IIB

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 940

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 14, 1999

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

AN ACT

To designate the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area,

and for other purposes.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lackawanna Valley

3 National Heritage Area Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

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

6 (1) The industrial and cultural heritage of

7 northeastern Pennsylvania inclusive of Lackawanna,

8 Luzerne, Wayne, and Susquehanna counties, related

9 directly to anthracite and anthracite-related indus10 tries, is nationally significant, as documented in the

11 United States Department of the Interior-National

12 Parks Service, National Register of Historic Places,

13 Multiple Property Documentation submittal of the

14 Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission

15 (1996).

16 (2) These industries include anthracite mining,

17 ironmaking, textiles, and rail transportation.

18 (3) The industrial and cultural heritage of the

19 anthracite and related industries in this region in20 cludes the social history and living cultural tradi21 tions of the people of the region.

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

23 significant role in the development of the Nation in24 cluding the formation of many key unions such as

25 the United Mine Workers of America, and crucial
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1 struggles to improve wages and working conditions,

2 such as the 1900 and 1902 anthracite strikes.

3 (5) The Department of the Interior is respon4 sible for protecting the Nation’s cultural and historic

5 resources, and there are significant examples of

6 these resources within this 4-county region to merit

7 the involvement of the Federal Government to de8 velop programs and projects, in cooperation with the

9 Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority, the Com10 monwealth of Pennsylvania, and other local and gov11 ernmental bodies, to adequately conserve, protect,

12 and interpret this heritage for future generations,

13 while providing opportunities for education and revi14 talization.

15 (6) The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority

16 would be an appropriate management entity for a

17 Heritage Area established in the region.

18 (b) PURPOSE.—The objectives of the Lackawanna

19 Valley National Heritage Area are as follows:

20 (1) To foster a close working relationship with

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

22 local communities in the anthracite coal region of

23 northeastern Pennsylvania and empower the commu24 nities to conserve their heritage while continuing to

25 pursue economic opportunities.
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1 (2) To conserve, interpret, and develop the his2 torical, cultural, natural, and recreational resources

3 related to the industrial and cultural heritage of the

4 4-county region of northeastern Pennsylvania.

5 SEC. 3. LACKAWANNA VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

7 the Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area (in this

8 Act referred to as the ‘‘Heritage Area’’).

9 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall be com10 prised of all or parts of the counties of Lackawanna,

11 Luzerne, Wayne, and Susquehanna in Pennsylvania, de12 termined pursuant to the compact under section 4.

13 (c) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The management entity

14 for the Heritage Area shall be the Lackawanna Heritage

15 Valley Authority.

16 SEC. 4. COMPACT.

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

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

19 shall enter into a compact with the management entity.

20 The compact shall include information relating to the ob21 jectives and management of the area, including each of

22 the following:

23 (1) A delineation of the boundaries of the Her24 itage Area.
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1 (2) A discussion of the goals and objectives of

2 the Heritage Area, including an explanation of the

3 proposed approach to conservation and interpreta4 tion and a general outline of the protection measures

5 committed to by the partners.

6 SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT EN7 TITY.

8 (a) AUTHORITIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—

9 The management entity may, for purposes of preparing

10 and implementing the management plan developed under

11 subsection (b), use funds made available through this Act

12 for the following:

13 (1) To make grants to, and enter into coopera14 tive agreements with States and their political sub15 divisions, private organizations, or any person.

16 (2) To hire and compensate staff.

17 (3) To enter into contracts for goods and serv18 ices.

19 (b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The management entity

20 shall develop a management plan for the Heritage Area

21 that presents recommendations for the Heritage Area’s

22 conservation, funding, management, and development.

23 Such plan shall take into consideration existing State,

24 county, and local plans and involve residents, public agen25 cies, and private organizations working in the Heritage
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1 Area. It shall include recommendations for actions to be

2 undertaken by units of government and private organiza3 tions to protect the resources of the Heritage Area. It shall

4 specify the existing and potential sources of funding to

5 protect, manage, and develop the Heritage Area. Such

6 plan shall include, as appropriate, the following:

7 (1) An inventory of the resources contained in

8 the Heritage Area, including a list of any property

9 in the Heritage Area that is related to the themes

10 of the Heritage Area and that should be preserved,

11 restored, managed, developed, or maintained because

12 of its natural, cultural, historic, recreational, or sce13 nic significance.

14 (2) A recommendation of policies for resource

15 management which considers and details application

16 of appropriate land and water management tech17 niques, including, but not limited to, the develop18 ment of intergovernmental cooperative agreements to

19 protect the Heritage Area’s historical, cultural, rec20 reational, and natural resources in a manner con21 sistent with supporting appropriate and compatible

22 economic viability.

23 (3) A program for implementation of the man24 agement plan by the management entity, including

25 plans for restoration and construction, and specific
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1 commitments of the identified partners for the first

2 5 years of operation.

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

4 and Federal programs may best be coordinated to

5 promote the purposes of this Act.

6 (5) An interpretation plan for the Heritage

7 Area.

8 The management entity shall submit the management

9 plan to the Secretary for approval within 3 years after

10 the date of enactment of this Act. If a management plan

11 is not submitted to the Secretary as required within the

12 specified time, the Heritage Area shall no longer qualify

13 for Federal funding.

