Saltville Heritage Area Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Saltville Heritage Area Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that Saltville and its environs possess--
            (1) a remarkably rich natural and cultural heritage, 
        including superlative examples of several themes of great 
        interest to the general public and of marked historical and 
        scientific significance;
            (2) waterways among the headwaters of the Cumberlandian 
        Zoogeographic Province, which contains one of the oldest and 
        most diverse freshwater aquatic faunas in North America;
            (3) stream and lacustrine sediments in Saltville Valley 
        spanning at least the past 25,000 years and containing the most 
        lengthy and best resolved known continuous record of biotic, 
        hydrologic, and climatic change located in an open-air site in 
        the middle Appalachians;
            (4) an archaeological record that spans at least the past 
        11,000 years, and probably 13,000-14,000 years, making this 
        potentially one of the best resolved and oldest early man sites 
        in North America;
            (5) a lengthy record of colonization and occupation by 
        Euro-Americans moving south through the Valley of Virginia and 
        into choice areas of the Valley and Ridge, so that the area 
        contains a record of early settlement and land use in the area 
        and of the transfer of cultural elements into the newly 
        occupied region, and provides insight into the perceptions of 
        these Euro-Americans regarding land and resources;
            (6) a 200-year industrial history that includes the 
        development of a significant part of the technology of inland 
        salt manufacture in North America, beginning with crude 
        pioneering efforts in the latter half of the 18th century and 
        continuing into the 1970's;
            (7) an industrial history that is intimately associated 
        with the development of a rich and varied array of water- and 
        land-based transportation systems;
            (8) a rare example of a relatively well-preserved fortified 
        industrial center of the Civil War period, containing 
        significant whole or partial examples of the industrial and 
        defensive works;
            (9) well-preserved remnants of a company-managed industrial 
        complex and town that developed from the late 19th through 
        middle 20th centuries and that is representative of the 
        American industrial age as expressed in rural America and the 
        company town;
            (10) a legacy of environmental traumas that emanated from 
        the industrial age, including excessively polluted waters and 
        attendant depauperization of the aquatic biota, and expedient 
        but devastating disposition of toxic wastes that led to the 
        creation of an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site;
            (11) sites affected by regulated land use changes that have 
        produced some of the most noteworthy recent water quality 
        improvements in Virginia; and
            (12) a beautiful setting incorporating landforms, waters, 
        and biota that blend with, and in cases overwhelm, the cultural 
        imprint on and near this tiny valley.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to provide a management framework to 
assist the Commonwealth of Virginia, its units of local and regional 
government, and its citizens in the development and implementation of 
integrated cultural, historical, and recreational land resource 
management programs in order to retain, enhance, and interpret the 
significant features of the lands, water, and structures of the 
Saltville region in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF SALTVILLE HERITAGE AREA.

    There is hereby established in the Commonwealth of Virginia the 
Saltville Heritage Area (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 
``Area''). The Area shall consist of the area generally depicted on the 
map entitled ``The Saltville Area Master Plan'', numbered ____________, 
and dated ____________, which shall be on file and available for public 
inspection in the Office of the Director of the National Park Service.

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

    (a) Preparation of Plan.--The Saltville Foundation may submit a 
management plan (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ``Plan'') 
to the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this Act referred to 
as the ``Secretary'') for the review and concurrence of the Secretary. 
The Plan shall be based on existing Federal, State, and local plans, 
and shall coordinate such plans and present an integrated plan for the 
protection, enhancement, and interpretation of the cultural, natural, 
scenic, and recreational resources of the Area. The Plan shall specify 
a management entity with respect to the Saltville Heritage Area. The 
Secretary is authorized to provide technical assistance in the 
preparation of the Plan.
    (b) Implementation.--If a Plan referred to in subsection (a) is 
submitted to the Secretary within 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, upon concurrence with the Plan, the Secretary is 
authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the management 
entity specified in the Plan for the protection, enhancement, and 
interpretation of the resources identified in the Plan.

SEC. 6. CONTINGENCY IF HERITAGE COMPACT NOT SUBMITTED.

    (a) In General.--The establishment of the Area under section 4 and 
the authorization of the Secretary under section 5(b) shall cease to be 
effective if, within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, a Heritage Compact for the Area is not--
            (1) submitted to the Secretary;
            (2) approved by the Secretary, after consultation with the 
        Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in accordance with 
        section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; and
            (3) submitted to the Congress, together with any comments 
        that the Secretary deems appropriate.
    (b) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may provide technical 
assistance to a unit of government or private nonprofit organization in 
the preparation of a Heritage Compact.
    (c) Definition of Heritage Compact.--For purposes of this section, 
the term ``Heritage Compact'' means a compact that--
            (1) is prepared with public participation;
            (2) contains information relating to the objectives and 
        management of the Area, including--
                    (A) a delineation of the boundaries of the Area;
                    (B) a discussion of the goals and objectives of the 
                Area, including an explanation of the proposed approach 
                to conservation and interpretation and a general 
                outline of the protection measures committed to by the 
                partners;
                    (C) an identification and description of the 
                management entity that will administer the Area;
                    (D) a list of the initial partners to be involved 
                in developing and implementing the management plan for 
                the Area, as well as a statement of the financial 
                commitment of such partners; and
                    (E) a description of the role of the Commonwealth 
                of Virginia regarding the Area;
            (3) outlines an implementation program that is be likely to 
        be initiated within a reasonable time after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act and that ensures effective implementation 
        of the State and local aspects of the Plan; and
            (4) is accompanied by the comments of the Governor of the 
        Commonwealth of Virginia.

SEC. 7. DUTIES OF FEDERAL ENTITIES.

    Any Federal entity conducting or supporting activities directly 
affecting the Area shall--
            (1) consult with the Secretary and the Saltville Foundation 
        with respect to the activities;
            (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the Saltville 
        Foundation with respect to the activities and, to the maximum 
        extent practicable, coordinate the activities with the 
        Secretary and the Saltville Foundation; and
            (3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct or support 
        the activities in a manner that will not have an adverse effect 
        on the Area, as determined by the Secretary and the Saltville 
        Foundation.

Summary: Saltville Heritage Area Act - Establishes the Saltville Heritage Area in Virginia. Authorizes the Saltville Foundation to submit an integrated management plan to the Secretary of Interior which shall provide for the protection, enhancement, and interpretation of the cultural, natural, scenic, and recreational resources of the Area. Requires the Plan to specify a management entity for the Area. Authorizes the Secretary, upon concurrence with the Plan, to enter into cooperative agreements with such entity. Ceases the establishment of the Area and such authorization of the Secretary if, within 180 days after the enactment of this Act, a Heritage Compact for the Area is not: (1) submitted to, and approved by, the Secretary, and (2) submitted to the Congress.