharing of NPS money with wildlife refuge or NFS money) correct?
A bill has recently been put before congress to propose that the flood-prone (and damaged) section be re-routed (and the road right-of-way redrawn) to allow the road to be used again. If this were done, could these repairs and construction be paid for with the ERFO budget?
Or would this funding need to come out of the regular roads rehab budget set by the FLHP?
The potential repair to the Stehekin Road is the road in question to which we are trying to determine: "If money is spent on this project, what other projects might miss out".
Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like if FLHP money is used, there would be no inter-agency competition of funds, but is ERFO money is used there *COULD* be competition of funds depending on what other projects request money.
-Blake Herrington
A3) Mr. Herrington,
I'm glad I could help clarify some of these issues. Please see my italicized answers to your bold questions, below.
Just to confirm: The pre-set budgets for ongoing repair and maintenance by the FLHP are done individually per agency (ie no sharing of NPS money with wildlife refuge or NFS money)correct? Correct.
Do you have specific insights into the repair budget for the Stehekin Road
on the east side of the NCNP (regarding potential funding sources)? ERFO
paid for some repairs to the 2003 damage and the park has since made other
improvements to reduce the potential for future damage (armoring shoulders
with riprap etc.).
A bill has recently been put before congress to propose that the
flood-prone (and damaged) section be re-routed (and the road right-of-way
redrawn) to allow the road to be used again. If this were done, could these
repairs and construction be paid for with the ERFO budget, even if the
storm had occured years before?
Technically, the window for ERFO funding
has passed: repair projects must be under construction by the end of the
second fiscal year following the year that the disaster occurred (that
would be Sept. 30th, 2006 in this case). The intent of the ERFO program is
reestablish public access immediately after a natural disaster that
occurred over a wide area, not to replace other funds for the correction of
pre-existing deficiencies.
Or would this funding need to come out of the regular roads rehab budget
set by the FLHP?
Yes, rerouting of portions of Stehekin Valley Road is
being considered in light of the 2003 disaster. The park has initiated a
NEPA planning process to examine potential environmental effects of a
reroute, and is planning to prepare an EIS. I don't believe an act of
Congress is necessary, but if it comes with an appropriation of funds, it
would be welcome, of course.
Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like if FLHP money is used, there
would be no inter-agency competition of funds, but if ERFO money is used
there *COULD* be competition of funds depending on what other projects
request money.
Correct. However, as I indicated above, this road's
deficiencies are no longer eligible for ERFO funding anyhow. And, ERFO funds have been adequate to meet the need of requests for all federal agencies in recent years, so even if there is new damage that qualified for more ERFO funds, it is unlikely that other road repairs elsewhere on federal lands will go
without funds.