I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5747 

To establish the St. Croix National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 3, 2020 

Ms. PLASKETT (for herself, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of Puerto Rico, Mrs. 

RADEWAGEN, and Mr. SAN NICOLAS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the St. Croix 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘St. Croix National 

5 Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

9 Area’’ means the St. Croix National Heritage Area 

10 established by subsection (b)(1). 


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1 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi3 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 

4 subsection (b)(4). 

5 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage6 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

7 Heritage Area required under subsection (d). 

8 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en9 titled ‘‘Proposed St. Croix National Heritage Area’’ 

10 and dated llllllll. 

11 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 (6) ST. CROIX.—The term ‘‘St. Croix’’ means 

14 St. Croix, Virgin Islands of the United States. 

15 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the Vir16 gin Islands of the United States. 

17 (b) ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.— 

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

19 the State the St. Croix National Heritage Area. 

20 (2) CONCEPTUAL BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage 

21 Area shall consist of the island of St. Croix. 

22 (3) MAP.—A map of the Heritage Area shall 

23 be— 

24 (A) included in the management plan; and 


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1 (B) on file and available for public inspec2 tion in the appropriate offices of the National 

3 Park Service. 

4 (4) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The local coordinating 

6 entity for the Heritage Area shall be the Virgin 

7 Islands State Historic Preservation Office. 

8 (B) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—The 

9 Virgin Islands State Historic Preservation Of10 fice shall consult with a broad cross section of 

11 public, private, and nongovernmental sectors in12 cluding businesses, individuals, agencies, and 

13 organizations that were involved in the planning 

14 and development of the Heritage Area before 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

17 (1) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying 

18 out the management plan, the Secretary, acting 

19 through the local coordinating entity, may use 

20 amounts made available under this section to— 

21 (A) make grants to the State or a subdivi22 sion of the State, nonprofit organizations, and 

23 other persons; 

24 (B) enter into cooperative agreements 

25 with, or provide technical assistance to, the 


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1 State or a subdivision of the State, nonprofit 

2 organizations, and other interested parties; 

3 (C) hire and compensate staff, which shall 

4 include individuals with expertise in natural, 

5 cultural, and historical resources protection, 

6 and heritage programming; 

7 (D) obtain money or services from any 

8 source including any that are provided under 

9 any other Federal law or program; 

10 (E) contract for goods or services; and 

11 (F) undertake to be a catalyst for any 

12 other activity that furthers the Heritage Area 

13 and is consistent with the approved manage14 ment plan. 

15 (2) DUTIES.—The local coordinating entity 

16 shall— 

17 (A) in accordance with subsection (d), pre18 pare and submit a management plan for the 

19 Heritage Area to the Secretary; 

20 (B) assist units of local government, re21 gional planning organizations, and nonprofit or22 ganizations in carrying out the approved man23 agement plan by— 

24 (i) carrying out programs and projects 

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1 portant resource values in the Heritage 

2 Area; 

3 (ii) establishing and maintaining in4 terpretive exhibits and programs in the 

5 Heritage Area; 

6 (iii) developing recreational and edu7 cational opportunities in the Heritage 

8 Area; 

9 (iv) increasing public awareness of, 

10 and appreciation for, natural, historical, 

11 scenic, and cultural resources of the Herit12 age Area; 

13 (v) protecting and restoring historic 

14 sites and buildings in the Heritage Area 

15 that are consistent with Heritage Area 

16 themes; 

17 (vi) ensuring that clear, consistent, 

18 and appropriate signs identifying points of 

19 public access, and sites of interest are 

20 posted throughout the Heritage Area; and 

21 (vii) promoting a wide range of part22 nerships among governments, organiza23 tions, and individuals to further the Herit24 age Area; 


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1 (C) consider the interests of diverse units 

2 of government, businesses, organizations, and 

3 individuals in the Heritage Area in the prepara4 tion and implementation of the management 

5 plan; 

6 (D) conduct meetings open to the public at 

7 least semiannually regarding the development 

8 and implementation of the management plan; 

9 (E) for any year that Federal funds have 

10 been received under this section— 

11 (i) submit an annual report to the 

12 Secretary that describes the activities, ex13 penses, and income of the local coordi14 nating entity (including grants to any 

15 other entities during the year that the re16 port is made); 

17 (ii) make available to the Secretary 

18 for audit all records relating to the expend19 iture of the funds and any matching funds; 

20 and 

21 (iii) require, with respect to all agree22 ments authorizing expenditure of Federal 

23 funds by other organizations, that the or24 ganizations receiving the funds make avail25 able to the Secretary for audit all records 


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1 concerning the expenditure of the funds; 

2 and 

3 (F) encourage by appropriate means eco4 nomic viability that is consistent with the Herit5 age Area. 

