The National Park Service accounts for more than half the backlog. Image: Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe four primary federal land management agencies collectively face a deferred maintenance backlog of above $35.5 billion and the impact of a law designed to provide a specified source of funding for maintenance is unclear, says a report for Congress.
An estimate by the Congressional Research Service said that the National Park Service alone accounts for most of that, 59 percent, with the Forest Service accounting for 22 percent, the Bureau of Land Management 13 percent and the Fish and Wildlife Service the rest. The total increased by nearly $16 billion over 2013-2022, it added, with the NPS accounting for nearly nine-tenths of the increase.
The report cautioned that figures are just an estimate because of differences in how agencies account for maintenance spending. However, it said that the backlog affects a wide range of property including roads, bridges, buildings, trails, drinking water systems, irrigation systems, dams and other water structures, recreation sites, hatcheries and more, it said.
It noted that the Great American Outdoors Act provided for devoting up to $1.9 billion a year starting in 2021 from revenues from energy development on federal lands toward the maintenance backlog.
“The agencies have cited GAOA appropriations as likely leading to less deferred maintenance, although the precise change is uncertain currently,” it said. “Among other reasons, agencies continue to obligate and manage appropriations for projects, generally remove an asset’s deferred maintenance from their total when work is completed, and are expected to receive appropriations through FY2025 and to continue work on some projects for several years thereafter. The impact of GAOA appropriations also likely depends on the agencies’ effectiveness in managing appropriations.”
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