14 (c) DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The man15 agement entity shall—

16 (1) give priority to implementing actions set

17 forth in the compact and management plan, includ18 ing steps to assist units of government, regional

19 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations

20 in preserving the Heritage Area;

21 (2) assist units of government, regional plan22 ning organizations, and nonprofit organizations in

23 establishing and maintaining interpretive exhibits in

24 the Heritage Area; assist units of government, re25 gional planning organizations, and nonprofit organi-
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1 zations in developing recreational resources in the

2 Heritage Area;

3 (3) assist units of government, regional plan4 ning organizations, and nonprofit organizations in

5 increasing public awareness of and appreciation for

6 the natural, historical, and architectural resources

7 and sites in the Heritage Area; assist units of gov8 ernment, regional planning organizations and non9 profit organizations in the restoration of any historic

10 building relating to the themes of the Heritage Area;

11 (4) encourage economic viability in the Heritage

12 Area consistent with the goals of the plan; encourage

13 local governments to adopt land use policies con14 sistent with the management of the Heritage Area

15 and the goals of the plan;

16 (5) assist units of government, regional plan17 ning organizations, and nonprofit organizations to

18 ensure that clear, consistent, and environmentally

19 appropriate signs identifying access points and sites

20 of interest are put in place throughout the Heritage

21 Area;

22 (6) consider the interests of diverse govern23 mental, business, and nonprofit groups within the

24 Heritage Area;
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1 (7) conduct public meetings at least quarterly

2 regarding the implementation of the management

3 plan; and

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

5 been received under this Act, make available for

6 audit all records pertaining to the expenditure of

7 such funds and any matching funds, and require, for

8 all agreements authorizing expenditure of Federal

9 funds by other organizations, that the receiving or10 ganizations make available for audit all records per11 taining to the expenditure of such funds.

12 (d) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

13 PROPERTY.—The management entity may not use Fed14 eral funds received under this Act to acquire real property

15 or an interest in real property. Nothing in this Act shall

16 preclude any management entity from using Federal funds

17 from other sources for their permitted purposes.

18 (e) SPENDING FOR NON-FEDERALLY OWNED PROP19 ERTY.—The management entity may spend Federal funds

20 directly on non-federally owned property to further the

21 purposes of this Act, especially in assisting units of gov22 ernment in appropriate treatment of districts, sites, build23 ings, structures, and objects listed or eligible for listing

24 on the National Register of Historic Places.
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1 SEC. 6. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

2 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The

3 Secretary may, upon request of the management entity,

4 provide technical and financial assistance to the manage5 ment entity to develop and implement the management

6 plan. In assisting the management entity, the Secretary

7 shall give priority to actions that in general assist in—

8 (1) conserving the significant natural, historic,

9 and cultural resources which support its themes; and

10 (2) providing educational, interpretive, and rec11 reational opportunities consistent with its resources

12 and associated values.

13 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

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

15 of Pennsylvania, shall approve or disapprove a manage16 ment plan submitted under this Act not later than 90 days

17 after receiving such management plan.

18 (c) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the Sec19 retary disapproves a submitted management plan, the Sec20 retary shall advise the management entity in writing of

21 the reasons therefore and shall make recommendations for

22 revisions in the plan. The Secretary shall approve or dis23 approve a proposed revision within 90 days after the date

24 it is submitted.

25 (d) APPROVING AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary shall

26 review substantial amendments to the management plan
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1 for the Heritage Area. Funds appropriated pursuant to

2 this Act may not be expended to implement the changes

3 made by such amendments until the Secretary approves

4 the amendments.

5 SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL ANTHRACITE COAL REGION DESIGNA6 TION.

7 (a) DESIGNATION.—Upon publication by the Sec8 retary in the Federal Register of notice that the Secretary

9 has signed a compact (as provided for in subsection (b))

10 there is hereby designated the Schuylkill River National

11 Heritage Area.

12 (b) COMPACT.—The compact submitted under this

13 section with respect to the Schuylkill River National Her14 itage Area shall consist of an agreement between the Sec15 retary and the Schuylkill River Greenway Association

16 (who shall serve as the management entity for the area).

17 Such agreement shall define the area (including a delinea18 tion of the boundaries), describe anticipated programs for

19 the area, and include information relating to the objectives

20 and management of the area. Such information shall in21 clude, but not be limited to, an explanation of the pro22 posed approach to the conservation and interpretation of

23 the area and a general outline of the protection measures

24 committed to by the partners.
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1 (c) AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES.—The authorities and

2 duties of the management entity and other Federal agen3 cies for the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area shall

4 be the same as provided for by sections 5 and 6 of this

5 Act, except that for such purposes any reference in such

6 sections to the ‘‘Heritage Area’’ shall be deemed to be a

7 reference to the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area

8 and any reference to the ‘‘management entity’’ shall be

9 deemed a reference to the Schuylkill River Greenway Asso10 ciation.

11 SEC. 8. CULTURE AND HERITAGE OF ANTHRACITE COAL

12 REGION.

13 All authorized existing and future heritage area man14 agement entities in the Anthracite Coal Region in Penn15 sylvania are authorized and directed to coordinate with

16 one another in the management of such areas. Each such

17 management entity is authorized to use funds appro18 priated for such heritage areas for the purposes of this

19 section.

20 SEC. 9. SUNSET.

21 The Secretary may not make any grant or provide

22 any assistance under this Act after September 30, 2012.

23 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro25 priated under this Act not more than $1,000,000 for any
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1 fiscal year for each heritage area designated by this Act.

2 Not more than a total of $10,000,000 may be appro3 priated for each heritage area under this Act.

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

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

6 may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of any assist7 ance or grant provided or authorized under this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives September 13,

1999.

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.