6 (3) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF

7 REAL PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity 

8 shall not use Federal funds made available under 

9 this section to acquire real property or any interest 

10 in real property. 

11 (d) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the local coordi14 nating entity shall submit to the Secretary for ap15 proval a proposed management plan for the Heritage 

16 Area. 

17 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan 

18 shall— 

19 (A) incorporate an integrated and coopera20 tive approach for the protection, enhancement, 

21 and interpretation of the natural, cultural, his22 toric, scenic, and recreational resources of the 

23 Heritage Area; 

24 (B) take into consideration State plans; 

25 (C) include— 


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1 (i) an inventory of— 

2 (I) the resources located in the 

3 core area described in subsection 

4 (b)(2); and 

5 (II) any other property in the 

6 core area that— 

7 (aa) is related to the themes 

8 of the Heritage Area; and 

9 (bb) should be preserved, re10 stored, managed, or maintained 

11 because of the significance of the 

12 property; 

13 (ii) describe comprehensive policies, 

14 goals, strategies and recommendations for 

15 telling the story of the heritage of the area 

16 covered by the designation and encour17 aging long-term resource protection, en18 hancement, interpretation, funding, man19 agement, and development; 

20 (iii) a description of actions that gov21 ernments, private organizations, and indi22 viduals have agreed to take to protect the 

23 natural, historical and cultural resources of 

24 the Heritage Area; 


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1 (iv) a program of implementation for 

2 the management plan by the local coordi3 nating entity that includes a description 

4 of— 

5 (I) actions to facilitate ongoing 

6 collaboration among partners to pro7 mote plans for resource protection, 

8 restoration, and construction; and 

9 (II) specific commitments for im10 plementation that have been made by 

11 the local coordinating entity or any 

12 government, organization, or indi13 vidual for the first 5 years of oper14 ation; 

15 (v) the identification of sources of 

16 funding for carrying out the management 

17 plan; 

18 (vi) analysis and recommendations for 

19 means by which State and Federal pro20 grams may best be coordinated to carry 

21 out this section; and 

22 (vii) a business plan that describes the 

23 role, operation, financing, and functions of 

24 the local coordinating entity and of each of 

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1 agement plan and provides adequate assur2 ances that the local coordinating entity has 

3 the partnerships and financial and other 

4 resources necessary to implement the man5 agement plan for the National Heritage 

6 Area; and 

7 (D) recommend policies and strategies for 

8 resource management that consider and detail 

9 the application of appropriate land and water 

10 management techniques, including the develop11 ment of intergovernmental and interagency co12 operative agreements to protect the natural, 

13 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec14 reational resources of the Heritage Area. 

15 (3) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management 

16 plan is not submitted to the Secretary by the date 

17 that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, the local coordinating entity shall be ineligible 

19 to receive additional funding under this section until 

20 the date that the Secretary receives and approves 

21 the management plan. 

22 (4) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGE23 MENT PLAN.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

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1 ment plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary, 

2 in consultation with the State, shall approve or 

3 disapprove the management plan. 

4 (B) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In deter5 mining whether to approve the management 

6 plan, the Secretary shall consider whether— 

7 (i) the local coordinating entity is rep8 resentative of the diverse interests of the 

9 Heritage Area; 

10 (ii) the local coordinating entity has 

11 afforded adequate opportunity, including 

12 public hearings, for public and govern13 mental involvement in the preparation of 

14 the management plan; and 

15 (iii) the resource protection and inter16 pretation strategies contained in the man17 agement plan, if implemented, would ade18 quately protect the natural, historical, and 

19 cultural resources of the Heritage Area. 

