republic-os/legal/us/code/title-40/chapter-145/section-14526.md

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LegalText	40 U.S.C. § 14526	Distressed, at-risk, and economically strong counties	us	united_states_code	code_section	40	PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PROPERTY, AND WORKS	145	SPECIAL APPALACHIAN PROGRAMS	14526	40 U.S.C. § 14526	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc40@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t40/s14526	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-40/usc40.xml	ac086bd7a4064b34631c6dbde0ab13fe79821b7d0aba6191f7f43a1c48f9fe04	9e671d5f37f9148634c9ba568a4c16d4864b567130b66bcf607f680414560a29	6df5f8fce0b4fbb837c4d6811580ce66a6b9dd4f62c9c497a577ca533ec60f3d	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

40 U.S.C. § 14526 - Distressed, at-risk, and economically strong counties

Text

(a) Designations.— (1) In general.— The Appalachian Regional Commission, in accordance with criteria the Commission may establish, each year shall—

(A) designate as “distressed counties” those counties in the Appalachian region that are the most severely and persistently distressed;

(B) designate as “at-risk counties” those counties in the Appalachian region that are most at risk of becoming economically distressed; and

(C) designate two categories of economically strong counties, consisting of—

(i) “competitive counties”, which shall be those counties in the region that are approaching economic parity with the rest of the United States; and

(ii) “attainment counties”, which shall be those counties in the region that have attained or exceeded economic parity with the rest of the United States.

(2) Annual review of designations.— The Commission shall—

(A) conduct an annual review of each designation of a county under paragraph (1) to determine if the county still meets the criteria for the designation; and

(B) renew the designation for another one-year period only if the county still meets the criteria.

(b) Distressed Counties.— In program and project development and implementation and in the allocation of appropriations made available to carry out this subtitle, the Commission shall give special consideration to the needs of counties for which a distressed county designation is in effect under this section.

(c) Economically Strong Counties.— (1) Competitive counties.— Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), assistance under this subtitle for a project that is carried out in a county for which a competitive county designation is in effect under this section shall not be more than 30 percent of the project cost.

(2) Attainment counties.— Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), amounts may not be provided under this subtitle for a project that is carried out in a county for which an attainment county designation is in effect under this section.

(3) Exceptions.— Paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply to—

(A) a project on the Appalachian development highway system authorized by section 14501 of this title;

(B) a local development district administrative project assisted under section 14321(a)(1)(A) of this title; or

(C) a multicounty project that is carried out in at least two counties designated under this section if—

(i) at least one of the participating counties is designated as a distressed county under this section; and

(ii) the project will be of substantial direct benefit to at least one distressed county.

(4) Waiver.— (A) In general.— The Commission may waive the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) for a project when the recipient of assistance for the project shows the existence of any of the following:

(i) a significant pocket of distress in the part of the county in which the project is carried out.

(ii) a significant potential benefit from the project in at least one area of the region outside the designated county.

(B) Reports to congress.— The Commission shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives an annual report describing each waiver granted under subparagraph (A) during the period covered by the report.

(Pub. L. 107–217, Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1277; Pub. L. 110–371, § 4(a), Oct. 8, 2008, 122 Stat. 4041.)

Notes

Historical and Revision Notes RevisedSectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 1452640 App.:226.Pub. L. 89–4, title II, § 226, as added Pub. L. 105–393, title II, § 219, Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 3623. In subsection (a)(1), before clause (A), the words “Not later than 90 days after November 13, 1988” are omitted as obsolete.

Editorial Notes

Amendments2008—Pub. L. 110–371, § 4(a)(1), inserted “, at-risk,” after “Distressed” in section catchline. Subsec. (a)(1)(B), (C). Pub. L. 110–371, § 4(a)(2), added subpar. (B) and redesignated former subpar. (B) as (C).