The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which is now law, includes $920 million for projects that benefit the national parks.
Comptroller Bruce Sheaffer has provided the following breakdown of the Congressional appropriations coming to the agency under the actâs provisions:
$589 million to the National Park Service construction account for repair and restoration of roads and construction of facilities, including energy efficient retrofits of existing facilities; equipment replacement; preservation and repair of historical resources within the National Park System; cleanup of abandoned mine sites on park lands; and other critical infrastructure projects.
$146 million under operations for deferred maintenance of facilities and trails and for other critical repair and rehabilitation projects.
$15 million for historic preservation projects at historically black colleges and universities.
$170 million for the Federal Highway Administration to spend on Federal Highway System roads in national parks.
ARRA comes with specific directions from Congress and President Obama â the highest priority is to fund projects that create the largest number of jobs in the shortest period of time and that create lasting value for the park system and its visitors. Project funds are to be obligated by the end of September 2010.
While Congress gave the NPS flexibility in determining how to allocate stimulus funds, the money comes with oversight requirements and a list of deadlines that are fast approaching.
The National Park Service has 30 days to provide a general plan for the allocation of resources. That plan will be reviewed by the Administration and the Office of Management and Budget and must be in final 90 days after the Presidentâs signature.
National Park Service program managers began to compile lists of potential projects several weeks ago, as it became clear Congress would approve a large stimulus package. According to Acting Director Dan Wenk, the initial list includes projects that meet the Presidentâs goals and can be obligated within 18 months.
Steve Whitesell, Associate Director for Park Planning, Facilities and Lands, said the NPS is âwell-positioned to take care of some of our biggest needs.â In addition to the Federal Highway Administration funding for roads, the NPS will use a portion of the $589 million in construction money for additional projects on roads that are within national parks but not part of the federal highway system.
The $15 million for historic preservation funding will be especially welcome news at historically black colleges and universities. Associate Director for Cultural Resources Janet Snyder Matthews said that the money will be used for grant projects to rehabilitate historic structures on those campuses.
âTypically the grant applicants have a difficult time coming up with the required matching funds,â she said, âbut Congress waived the matching funds requirement for this $15 million appropriation.â
The Administration has created a web site on ARRA (www.recovery.gov). A good deal of information will soon be posted to it and it will provide a steady source of information on implementation of the recovery plan.
The Department also has a recovery page, , but the bureaus â including the NPS â will not. Here are some current DOI links:
Ruby: 1.8.7, Rails: 1.1.6