Title 54National Park Service and Related ProgramsRelease 119-73not60

§200502 Federal Assistance

Title 54 › Subtitle Subtitle II— Outdoor Recreation Programs › Chapter 2005— URBAN PARK AND RECREATION RECOVERY PROGRAM › § 200502

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary decides which city or county governments can get help under this program by looking at need. The Secretary must publish a list of eligible local governments in the Federal Register and explain the rules used to pick them. The rules must focus on worn-out parks or systems and on physical or economic distress. The Secretary can also let other metro-area local governments join under the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978. The Secretary must set priority rules for choosing projects. These rules must consider things like population, condition of facilities, lack of neighborhood access (especially for minority and low- and moderate-income people), public input, how the project matches local revitalization plans, local job and community involvement benefits, and state or private funding pledged. For at-risk youth grants, priority goes to programs for the highest-risk youth that teach life skills, add tutoring or mentoring, run during late-night or nonschool hours, show agency and community teamwork, leverage other investments, and can continue or be copied elsewhere. Grants to discretionary applicants added under the metro rule cannot be more than 15 percent of the total funds for rehabilitation grants, innovation grants, and recovery action program grants.

Full Legal Text

Title 54, §200502

National Park Service and Related Programs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Eligibility of general purpose local governments for assistance under this chapter shall be based on need as determined by the Secretary. The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a list of local governments eligible to participate in this program, to be accompanied by a discussion of criteria used in determining eligibility. Criteria shall be based on factors that the Secretary determines are related to deteriorated recreational facilities or systems and physical and economic distress.
(b)In addition to eligible local governments established in accordance with subsection (a), the Secretary may establish eligibility, in accord with the findings and purpose of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–625, 92 Stat. 3538), of other general purpose local governments in metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
(c)(1)The Secretary shall establish priority criteria for project selection and approval that consider such factors as—
(A)population;
(B)condition of existing recreation areas and facilities;
(C)demonstrated deficiencies in access to neighborhood recreation opportunities, particularly for minority and low- and moderate-income residents;
(D)public participation in determining rehabilitation or development needs;
(E)the extent to which a project supports or complements target activities undertaken as part of a local government’s overall community development and urban revitalization program;
(F)the extent to which a proposed project would provide—
(i)employment opportunities for minorities, youth, and low- and moderate-income residents in the project neighborhood;
(ii)for participation of neighborhood, nonprofit, or tenant organizations in the proposed rehabilitation activity or in subsequent maintenance, staffing, or supervision of recreation areas and facilities; or
(iii)both; and
(G)the amount of State and private support for a project as evidenced by commitments of non-Federal resources to project construction or operation.
(2)For at-risk youth recreation grants, the Secretary shall give a priority to each of the following criteria:
(A)Programs that are targeted to youth who are at the greatest risk of becoming involved in violence and crime.
(B)Programs that teach important values and life skills, including teamwork, respect, leadership, and self-esteem.
(C)Programs that offer tutoring, remedial education, mentoring, and counseling in addition to recreation opportunities.
(D)Programs that offer services during late night or other nonschool hours.
(E)Programs that demonstrate collaboration between local park and recreation, juvenile justice, law enforcement, and youth social service agencies and nongovernmental entities, including the private sector and community and nonprofit organizations.
(F)Programs that leverage public or private recreation investments in the form of services, materials, or cash.
(G)Programs that show the greatest potential of being continued with non-Federal funds or that can serve as models for other communities.
(d)Grants to discretionary applicants under subsection (b) may not be more than 15 percent of the total amount of funds appropriated under this chapter for rehabilitation grants, innovation grants, and recovery action program grants.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 20050216 U.S.C. 2504.Pub. L. 95–625, title X, § 1005, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3540; Pub. L. 103–322, title III, § 31503, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1889. In subsection (a), the words “Within one hundred and twenty days after November 10, 1978” are omitted as obsolete. In subsection (b), the word “standard” is omitted as obsolete. The words “the Director of the Office of Management and Budget” are substituted for “census”. See 31 U.S.C. 1104(d), Executive Order No. 10253 (31 U.S.C. 1104 note), and 44 U.S.C. 3504(e)(3).

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–625, 92 Stat. 3538), referred to in subsec. (b), is title X of Pub. L. 95–625, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3538, which was classified generally to chapter 45 (§ 2501 et seq.) of Title 16, Conservation. The Act was substantially repealed and restated as this chapter by Pub. L. 113–287, §§ 3, 7, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3180, 3272. The findings and purposes of the Act are contained in section 1002 and 1003 of the Act. section 1002 was classified to section 2501 of Title 16 and was omitted from the Code. section 1003 is set out as a note under section 200501 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. For disposition of former sections of Title 16, see Disposition Table preceding section 100101 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

54 U.S.C. § 200502

Title 54National Park Service and Related Programs

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60