[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 75 (Friday, April 18, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19084-19085]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10125]
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ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD
36 CFR Parts 1190 and 1191
Accessibility Guidelines for Outdoor Developed Areas
AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
ACTION: Notice of intent to form a regulatory negotiation committee.
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SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
(Access Board) proposes to establish a regulatory negotiation committee
to develop a proposed rule on accessibility guidelines for newly
constructed and altered outdoor developed areas covered by the
Americans with Disabilities Act and the Architectural Barriers Act. The
regulatory negotiation committee will be composed of organizations who
represent the interests affected by the accessibility guidelines for
outdoor developed areas. The Access Board invites comments on the
proposal to establish the regulatory negotiation committee and the
proposed committee membership.
DATES: Comments should be received by May 19, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Office of Technical and
Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-
1111. Fax number (202) 272-5447.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peggy Greenwell, Office of Technical
and Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-
1111. Telephone number (202) 272-5434 extension 34 (Voice); (202) 272-
5449 (TTY). This document is available in alternate formats (cassette
tape, Braille, large print, or computer disk) upon request. This
document is also available on the Board's Internet site (http://
www.accessboard.gov/notices/outdoor.htm).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Architectural and Transportation
Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) is responsible for developing
accessibility guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act and
the Architectural Barriers Act to ensure that new construction and
alterations of facilities covered by the laws are readily accessible to
and usable by individuals with disabilities.1
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\1\ The Access Board is an independent Federal agency
established by section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 792)
whose primary mission is to promote accessibility for individuals
with disabilities. The Access Board consists of 25 members. Thirteen
are appointed by the President from among the public, a majority of
who are required to be individuals with disabilities. The other
twelve are heads of the following Federal agencies or their
designees whose positions are Executive Level IV or above: The
Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation,
Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Interior, Defense, Justice,
Veterans Affairs, and Commerce; General Services Administration; and
the United States Postal Service.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) is
a comprehensive civil rights law which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of disability and requires, among other things, that newly
constructed and altered State and local government facilities,
places of public accommodation, and commercial facilities be readily
accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
The Architectural Barriers Act (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.) requires
that certain federally financed facilities be readily accessible to
and usable by individuals with disabilities.
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In July 1993, the Access Board established a Recreation Access
Advisory Committee to examine various types of recreation facilities
and make recommendations for accessibility guidelines for the
facilities. The Committee presented its recommendations to the Access
Board in July 1994. The recommendations addressed six types of
recreation facilities: sports facilities; places of amusement; play
facilities; golf facilities; boating and fishing facilities; and
outdoor developed areas. The Access Board published an advance notice
of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in September 1994 inviting public
comment on the Committee's recommendations. 59 FR 48542 (September 21,
1994). Comments received in response to the ANPRM generally supported
the Committee's recommendations.
Based on the recommendations of the Recreation Access Advisory
Committee and through comments received in response to the ANPRM, the
Board has sufficient information to proceed with a proposed rule to
address access to sports facilities; places of amusement; golf
facilities; and boating and fishing facilities. However, the Board has
identified two areas where there is a lack of consensus. These two
areas are play facilities such as playgrounds and similar facilities
found in schools and day care centers; and outdoor developed areas such
as parks, trails, camping facilities, picnic areas, and beaches. The
Board will use regulatory negotiation committees to reach consensus in
both of these areas. In February 1996 the Board established a
regulatory negotiation committee on access to play facilities. The
Committee is expected to issue a report to the Board in July 1997.
The Board now is turning its attention to the remaining issues
affecting outdoor developed areas. The Recreation Access Advisory
Committee provided recommendations for accessibility requirements based
upon the premise that there is a spectrum of recreation settings that
occur in the outdoor environment. The recommendations identified four
different environments that exist in outdoor areas. The areas include
the highly developed or urban; the moderately developed or natural; the
minimally developed or back-country; and the undeveloped or primitive
area. To accommodate the highly, moderately, and minimally developed
sites, three degrees of accessibility, (easier, moderate, and
difficult) were recommended which correlate with the amount of site
modification and development as well as the natural environment and
rugged terrain. The Committee recommended that no requirements apply in
the primitive environment.
