ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A RESOLUTION
25-599
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
July 9, 2024
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Department of
Transportation Establishment Act of 2002 to authorize the Director to make grants of
more than $1 million to the National Park Service for certain projects in the Buzzard
Point neighborhood.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Buzzard Point Park and Trails National Park Service Grant
Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2024”.
Sec. 2. (a) In 2022, the Council approved approximately $2.5 million in Fiscal Year 2023
funding for the District Department of Transportation (“DDOT”) to use for improvements to
parks and trails on National Park Service (“NPS”) land in the Buzzard Point neighborhood,
located in the Southwest quadrant of the District.
(b) Initially, DDOT was not able to come to an agreement with NPS about how the
appropriated funds could be transferred to NPS.
(c) DDOT and NPS determined that the only viable path forward to ensure the funding
can be used for its intended purpose is for DDOT to grant the funds to NPS. However, section
3(c) of the Department of Transportation Establishment Act of 2002, effective May 21, 2002
(D.C. Law 14-137; D.C. Official Code § 50-921.02(c)), limits DDOT’s grantmaking authority to
$1 million per grant, preventing DDOT from granting the full amount of funding the Council
approved for this purpose.
(d) In response, on October 3, 2023, the Council passed the Buzzard Point Park and
Trails National Park Service Grant Temporary Amendment Act of 2023, effective December 20,
2023 (D.C. Law 25-96; 71 DCR 11) (“temporary legislation”). The temporary legislation created
a limited exemption from the general $1 million maximum limit placed on DDOT’s grantmaking
authority, allowing DDOT to grant the appropriated funds to NPS for parks and trails
improvements in the Buzzard Point neighborhood. The temporary legislation is set to expire on
August 1, 2024.
(e) This new round of emergency and temporary legislation is necessary to prevent a gap
in the law between the expiration of the temporary legislation and DDOT issuing the grant to
NPS.
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ENROLLED ORIGINAL
Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute
emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Buzzard Point Park and Trails National
Park Service Grant Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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