20 (C) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If 

21 the Secretary disapproves the management plan 

22 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

23 (i) advise the local coordinating entity 

24 in writing of the reasons for the dis25 approval; 


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1 (ii) make recommendations for revi2 sions to the management plan; and 

3 (iii) not later than 180 days after the 

4 receipt of any proposed revision of the 

5 management plan from the local coordi6 nating entity, approve or disapprove the 

7 proposed revision. 

8 (D) AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

10 approve or disapprove each amendment to 

11 the management plan that the Secretary 

12 determines make a substantial change to 

13 the management plan. 

14 (ii) USE OF FUNDS.—The local co15 ordinating entity shall not use Federal 

16 funds authorized by this section to carry 

17 out any amendments to the management 

18 plan until the Secretary has approved the 

19 amendments. 

20 (e) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGEN21 CIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section af23 fects the authority of a Federal agency to provide 

24 technical or financial assistance under any other law. 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

2 head of any Federal agency planning to conduct ac3 tivities that may have an impact on the Heritage 

4 Area is encouraged to consult and coordinate the ac5 tivities with the Secretary and the local coordinating 

6 entity to the maximum extent practicable. 

7 (3) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in 

8 this section— 

9 (A) modifies, alters, or amends any law or 

10 regulation authorizing a Federal agency to 

11 manage Federal land under the jurisdiction of 

12 the Federal agency; 

13 (B) limits the discretion of a Federal land 

14 manager to implement an approved land use 

15 plan within the boundaries of the Heritage 

16 Area; or 

17 (C) modifies, alters, or amends any author18 ized use of Federal land under the jurisdiction 

19 of a Federal agency. 

20 (f) PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC21 TIONS.—Nothing in this section— 

22 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 

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1 gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage 

2 Area; 

3 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub4 lic access (including access by Federal or State 

5 agencies) to the property of the property owner, or 

6 to modify public access or use of property of the 

7 property owner under any other Federal or State 

8 law; 

9 (3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 

10 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author11 ity of any Federal or State agency, or conveys any 

12 land use or other regulatory authority to the local 

13 coordinating entity; 

14 (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap15 propriation of water or water rights; 

16 (5) diminishes the authority of the State to 

17 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

18 fishing and hunting within the Heritage Area; or 

19 (6) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

20 under any other law, of any private property owner 

21 with respect to any person injured on the private 

22 property. 

23 (g) EVALUATION; REPORT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years be25 fore the date on which authority for Federal funding 


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1 terminates for the Heritage Area, the Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 (A) conduct an evaluation of the accom4 plishments of the Heritage Area; and 

5 (B) prepare a report in accordance with 

6 paragraph (3). 

7 (2) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted 

8 under paragraph (1)(A) shall— 

9 (A) assess the progress of the local coordi10 nating entity with respect to— 

11 (i) accomplishing the purposes of this 

12 section for the Heritage Area; and 

13 (ii) achieving the goals and objectives 

14 of the approved management plan for the 

15 Heritage Area; 

16 (B) analyze the Federal, State, and private 

17 investments in the Heritage Area to determine 

18 the leverage and impact of the investments; and 

19 (C) review the management structure, 

20 partnership relationships, and funding of the 

21 Heritage Area for purposes of identifying the 

22 critical components for sustainability of the 

23 Heritage Area. 

24 (3) REPORT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Based on the evalua2 tion conducted under paragraph (1)(A), the 

3 Secretary shall prepare a report that includes 

4 recommendations for the future role of the Na5 tional Park Service, if any, with respect to the 

6 Heritage Area. 

7 (B) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—If the report 

8 prepared under subparagraph (A) recommends 

9 that Federal funding for the Heritage Area be 

10 reauthorized, the report shall include an anal11 ysis of— 

12 (i) ways in which Federal funding for 

13 the Heritage Area may be reduced or 

14 eliminated; and 

15 (ii) the appropriate time period nec16 essary to achieve the recommended reduc17 tion or elimination. 

18 (C) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On com19 pletion of the report, the Secretary shall submit 

20 the report to— 

21 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

22 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

23 (ii) the Committee on Natural Re24 sources of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $10,000,000, of which not more than $1,000,000 may be 

4 made available for any fiscal year. 

5 (i) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of 

6 the Secretary to provide assistance under this section ter7 minates on the date that is 15 years after the date of en8 actment of this Act. 

Æ 


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