I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1862

To establish the Oil Region National Heritage Area. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 29, 2003

Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. ENGLISH, 

Mr. DOYLE, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. MURTHA, Ms. HART, 

Mr. PLATTS, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. GERLACH, 

Mr. FATTAH, Mr. HOLDEN, and Mr. SHERWOOD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To establish the Oil Region National 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; DEFINITIONS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Oil Region National Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this Act, the 

7 following definitions shall apply: 

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

9 Area’’ means the Oil Region National Heritage Area 

10 established in section 3(a). 
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1 (2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘man2 agement entity’’ means the Oil Heritage Region, 

3 Inc., or its successor entity. 

4 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of the Interior. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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

8 (1) The Oil Region of Northwestern Pennsyl9 vania, with numerous sites and districts listed on the 

10 National Register of Historic Places, and designated 

11 by the Governor of Pennsylvania as one of the State 

12 Heritage Park Areas, is a region with tremendous 

13 physical and natural resources and possesses a story 

14 of State, national, and international significance. 

15 (2) The single event of Colonel Edwin Drake’s 

16 drilling of the world’s first successful oil well in 

17 1859 has affected the industrial, natural, social, and 

18 political structures of the modern world. 

19 (3) Six national historic districts are located 

20 within the State Heritage Park boundary, in 

21 Emlenton, Franklin, Oil City, and Titusville, as well 

22 as 17 separate National Register sites. 

23 (4) The Allegheny River, which was designated 

24 as a component of the national wild and scenic riv25 ers system in 1992 by Public Law 102–271, tra-
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1 verses the Oil Region and connects several of its 

2 major sites, as do some of the river’s tributaries 

3 such as Oil Creek, French Creek, and Sandy Creek. 

4 (5) The unspoiled rural character of the Oil Re5 gion provides many natural and recreational re6 sources, scenic vistas, and excellent water quality for 

7 people throughout the United States to enjoy. 

8 (6) Remnants of the oil industry, visible on the 

9 landscape to this day, provide a direct link to the 

10 past for visitors, as do the historic valley settle11 ments, riverbed settlements, plateau developments, 

12 farmlands, and industrial landscapes. 

13 (7) The Oil Region also represents a cross sec14 tion of American history associated with Native 

15 Americans, frontier settlements, the French and In16 dian War, African Americans and the Underground 

17 Railroad, and immigration of Swedish and Polish in18 dividuals, among others. 

19 (8) Involvement by the Federal Government 

20 shall serve to enhance the efforts of the Common21 wealth of Pennsylvania, local subdivisions of the 

22 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, volunteer organiza23 tions, and private businesses, to promote the cul24 tural, national, and recreational resources of the re25 gion in order to fulfill their full potential. 
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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to enhance 

2 a cooperative management framework to assist the Com3 monwealth of Pennsylvania, its units of local government, 

4 and area citizens in conserving, enhancing, and inter5 preting the significant features of the lands, water, and 

6 structures of the Oil Region, in a manner consistent with 

7 compatible economic development for the benefit and in8 spiration of present and future generations in the Com9 monwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States. 

10 SEC. 3. OIL REGION NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

12 the Oil Region National Heritage Area. 

13 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Heritage 

14 Area shall include all of those lands depicted on a map 

15 entitled ‘‘Oil Region National Heritage Area’’, numbered 

16 OIRE/20,000 and dated October, 2000. The map shall be 

17 on file in the appropriate offices of the National Park 

18 Service. The Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the 

19 Federal Register, as soon as practical after the date of 

20 the enactment of this Act, a detailed description and map 

21 of the boundaries established under this subsection. 

22 (c) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The management entity 

23 for the Heritage Area shall be the Oil Heritage Region, 

24 Inc., the locally based private, nonprofit management cor-
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1 poration which shall oversee the development of a manage2 ment plan in accordance with section 5(b). 

3 SEC. 4. COMPACT. 

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

5 shall enter into a compact with the management entity. 

6 The compact shall include information relating to the ob7 jectives and management of the area, including a discus8 sion of the goals and objectives of the Heritage Area, in9 cluding an explanation of the proposed approach to con10 servation and interpretation and a general outline of the 

11 protection measures committed to by the Secretary and 

12 management entity. 

13 SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT ENTI14 TY. 

15 (a) AUTHORITIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—

16 The management entity may use funds made available 

17 under this Act for purposes of preparing, updating, and 

18 implementing the management plan developed under sub19 section (b). Such purposes may include—

20 (1) making grants to, and entering into cooper21 ative agreements with, States and their political sub22 divisions, private organizations, or any other person;

23 (2) hiring and compensating staff; and 

24 (3) undertaking initiatives that advance the 

25 purposes of the Heritage Area. 
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1 (b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The management entity 

2 shall develop a management plan for the Heritage Area 

3 that—

4 (1) presents comprehensive strategies and rec5 ommendations for conservation, funding, manage6 ment, and development of the Heritage Area; 

7 (2) takes into consideration existing State, 

8 county, and local plans and involves residents, public 

9 agencies, and private organizations working in the 

10 Heritage Area; 

11 (3) includes a description of actions that units 

12 of government and private organizations have agreed 

13 to take to protect the resources of the Heritage 

14 Area; 

15 (4) specifies the existing and potential sources 

16 of funding to protect, manage, and develop the Her17 itage Area; 

18 (5) includes an inventory of the resources con19 tained in the Heritage Area, including a list of any 

