Union Calendar No. 170

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 940

[Report No. 106–285]

A BILL

To establish the Lackawanna Heritage Valley

American Heritage Area.

AUGUST 3, 1999

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

dered to be printedof the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
IB

Union Calendar No. 170

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 940

[Report No. 106–285]

To establish the Lackawanna Heritage Valley American Heritage Area.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 2, 1999

Mr. SHERWOOD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

AUGUST 3, 1999

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 2, 1999]

A BILL

To establish the Lackawanna Heritage Valley American

Heritage Area.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lackawanna Valley Na5 tional Heritage Area Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) The industrial and cultural heritage of

4 northeastern Pennsylvania inclusive of Lackawanna,

5 Luzerne, Wayne, and Susquehanna counties, related

6 directly to anthracite and anthracite-related indus7 tries, is nationally significant, as documented in the

8 United States Department of the Interior-National

9 Parks Service, National Register of Historic Places,

10 Multiple Property Documentation submittal of the

11 Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission

12 (1996).

13 (2) These industries include anthracite mining,

14 ironmaking, textiles, and rail transportation.

15 (3) The industrial and cultural heritage of the

16 anthracite and related industries in this region in17 cludes the social history and living cultural traditions

18 of the people of the region.

19 (4) The labor movement of the region played a

20 significant role in the development of the Nation in21 cluding the formation of many key unions such as the

22 United Mine Workers of America, and crucial strug23 gles to improve wages and working conditions, such

24 as the 1900 and 1902 anthracite strikes.

25 (5) The Department of the Interior is responsible

26 for protecting the Nation’s cultural and historic re-
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1 sources, and there are significant examples of these re2 sources within this 4-county region to merit the in3 volvement of the Federal Government to develop pro4 grams and projects, in cooperation with the Lacka5 wanna Heritage Valley Authority, the Commonwealth

6 of Pennsylvania, and other local and governmental

7 bodies, to adequately conserve, protect, and interpret

8 this heritage for future generations, while providing

9 opportunities for education and revitalization.

10 (6) The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority

11 would be an appropriate management entity for a

12 Heritage Area established in the region.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The objectives of the Lackawanna Val14 ley National Heritage Area are as follows:

15 (1) To foster a close working relationship with

16 all levels of government, the private sector, and the

17 local communities in the anthracite coal region of

18 northeastern Pennsylvania and empower the commu19 nities to conserve their heritage while continuing to

20 pursue economic opportunities.

21 (2) To conserve, interpret, and develop the his22 torical, cultural, natural, and recreational resources

23 related to the industrial and cultural heritage of the

24 4-county region of northeastern Pennsylvania.
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1 SEC. 3. LACKAWANNA VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established the

3 Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area (in this Act

4 referred to as the ‘‘Heritage Area’’).

5 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall be com6 prised of all or parts of the counties of Lackawanna,

7 Luzerne, Wayne, and Susquehanna in Pennsylvania, deter8 mined pursuant to the compact under section 4.

9 (c) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The management entity

10 for the Heritage Area shall be the Lackawanna Heritage

11 Valley Authority.

12 SEC. 4. COMPACT.

13 To carry out the purposes of this Act, the Secretary

14 of the Interior (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’)

15 shall enter into a compact with the management entity. The

16 compact shall include information relating to the objectives

17 and management of the area, including each of the fol18 lowing:

19 (1) A delineation of the boundaries of the Herit20 age Area.

21 (2) A discussion of the goals and objectives of the

22 Heritage Area, including an explanation of the pro23 posed approach to conservation and interpretation

24 and a general outline of the protection measures com25 mitted to by the partners.
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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT EN2 TITY.

3 (a) AUTHORITIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—

4 The management entity may, for purposes of preparing and

5 implementing the management plan developed under sub6 section (b), use funds made available through this Act for

7 the following:

8 (1) To make grants to, and enter into coopera9 tive agreements with States and their political sub10 divisions, private organizations, or any person.

