[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5311 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]
Calendar No. 462
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5311
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 10, 2006
Received
May 26, 2006
Read the first time
June 5, 2006
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area.
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 ``Upper Housatonic Valley National
Heritage Area Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The upper Housatonic Valley, encompassing 29 towns in
the hilly terrain of western Massachusetts and northwestern
Connecticut, is a singular geographical and cultural region
that has made significant national contributions through its
literary, artistic, musical, and architectural achievements,
its iron, paper, and electrical equipment industries, and its
scenic beautification and environmental conservation efforts.
(2) The upper Housatonic Valley has 139 properties and
historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, including--
(A) five National Historic Landmarks--
(i) Edith Wharton's home, The Mount, Lenox,
Massachusetts;
(ii) Herman Melville's home, Arrowhead,
Pittsfield, Massachusetts;
(iii) W.E.B. DuBois' Boyhood Homesite,
Great Barrington, Massachusetts;
(iv) Mission House, Stockbridge,
Massachusetts; and
(v) Crane and Company Old Stone Mill Rag
Room, Dalton, Massachusetts; and
(B) four National Natural Landmarks--
(i) Bartholomew's Cobble, Sheffield,
Massachusetts, and Salisbury, Connecticut;
(ii) Beckley Bog, Norfolk, Connecticut;
(iii) Bingham Bog, Salisbury, Connecticut;
and
(iv) Cathedral Pines, Cornwall,
Connecticut.
(3) Writers, artists, musicians, and vacationers have
visited the region for more than 150 years to enjoy its scenic
wonders, making it one of the country's leading cultural
resorts.
(4) The upper Housatonic Valley has made significant
national cultural contributions through such writers as Herman
Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edith Wharton, and W.E.B.
DuBois, artists Daniel Chester French and Norman Rockwell, and
the performing arts centers of Tanglewood, Music Mountain,
Norfolk (Connecticut) Chamber Music Festival, Jacob's Pillow,
and Shakespeare & Company.
(5) The upper Housatonic Valley is noted for its pioneering
achievements in the iron, paper, and electrical generation
industries and has cultural resources to interpret those
industries.
(6) The region became a national leader in scenic
beautification and environmental conservation efforts following
the era of industrialization and deforestation and maintains a
fabric of significant conservation areas including the
meandering Housatonic River.
(7) Important historical events related to the American
Revolution, Shays' Rebellion, and early civil rights took place
in the upper Housatonic Valley.
(8) The region had an American Indian presence going back
10,000 years and Mohicans had a formative role in contact with
Europeans during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
(9) The Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area has
been proposed in order to heighten appreciation of the region,
preserve its natural and historical resources, and improve the
quality of life and economy of the area.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1) To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National
Heritage Area in the State of Connecticut and the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.
(2) To implement the national heritage area alternative as
described in the document entitled ``Upper Housatonic Valley
National Heritage Area Feasibility Study, 2003''.
(3) To provide a management framework to foster a close
working relationship with all levels of government, the private
sector, and the local communities in the upper Housatonic
Valley region to conserve the region's heritage while
continuing to pursue compatible economic opportunities.
(4) To assist communities, organizations, and citizens in
the State of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
in identifying, preserving, interpreting, and developing the
historical, cultural, scenic, and natural resources of the
region for the educational and inspirational benefit of current
and future generations.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Heritage area.--The term ``Heritage Area'' means the
Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, established in
section 4.
(2) Management entity.--The term ``Management Entity''
means the management entity for the Heritage Area designated by
section 4(d).
(3) Management plan.--The term ``Management Plan'' means
the management plan for the Heritage Area specified in section
6.
(4) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled
``Boundary Map Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage
Area'', numbered P17/80,000, and dated February 2003.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(6) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of
Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
SEC. 4. UPPER HOUSATONIC VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Upper Housatonic
Valley National Heritage Area.
(b) Boundaries.--The Heritage Area shall be comprised of--
(1) part of the Housatonic River's watershed, which extends
60 miles from Lanesboro, Massachusetts to Kent, Connecticut;
(2) the towns of Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Kent,
Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, and Warren in
Connecticut; and
(3) the towns of Alford, Becket, Dalton, Egremont, Great
Barrington, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesboro, Lee, Lenox, Monterey,
Mount Washington, New Marlboro, Pittsfield, Richmond,
Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, and West
Stockbridge in Massachusetts.
