Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6365) to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue a right-of-way for an emergency exit on certain National Park Service land in the State of Virginia, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6365
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act''. SEC. 2. RIGHT-OF-WAY FOR EMERGENCY EXIT, BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY.
Section 2 of the Act of June 30, 1936 (49 Stat. 2041, chapter 883; 54 Stat. 250, chapter 277; 16 U.S.C. 460a-3), is amended--
(1) by striking ``Secretary of the Interior may issue'' and inserting the following: ``Secretary of the Interior--
``(1) may issue'';
(2) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) shall issue the right-of-way generally depicted as `Proposed Egress' on the map entitled `Blue Ridge Parkway, Proposed Wintergreen Emergency Egress Near Milepost 9.6', numbered 601/194,694, and dated September 2024, if the Secretary reports to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate that--
``(A) an evaluation has been completed of alternatives to the right-of-way for egress that do not cross Federal land that includes evaluating whether existing trails can be converted to roads;
``(B) an analysis of expected fire ecology behavior in the event of a fire emergency has been completed with respect to the right-of-way; and
``(C) any required reviews with respect to the right-of-way have been completed in accordance with--
``(i) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and
``(ii) division A of subtitle III of title 54, United States Code.''.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. 6365, the bill now under consideration.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6365, the Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act, introduced by Representative John McGuire of Virginia.
This bill accomplishes something very simple and very important. It directs the Department of the Interior to issue a narrow right-of-way so the Wintergreen community in Virginia can complete an emergency-only evacuation route.
Wintergreen is a mountain community located near the Blue Ridge Parkway, with one road in and one road out. That single access point serves year-round residents, seasonal visitors, and first responders.
Over the past decade, the community has grown from 150 to 500 residents, not including seasonal visitors, and the risk tied to having only one exit has grown along with it.
In recent years, we have seen what happens when communities lack sufficient options to escape during emergencies. Fires in places like Paradise, California, and Lahaina, Hawaii, demonstrate how quickly evacuation routes can become overwhelmed and congested, endangering residents and first responders alike.
For Wintergreen, this is not about building a new public road. The community is proposing a second, emergency-only route that follows an existing dirt path on National Park Service land. It would only require a short 30 feet of gravel to make the road useable for emergency vehicles.
The community has already built the road on non-Federal land and has spent years working through the Federal process. The only remaining piece is a small segment on Federal land that cannot move forward under current National Park Service regulations.
H.R. 6365 offers a straightforward solution by directing the Secretary of the Interior to issue this vital right-of-way after required reviews are completed and reported to Congress. This is a targeted fix to a real safety problem. Representative McGuire's legislation improves evacuation planning, helps first responders, and does so with very minimal impact to Federal land.
Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative McGuire for his leadership on this issue and advocacy on behalf of his constituents. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. WESTERMAN.
Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank Representative McGuire for his leadership on the Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act. Again, the bill addresses a clear safety risk with a narrow 30-foot-wide easement and a practical solution.
It allows a small emergency-only connection to move forward, while keeping environmental reviews and oversight in place. This will help keep every resident and tourist who appreciates the beauty of Wintergreen, Virginia, safe in the event of a natural disaster.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6365, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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