11 (2) To hire and compensate staff.

12 (3) To enter into contracts for goods and serv13 ices.

14 (b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The management entity

15 shall develop a management plan for the Heritage Area that

16 presents recommendations for the Heritage Area’s conserva17 tion, funding, management, and development. Such plan

18 shall take into consideration existing State, county, and

19 local plans and involve residents, public agencies, and pri20 vate organizations working in the Heritage Area. It shall

21 include recommendations for actions to be undertaken by

22 units of government and private organizations to protect

23 the resources of the Heritage Area. It shall specify the exist24 ing and potential sources of funding to protect, manage,

25 and develop the Heritage Area. Such plan shall include, as

26 appropriate, the following:
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1 (1) An inventory of the resources contained in

2 the Heritage Area, including a list of any property

3 in the Heritage Area that is related to the themes of

4 the Heritage Area and that should be preserved, re5 stored, managed, developed, or maintained because of

6 its natural, cultural, historic, recreational, or scenic

7 significance.

8 (2) A recommendation of policies for resource

9 management which considers and details application

10 of appropriate land and water management tech11 niques, including, but not limited to, the development

12 of intergovernmental cooperative agreements to pro13 tect the Heritage Area’s historical, cultural, rec14 reational, and natural resources in a manner con15 sistent with supporting appropriate and compatible

16 economic viability.

17 (3) A program for implementation of the man18 agement plan by the management entity, including

19 plans for restoration and construction, and specific

20 commitments of the identified partners for the first 5

21 years of operation.

22 (4) An analysis of ways in which local, State,

23 and Federal programs may best be coordinated to

24 promote the purposes of this Act.
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1 (5) An interpretation plan for the Heritage

2 Area.

3 The management entity shall submit the management plan

4 to the Secretary for approval within 3 years after the date

5 of enactment of this Act. If a management plan is not sub6 mitted to the Secretary as required within the specified

7 time, the Heritage Area shall no longer qualify for Federal

8 funding.

9 (c) DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The manage10 ment entity shall—

11 (1) give priority to implementing actions set

12 forth in the compact and management plan, includ13 ing steps to assist units of government, regional plan14 ning organizations, and nonprofit organizations in

15 preserving the Heritage Area;

16 (2) assist units of government, regional planning

17 organizations, and nonprofit organizations in estab18 lishing and maintaining interpretive exhibits in the

19 Heritage Area; assist units of government, regional

20 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations

21 in developing recreational resources in the Heritage

22 Area;

23 (3) assist units of government, regional planning

24 organizations, and nonprofit organizations in in25 creasing public awareness of and appreciation for the
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1 natural, historical, and architectural resources and

2 sites in the Heritage Area; assist units of government,

3 regional planning organizations and nonprofit orga4 nizations in the restoration of any historic building

5 relating to the themes of the Heritage Area;

6 (4) encourage economic viability in the Heritage

7 Area consistent with the goals of the plan; encourage

8 local governments to adopt land use policies con9 sistent with the management of the Heritage Area

10 and the goals of the plan;

11 (5) assist units of government, regional planning

12 organizations, and nonprofit organizations to ensure

13 that clear, consistent, and environmentally appro14 priate signs identifying access points and sites of in15 terest are put in place throughout the Heritage Area;

16 (6) consider the interests of diverse governmental,

17 business, and nonprofit groups within the Heritage

18 Area;

19 (7) conduct public meetings at least quarterly re20 garding the implementation of the management plan;

21 and

22 (8) for any year in which Federal funds have

23 been received under this Act, make available for audit

24 all records pertaining to the expenditure of such funds

25 and any matching funds, and require, for all agree-
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1 ments authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by

2 other organizations, that the receiving organizations

3 make available for audit all records pertaining to the

4 expenditure of such funds.

5 (d) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

6 PROPERTY.—The management entity may not use Federal

7 funds received under this Act to acquire real property or

8 an interest in real property. Nothing in this Act shall pre9 clude any management entity from using Federal funds

10 from other sources for their permitted purposes.

