16 U.S.C. § 537 — Maintenance and reconstruction by road users; funds for maintenance and reconstruction; availability of deposits until expended, transfer of funds, and refunds

submitted 62 years ago by Pub. L. 88-657 to r/title-16-CONSERVATION · 223 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

The Forest Service can require road users to maintain, and if needed rebuild, roads they use. Each user's share depends on how much they use the road. If work isn't practical, the Secretary may require a cash deposit instead, refunding any leftover money.

This section lets the Forest Service make road users pay for road upkeep. The Secretary may require anyone who uses a Forest Service road — including people who buy government timber or other products — to maintain the road well enough for how they're using it. Each user's share of the maintenance must match how much they use the road, not a flat fee. The Secretary may also require users to rebuild ("reconstruct") the road if that becomes necessary to support their use. If a user can't do the maintenance or reconstruction work directly, or if the Secretary decides it wouldn't be practical for the user to do it, the Secretary can instead require the user to deposit enough money to cover their share of the cost. Money deposited this way stays available until it's spent on the purpose it was collected for — it doesn't expire at the end of the budget year. Deposits for work on nearby or overlapping areas can be combined when that's the most practical way to get the work done, and the cost can be estimated rather than tracked to the penny. Once the work the money was collected for is finished, any money left over must either be transferred to the Treasury's miscellaneous receipts or refunded to the people who paid it.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

The Secretary may require the user or users of a road under the control of the Forest Service, including purchasers of Government timber and other products, to maintain such roads in a satisfactory condition commensurate with the particular use requirements of each. Such maintenance to be borne by each user shall be proportionate to total use. The Secretary may also require the user or users of such a road to reconstruct the same when such reconstruction is determined to be necessary to accommodate such use. If such maintenance or reconstruction cannot be so provided or if the Secretary determines that maintenance or reconstruction by a user would not be practical, then the Secretary may require that sufficient funds be deposited by the user to provide his portion of such total maintenance or reconstruction. Deposits made to cover the maintenance or reconstruction of roads are hereby made available until expended to cover the cost to the United States of accomplishing the purpose for which deposited: Provided, That deposits received for work on adjacent and overlapping areas may be combined when it is the most practicable and efficient manner of performing the work, and cost thereof may be determined by estimates: And provided further, That unexpended balances upon accomplishment of the purpose for which deposited shall be transferred to miscellaneous receipts or refunded.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 88–657, § 6, Oct. 13, 1964, 78 Stat. 1090.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1964Enacted · Pub. L. 88-657 · 78 Stat. 1090

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 88-657 on 1964-10-13.

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