(c) Availability of Map.--The map shall be on file and available
for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park
Service, Department of the Interior.
(d) Management Entity.--The Upper Housatonic Valley National
Heritage Area, Inc. shall be the management entity for the Heritage
Area.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES, PROHIBITIONS, AND DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.
(a) Duties of the Management Entity.--To further the purposes of
the Heritage Area, the management entity shall--
(1) prepare and submit a management plan for the Heritage
Area to the Secretary in accordance with section 6;
(2) assist units of local government, regional planning
organizations, and nonprofit organizations in implementing the
approved management plan by--
(A) carrying out programs and projects that
recognize, protect and enhance important resource
values within the Heritage Area;
(B) establishing and maintaining interpretive
exhibits and programs within the Heritage Area;
(C) developing recreational and educational
opportunities in the Heritage Area;
(D) increasing public awareness of and appreciation
for natural, historical, scenic, and cultural resources
of the Heritage Area;
(E) protecting and restoring historic sites and
buildings in the Heritage Area that are consistent with
heritage area themes;
(F) ensuring that signs identifying points of
public access and sites of interest are posted
throughout the Heritage Area; and
(G) promoting a wide range of partnerships among
governments, organizations and individuals to further
the purposes of the Heritage Area;
(3) consider the interests of diverse units of government,
businesses, organizations and individuals in the Heritage Area
in the preparation and implementation of the management plan;
(4) conduct meetings open to the public at least semi-
annually regarding the development and implementation of the
management plan;
(5) submit an annual report to the Secretary for any fiscal
year in which the management entity receives Federal funds
under this Act, setting forth its accomplishments, expenses,
and income, including grants to any other entities during the
year for which the report is made;
(6) make available for audit for any fiscal year in which
it receives Federal funds under this Act, all information
pertaining to the expenditure of such funds and any matching
funds, and require in all agreements authorizing expenditures
of Federal funds by other organizations, that the receiving
organizations make available for such audit all records and
other information pertaining to the expenditure of such funds;
and
(7) encourage by appropriate means economic development
that is consistent with the purposes of the Heritage Area.
(b) Authorities.--The management entity may, for the purposes of
preparing and implementing the management plan for the Heritage Area,
use Federal funds made available through this Act to--
(1) make grants to the State of Connecticut and the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, their political subdivisions,
nonprofit organizations and other persons;
(2) enter into cooperative agreements with or provide
technical assistance to the State of Connecticut and the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, their subdivisions, nonprofit
organizations, and other interested parties;
(3) hire and compensate staff, which shall include
individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, and historical
resources protection, and heritage programming;
(4) obtain money or services from any source including any
that are provided under any other Federal law or program;
(5) contract for goods or services; and
(6) undertake to be a catalyst for any other activity that
furthers the purposes of the Heritage Area and is consistent
with the approved management plan.
(c) Prohibitions on the Acquisition of Real Property.--The
management entity may not use Federal funds received under this Act to
acquire real property, but may use any other source of funding,
including other Federal funding outside this authority, intended for
the acquisition of real property.
SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.
(a) In General.--The management plan for the Heritage Area shall--
(1) include comprehensive policies, strategies and
recommendations for conservation, funding, management and
development of the Heritage Area;
(2) take into consideration existing State, county, and
local plans in the development of the management plan and its
implementation;
(3) include a description of actions that governments,
private organizations, and individuals have agreed to take to
protect the natural, historical and cultural resources of the
Heritage Area;
(4) specify the existing and potential sources of funding
to protect, manage, and develop the Heritage Area in the first
5 years of implementation;
(5) include an inventory of the natural, historical,
cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational resources of
the Heritage Area related to the themes of the Heritage Area
that should be preserved, restored, managed, developed, or
maintained;
(6) describe a program of implementation for the management
plan including plans for resource protection, restoration,
construction, and specific commitments for implementation that
have been made by the management entity or any government,
organization, or individual for the first 5 years of
implementation; and
(7) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage Area.
(b) Deadline and Termination of Funding.--
(1) Deadline.--The management entity shall submit the
management plan to the Secretary for approval within 3 years
after funds are made available for this Act.
(2) Termination of funding.--If the management plan is not
submitted to the Secretary in accordance with this subsection,
the management entity shall not qualify for Federal funding
under this Act until such time as the management plan is
submitted to the Secretary.
SEC. 7. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY.