11 (e) SPENDING FOR NON-FEDERALLY OWNED PROP12 ERTY.—The management entity may spend Federal funds

13 directly on non-federally owned property to further the pur14 poses of this Act, especially in assisting units of government

15 in appropriate treatment of districts, sites, buildings, struc16 tures, and objects listed or eligible for listing on the Na17 tional Register of Historic Places.

18 SEC. 6. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

19 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The

20 Secretary may, upon request of the management entity,

21 provide technical and financial assistance to the manage22 ment entity to develop and implement the management

23 plan. In assisting the management entity, the Secretary

24 shall give priority to actions that in general assist in—
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1 (1) conserving the significant natural, historic,

2 and cultural resources which support its themes; and

3 (2) providing educational, interpretive, and rec4 reational opportunities consistent with its resources

5 and associated values.

6 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

7 PLANS.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Governor

8 of Pennsylvania, shall approve or disapprove a manage9 ment plan submitted under this Act not later than 90 days

10 after receiving such management plan.

11 (c) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the Sec12 retary disapproves a submitted management plan, the Sec13 retary shall advise the management entity in writing of the

14 reasons therefore and shall make recommendations for revi15 sions in the plan. The Secretary shall approve or dis16 approve a proposed revision within 90 days after the date

17 it is submitted.

18 (d) APPROVING AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary shall

19 review substantial amendments to the management plan for

20 the Heritage Area. Funds appropriated pursuant to this

21 Act may not be expended to implement the changes made

22 by such amendments until the Secretary approves the

23 amendments.
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1 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL ANTHRACITE COAL REGION DESIGNA2 TION.

3 (a) DESIGNATION.—Upon publication by the Secretary

4 in the Federal Register of notice that the Secretary has

5 signed a compact (as provided for in subsection (b)) there

6 is hereby designated the Schuylkill River National Heritage

7 Area.

8 (b) COMPACT.—The compact submitted under this sec9 tion with respect to the Schuylkill River National Heritage

10 Area shall consist of an agreement between the Secretary

11 and the Schuylkill River Greenway Association (who shall

12 serve as the management entity for the area). Such agree13 ment shall define the area (including a delineation of the

14 boundaries), describe anticipated programs for the area,

15 and include information relating to the objectives and man16 agement of the area. Such information shall include, but

17 not be limited to, an explanation of the proposed approach

18 to the conservation and interpretation of the area and a

19 general outline of the protection measures committed to by

20 the partners.

21 (c) AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES.—The authorities and

22 duties of the management entity and other Federal agencies

23 for the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area shall be

24 the same as provided for by sections 5 and 6 of this Act,

25 except that for such purposes any reference in such sections

26 to the ‘‘Heritage Area’’ shall be deemed to be a reference
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1 to the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area and any

2 reference to the ‘‘management entity’’ shall be deemed a ref3 erence to the Schuylkill River Greenway Association.

4 SEC. 8. CULTURE AND HERITAGE OF ANTHRACITE COAL RE5 GION.

6 All authorized existing and future heritage area man7 agement entities in the Anthracite Coal Region in Pennsyl8 vania are authorized and directed to coordinate with one

9 another in the management of such areas. Each such man10 agement entity is authorized to use funds appropriated for

11 such heritage areas for the purposes of this section.

12 SEC. 9. SUNSET.

13 The Secretary may not make any grant or provide any

14 assistance under this Act after September 30, 2012.

15 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro17 priated under this Act not more than $1,000,000 for any

18 fiscal year for each heritage area designated by this Act.

19 Not more than a total of $10,000,000 may be appropriated

20 for each heritage area under this Act.

21 (b) 50 PERCENT MATCH.—Federal funding provided

22 under this Act, after the designation of each heritage area,

23 may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of any assistance

24 or grant provided or authorized under this Act.
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Amend the title so as to read as follows: ‘‘A bill to

designate the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area

and for other purposes.’’.