This bill requires the Secretary of the Interior to create an emergency exit road on Blue Ridge Parkway land in Virginia, near milepost 9.6. Right now, the Secretary has the option to grant such access, but this bill makes it mandatory—with conditions. Before the exit can be built, the Secretary must complete three things: evaluate whether there are alternative routes that don't cross federal land (including checking if existing trails could be converted to roads), analyze how fire would behave in the area if an emergency occurred, and finish all required environmental reviews under federal law. Once these conditions are met and reported to Congress, the Secretary must issue the right-of-way. Essentially, this bill forces the federal government to create an emergency escape route for what appears to be the Wintergreen area, but only after proving it's necessary and won't cause environmental problems.

Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act

McGuire, John J.

Wintergreen Emergency Egress ActThis bill directs the Department of the Interior to issue a right-of-way through the Blue Ridge Parkway for an additional emergency exit from Wintergreen in Nelson County, Virginia, once certain requirements have been met. Specifically, Interior must grant the right-of-way if it reports to specified congressional committees that the following have been completed: (1) an evaluation of alternatives to the right-of-way for exiting Wintergreen that do not cross federal land, including an evaluation of whether existing trails can be converted to roads; (2) an analysis of expected fire ecology behavior in the event of a fire emergency with respect to the right-of-way; and (3) any required reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preservation Act.