Two alternatives were presented to determine the highest degree of
accessibility. One alternative based the determination of highest
degree of access on the consideration of five interrelated factors:
recreation setting, condition of the natural environment, amount of
structural modification, recreation experience, and consultation with
people with disabilities. The other approach, defines the highest
degree of access at the outset to be the easier degree for all
recreation settings and environments unless it would change the
fundamental nature of the activity or environment. Exceptions can then
be invoked to modify the degree of access, on a requirement by
requirement basis, because of severe elevations, geologic features,
historic character, or the specific purpose of a trail. Documentation
for the exception must include evidence that people with
[[Page 19085]]
disabilities or their representatives were involved in the decision.
The Access Board proposes to establish a regulatory negotiation
committee to reach consensus on the approach and to develop a proposed
rule on accessibility guidelines for outdoor developed areas.
Regulatory negotiation is a supplement to the traditional rulemaking
process that allows for face-to-face negotiations among representatives
of affected interests, including the agency, with a goal of arriving at
a consensus decision on the text of a proposed rule. The proposed rule
is then published in the Federal Register and the public has an
opportunity to comment.
The interests likely to be significantly affected by accessibility
guidelines for outdoor developed areas include State and local
governments; individuals with disabilities; designers; conservation
groups; trails groups; and private sector camping facilities. The
Access Board proposes to appoint the following organizations to
represent these interests on the regulatory negotiation committee:
American Association of Landscape Architects
American Trails
KOA (Kampgrounds of America), Inc.
National Association of State Park Directors
National Association of State Trail Administrators
National Center on Accessibility
National Council on Independent Living
National Parks and Conservation Association
National Recreation and Park Association
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Partners for Access to the Woods
Rails to Trails Conservancy
State of Washington, Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation
TASH (The Association of Severely Handicapped)
U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
Whole Access
Comments are invited on the proposal to establish the regulatory
negotiation committee and the proposed membership of the committee.
Persons who will be significantly affected by the accessibility
guidelines for outdoor developed areas and who believe that their
interests will not be adequately represented by the above organizations
may apply for, or nominate another organization for, membership on the
regulatory negotiation committee. The Board especially encourages
additional organizations representing individuals with disabilities to
apply for membership on the committee.
Applications or nominations should include the following
information: (i) The name of the applicant or nominee and the interest
that the person proposes to represent; (ii) evidence that the applicant
or nominee is authorized to represent an organization or other parties
having interests similar to the interests the person proposes to
represent; (iii) a written commitment that the applicant or nominee
would participate in good faith; and (iv) the reasons that the
organizations specified in this notice do not adequately represent the
interests that applicant or nominee proposes to represent.
For regulatory negotiation to be effective, the size of the
committee should be limited. Each person or organization affected by
accessibility guidelines for outdoor developed areas need not have its
own representative on the regulatory negotiation committee. Rather,
each interest must be adequately represented and the membership must be
fairly balanced. Meetings of the regulatory negotiation committee will
be announced in the Federal Register. The meetings will be open to the
public and anyone may attend the meetings and confer with or provide
their views to members of the regulatory negotiation committee.
The Access Board has arranged for the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service to provide facilitators for the regulatory
negotiation committee. Staff support will be provided by the Access
Board. Members of the regulatory negotiation committee will not be
compensated for their service. The Access Board may pay travel expenses
for a limited number of persons who would otherwise be unable to serve
on the regulatory negotiation committee. Members of the regulatory
negotiation committee will not be considered special government
employees since they will serve as representatives of their
organizations and will not be required to file confidential financial
disclosure reports.
After reviewing the comments received in response to this notice,
the Access Board will issue a notice in the Federal Register announcing
the establishment of the regulatory negotiation committee and the
committee membership, unless it is determined based on the comments
that regulatory negotiation would be inappropriate.
The first meeting of the regulatory negotiation committee is
tentatively scheduled for June 26-27, 1997 in Washington, DC. The
Access Board expects that the regulatory negotiation committee will
develop a proposed rule within 15 months of the first meeting.
However, if unforseen delays occur, the Chairman of the Access
Board may agree to an extension of that time if a consensus of the
regulatory negotiation committee believes that additional time will
result in agreement.
After the regulatory negotiation committee develops a proposed rule
on accessibility guidelines for outdoor developed areas, the Access
Board will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the
Federal Register inviting public comment.
Issued on April 15, 1997.
Patrick D. Cannon,
Chair, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
[FR Doc. 97-10125 Filed 4-17-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8150-01-P
