Congress mandates emergency road through Blue Ridge Parkway for Virginia resort
S. 3313 — Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act · Filed by Tim Kaine (D-VA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Dec 2, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill requires the Secretary of the Interior to issue a right-of-way (a legal permission to use land) for an emergency exit road on Blue Ridge Parkway land in Virginia near Wintergreen, provided the Secretary first completes an evaluation of alternatives, analyzes fire behavior, and completes required environmental reviews under federal law.
Why we flagged it
The bill mandates a specific emergency exit road for a named Virginia resort community (Wintergreen) by overriding the Secretary of the Interior's discretion to deny the right-of-way. It is a geographically narrow infrastructure provision that benefits a specific locality by compelling federal land use.
What the text implies
- The bill converts a discretionary permit (Secretary 'may issue') into a mandatory grant (Secretary 'shall issue'), removing Interior's ability to weigh the right-of-way against competing conservation or scenic values on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
- The conditions (alternatives evaluation, fire analysis, NEPA compliance) are prerequisites to the mandatory issuance, not gates that allow the Secretary to deny the right-of-way if conditions are met — the Secretary must issue it once conditions are satisfied.
- A single map reference (601/194,694, dated September 2024) fixes the location and design, limiting the Secretary's ability to negotiate alignment or design modifications that might reduce parkland impact.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Wintergreen residents and emergency responders gain a dedicated emergency egress route, improving evacuation safety in a fire-prone area. However, the bill mandates a right-of-way across Blue Ridge Parkway land without giving the Interior Secretary discretion to deny it if alternatives prove superior, potentially compromising parkland integrity and scenic values that benefit the broader public.
Who stands to gain
- Wintergreen Resort (private ski/golf resort operator)
- Property owners and residents in Wintergreen, Virginia
Named in the bill
Secretary of the Interior, Blue Ridge Parkway, National Park Service, Wintergreen (Virginia resort community), Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, House Committee on Natural Resources, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 54 U.S.C. § 303 (National Historic Preservation Act)
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Dec 2, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Dec 2, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
- Jul 21, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held”
- Jul 29, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,464 characters) on Aug 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress mandates emergency road through Blue Ridge Parkway for Virginia resort” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s3313 Report an error
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