Naugatuck River Valley National Heritage Area Study Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Naugatuck River Valley National 
Heritage Area Study Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STUDY REGARDING NAUGATUCK RIVER VALLEY, 
              CONNECTICUT.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The area that encompasses the Naugatuck River Valley of 
        Connecticut has made a unique contribution to the cultural, 
        political, and industrial development of the United States.
            (2) The Naugatuck River Valley is comprised of 14 
        communities along the Naugatuck River, which stretches for more 
        than 40 miles from its headwaters in Torrington, Connecticut, 
        to the confluence with the Housatonic River in Shelton. The 14 
        municipalities of Torrington, Harwinton, Litchfield, Plymouth/
        Terryville, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Ansonia, Beacon 
        Falls, Derby, Naugatuck, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton, share 
        common historical elements, agricultural, trade, and maritime 
        origins, similar architecture, common industries, an immigrant 
        culture succeeding colonial beginnings, and a significant 
        contribution to the war effort from the Revolutionary War to 
        World War II. Most of these elements are still in evidence 
        today.
            (3) Three major industries drove the manufacturing 
        contribution of the Valley. As evidenced in the book, The Brass 
        Industry in the United States, by William Lathrop, the brass 
        industry was born in Connecticut's Naugatuck River Valley and 
        harnessed the power of the Naugatuck River and the skilled 
        immigrant workers who arrived from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and 
        Poland.
            (4) The Naugatuck River Valley also spawned the birth of 
        the rubber industry in the United States when Charles Goodyear 
        developed the vulcanization process in 1839. Together with 
        Samuel Lewis, a wealthy industrialist from Naugatuck, 
        Connecticut, Goodyear parlayed his innovation into establishing 
        the U.S. Rubber Company, making Naugatuck the rubber capital of 
        the world.
            (5) The Naugatuck River Valley was also a major contributor 
        to the success of the United States clock industry. Eli Terry 
        designed interchangeable parts for his clocks assembled in 
        Terryville. Renowned clockmaker Seth Thomas began making the 
        first of millions of clocks in Thomaston, Connecticut, in 1813. 
        His company continued until 1931 when it became a division of 
        General Time Corporation (Timex). Other important industries 
        included pens, evaporated milk, pianos and organs, corset 
        stays, and cables.
            (6) The Naugatuck River Valley has been a major contributor 
        to the United States war efforts from the American Revolution 
        to the Civil War to World War II. In the 2007 PBS film ``The 
        War'', the story of World War II directed and produced by Ken 
        Burns and Lynn Novick, the City of Waterbury, Connecticut, was 
        characterized as the ``arsenal'' of the war effort because of 
        its high concentration of war industries.
            (7) The Naugatuck River Valley has been home to many great 
        authors, diplomats, inventors and patriots, such as David 
        Humphreys, Aide-de-Camp to General George Washington and the 
        first American ambassador; Commodore Isaac Hull, Commander of 
        ``Old Ironsides'' during the War of 1812; Ebenezer D. Bassett, 
        the country's first Black ambassador; Dr. John Howe, inventor 
        of a pin making machine that made the common pin a household 
        necessity; and Pierre Lallement, inventor of the modern two-
        wheel bicycle.
            (8) The Naugatuck River Valley possesses a rich and diverse 
        assemblage of architecturally significant civic, industrial and 
        residential structures and monuments dating from Colonial times 
        to the present. There are 88 structures in the Naugatuck Valley 
        included on the National Register of Historic Places. The first 
        law school in America was built in Litchfield. Notable examples 
        of the variety of architecture found in the Valley include 
        Robert Wakeman Hill's brilliantly designed Thomaston Opera 
        House and Town Hall; H.E. Ficken's acoustically impressive 
        Sterling Opera House in Derby, site of appearances by many 
        nationally known performers; Waterbury's Clock Tower, designed 
        by the renowned architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White which 
        also designed four buildings in Naugatuck; Henry Bacon, 
        designer of the Lincoln Memorial and two structures in 
        Naugatuck; and the Father McGivney Statue cast by Joseph 
        Coletti of Boston to honor the Waterburian who founded the 
        Knights of Columbus.
            (9) The Naugatuck River Valley has been a melting pot for 
        immigrant populations who have made significant contributions 
        to the industrial, cultural, and economic development of the 
        nation.
            (10) In 2011, the Naugatuck River Greenway was designated 
        one of 101 projects nationwide selected by the Secretary of the 
        Interior under the America's Great Outdoors Initiative. This 
        multi-sector partnership aims to restore and enhance the river 
        by completing the Naugatuck River Greenway, creating new public 
        access to the river, and opening fish passages on the river.
            (11) The Naugatuck River Valley possesses a group of 
        public-spirited citizens dedicated to the preservation and 
        promotion of the region's natural, historic, and cultural 
        heritage, and a passionate resolve to work together for the 
        betterment of the Valley and its residents.
    (b) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall, in 
        consultation with the State of Connecticut and appropriate 
        organizations, carry out a study regarding the suitability and 
        feasibility of establishing the Naugatuck River Valley National 
        Heritage Area in Connecticut.
            (2) Contents.--The study shall include analysis and 
        documentation regarding whether the Study Area--
                    (A) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and 
                cultural resources that together represent distinctive 
                aspects of American heritage worthy of recognition, 
                conservation, interpretation, and continuing use, and 
                are best managed through partnerships among public and 
                private entities and by combining diverse and sometimes 
                noncontiguous resources and active communities;
                    (B) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, and 
                folklife that are a valuable part of the national 
                story;
                    (C) provides outstanding opportunities to conserve 
                natural, historic, cultural, or scenic features;
                    (D) provides outstanding recreational and 
                educational opportunities;
                    (E) contains resources important to the identified 
                theme or themes of the Study Area that retain a degree 
                of integrity capable of supporting interpretation;
                    (F) includes residents, business interests, 
                nonprofit organizations, and local and State 
                governments that are involved in the planning, have 
                developed a conceptual financial plan that outlines the 
                roles for all participants, including the Federal 
                Government, and have demonstrated support for the 
                concept of a national heritage area;
                    (G) has a potential management entity to work in 
                partnership with residents, business interests, 
                nonprofit organizations, and local and State 
                governments to develop a national heritage area 
                consistent with continued local and State economic 
                activity; and
                    (H) has a conceptual boundary map that is supported 
                by the public.
    (c) Boundaries of the Study Area.--The Study Area shall be 
comprised of sites in Torrington, Harwinton, Litchfield, Plymouth/
Terryville, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Ansonia, Beacon Falls, 
Derby, Naugatuck, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton, Connecticut.
    (d) Submission of Study Results.--Not later than 3 years after 
funds are first made available for this section, the Secretary shall 
submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate a report describing the results of the study.

Summary: Naugatuck River Valley National Heritage Area Study Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to carry out a study on the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Naugatuck River Valley National Heritage Area in Connecticut.