Accessibility Guidebook for Outdoor Recreation and Trails

Documenting Exceptions and Notifying the U.S. Access Board About Exemptions

U.S. Access Board About Exemptions When a condition for an exception prohibits full compliance with a specific technical requirement on a section of trail as allowed in General Exception 1, document the reason that full compliance wasn't achieved and file it with the project records for the trail construction or alteration project. Include which condition for an exception applies to the trail or segment of trail, the reason that it applies, the date the decision that the exception applies was made, and the names of the individuals who made the decision.

Infrequently, extreme or numerous conditions for exemptions make it impracticable to provide a route that meets the requirements, so General Exception 2 allows exempting the entire trail from the technical requirements. In these cases, document the explanation of the conditions that make it impracticable for the entire trail to comply. Retain the documentation with the records for that construction or alteration project. Notify the U.S. Access Board of the determination to exempt the entire trail. Contact information for the U.S. Access Board is available at http://www.access-board.gov/. The U.S. Access Board has drafted a form that may be used to document and submit an exemption decision. The form will be available at http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/recreation-facilities/outdoor-developed-areas when the U.S. Access Board final guidelines are published.