(a) Technical and Financial Assistance.--The Secretary may, upon
the request of the management entity, provide technical assistance on a
reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis and financial assistance to the
Heritage Area to develop and implement the approved management plan.
The Secretary is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with
the management entity and other public or private entities for this
purpose. In assisting the Heritage Area, the Secretary shall give
priority to actions that in general assist in--
(1) conserving the significant natural, historical,
cultural, and scenic resources of the Heritage Area; and
(2) providing educational, interpretive, and recreational
opportunities consistent with the purposes of the Heritage
Area.
(b) Approval and Disapproval of Management Plan.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall approve or disapprove
the management plan not later than 90 days after receiving the
management plan.
(2) Criteria for approval.--In determining the approval of
the management plan, the Secretary shall consider whether--
(A) the management entity is representative of the
diverse interests of the Heritage Area, including
governments, natural and historic resource protection
organizations, educational institutions, businesses,
and recreational organizations;
(B) the management entity has afforded adequate
opportunity, including public hearings, for public and
governmental involvement in the preparation of the
management plan;
(C) the resource protection and interpretation
strategies contained in the management plan, if
implemented, would adequately protect the natural,
historical, and cultural resources of the Heritage
Area; and
(D) the management plan is supported by the
appropriate State and local officials whose cooperation
is needed to ensure the effective implementation of the
State and local aspects of the management plan.
(3) Action following disapproval.--If the Secretary
disapproves the management plan, the Secretary shall advise the
management entity in writing of the reasons therefore and shall
make recommendations for revisions to the management plan. The
Secretary shall approve or disapprove a proposed revision
within 60 days after the date it is submitted.
(4) Approval of amendments.--Substantial amendments to the
management plan shall be reviewed by the Secretary and approved
in the same manner as provided for the original management
plan. The management entity shall not use Federal funds
authorized by this Act to implement any amendments until the
Secretary has approved the amendments.
SEC. 8. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.
Any Federal agency conducting or supporting activities directly
affecting the Heritage Area shall--
(1) consult with the Secretary and the management entity
with respect to such activities;
(2) cooperate with the Secretary and the management entity
in carrying out their duties under this Act and, to the maximum
extent practicable, coordinate such activities with the
carrying out of such duties; and
(3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct or support
such activities in a manner which the management entity
determines will not have an adverse effect on the Heritage
Area.
SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.
(a) Notification and Consent of Property Owners Required.--No
privately owned property shall be preserved, conserved, or promoted by
the management plan for the Heritage Area until the owner of that
private property has been notified in writing by the management entity
and has given written consent for such preservation, conservation, or
promotion to the management entity.
(b) Landowner Withdraw.--Any owner of private property included
within the boundary of the Heritage Area shall have their property
immediately removed from the boundary by submitting a written request
to the management entity.
SEC. 10. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.
(a) Access to Private Property.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to--
(1) require any private property owner to allow public
access (including Federal, State, or local government access)
to such private property; or
(2) modify any provision of Federal, State, or local law
with regard to public access to or use of private property.
(b) Liability.--Designation of the Heritage Area shall not be
considered to create any liability, or to have any effect on any
liability under any other law, of any private property owner with
respect to any persons injured on such private property.
(c) Recognition of Authority to Control Land Use.--Nothing in this
Act shall be construed to modify the authority of Federal, State, or
local governments to regulate land use.
(d) Participation of Private Property Owners in Heritage Area.--
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the owner of any
private property located within the boundaries of the Heritage Area to
participate in or be associated with the Heritage Area.
(e) Effect of Establishment.--The boundaries designated for the
Heritage Area represent the area within which Federal funds
appropriated for the purpose of this Act may be expended. The
establishment of the Heritage Area and its boundaries shall not be
construed to provide any nonexisting regulatory authority on land use
within the Heritage Area or its viewshed by the Secretary, the National
Park Service, or the management entity.
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated for the
purposes of this Act not more than $1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Not
more than a total of $10,000,000 may be appropriated for the Heritage
Area under this Act.
(b) Matching Funds.--Federal funding provided under this Act may
not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of any assistance or grant
provided or authorized under this Act.
SEC. 12. SUNSET.
The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance under this Act
shall terminate on the day occurring 15 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives May 9, 2006.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.
Calendar No. 462
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5311
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 5, 2006
Read the second time and placed on the calendar