20 property in the Heritage Area that is related to the 

21 themes of the Heritage Area and that should be pre22 served, restored, managed, developed, or maintained 

23 because of its natural, cultural, historic, recreational, 

24 or scenic significance; 
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1 (6) recommends policies for resource manage2 ment which consider and detail application of appro3 priate land and water management techniques, in4 cluding, but not limited to, the development of inter5 governmental and interagency cooperative agree6 ments to protect the Heritage Area’s historical, cul7 tural, recreational, and natural resources in a man8 ner consistent with supporting appropriate and com9 patible economic viability; 

10 (7) describes a program for implementation of 

11 the management plan by the management entity, in12 cluding plans for restoration and construction, and 

13 specific commitments for that implementation that 

14 have been made by the management entity and any 

15 other persons for the first 5 years of implementa16 tion; 

17 (8) includes an analysis of ways in which local, 

18 State, and Federal programs, including the role for 

19 the National Park Service in the Heritage Area, may 

20 best be coordinated to promote the purposes of this 

21 Act; 

22 (9) lists any revisions to the boundaries of the 

23 Heritage Area proposed by the management entity 

24 and requested by the affected local government; and 
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1 (10) includes an interpretation plan for the 

2 Heritage Area. 

3 (c) DEADLINE; TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—

4 (1) DEADLINE.—The management entity shall 

5 submit the management plan to the Secretary within 

6 2 years after the funds are made available for this 

7 Act. 

8 (2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If a manage9 ment plan is not submitted to the Secretary in ac10 cordance with this subsection, the management enti11 ty shall not qualify for Federal assistance under this 

12 Act. 

13 (d) DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The man14 agement entity shall—

15 (1) give priority to implementing actions set 

16 forth in the compact and management plan; 

17 (2) assist units of government, regional plan18 ning organizations, and nonprofit organizations in—

19 (A) establishing and maintaining interpre20 tive exhibits in the Heritage Area; 

21 (B) developing recreational resources in 

22 the Heritage Area; 

23 (C) increasing public awareness of and ap24 preciation for the natural, historical, and archi-
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1 tectural resources and sites in the Heritage 

2 Area; 

3 (D) the restoration of any historic building 

4 relating to the themes of the Heritage Area; 

5 (E) ensuring that clear, consistent, and en6 vironmentally appropriate signs identifying ac7 cess points and sites of interest are put in place 

8 throughout the Heritage Area; and 

9 (F) carrying out other actions that the 

10 management entity determines to be advisable 

11 to fulfill the purposes of this Act. 

12 (3) encourage by appropriate means economic 

13 viability in the Heritage Area consistent with the 

14 goals of the management plan; 

15 (4) consider the interests of diverse govern16 mental, business, and nonprofit groups within the 

17 Heritage Area; and 

18 (5) for any year in which Federal funds have 

19 been provided to implement the management plan 

20 under subsection (b)—

21 (A) conduct public meetings at least annu22 ally regarding the implementation of the man23 agement plan;

24 (B) submit an annual report to the Sec25 retary setting forth accomplishments, expenses 
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1 and income, and each person to which any 

2 grant was made by the management entity in 

3 the year for which the report is made; and 

4 (C) require, for all agreements entered into 

5 by the management entity authorizing expendi6 ture of Federal funds by any other person, that 

7 the person making the expenditure make avail8 able to the management entity for audit all 

9 records pertaining to the expenditure of such 

10 funds. 

11 (e) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

12 PROPERTY.—The management entity may not use Fed13 eral funds received under this Act to acquire real property 

14 or an interest in real property. 

15 SEC. 6. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

16 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—

18 (A) OVERALL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

19 may, upon the request of the management enti20 ty, and subject to the availability of appropria21 tions, provide technical and financial assistance 

22 to the management entity to carry out its du23 ties under this Act, including updating and im24 plementing a management plan that is sub25 mitted under section 5(b) and approved by the 
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1 Secretary and, prior to such approval, providing 

2 assistance for initiatives. 

3 (B) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—If the Secretary 

4 has the resources available to provide technical 

5 assistance to the management entity to carry 

6 out its duties under this Act (including updat7 ing and implementing a management plan that 

8 is submitted under section 5(b) and approved 

9 by the Secretary and, prior to such approval, 

10 providing assistance for initiatives), upon the 

11 request of the management entity the Secretary 

12 shall provide such assistance on a reimbursable 

13 basis. This subparagraph does not preclude the 

14 Secretary from providing nonreimbursable as15 sistance under subparagraph (A). 

16 (2) PRIORITY.—In assisting the management 

17 entity, the Secretary shall give priority to actions 

18 that assist in the—

19 (A) implementation of the management 

20 plan; 

21 (B) provision of educational assistance and 

22 advice regarding land and water management 

23 techniques to conserve the significant natural 

24 resources of the region; 
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1 (C) development and application of tech2 niques promoting the preservation of cultural 

3 and historic properties; 

4 (D) preservation, restoration, and reuse of 

5 publicly and privately owned historic buildings; 

6 (E) design and fabrication of a wide range 

7 of interpretive materials based on the manage8 ment plan, including guide brochures, visitor 

9 displays, audio-visual and interactive exhibits, 

10 and educational curriculum materials for public 

11 education; and 

12 (F) implementation of initiatives prior to 

13 approval of the management plan. 

14 (3) DOCUMENTATION OF STRUCTURES.—The 

15 Secretary, acting through the Historic American 

16 Building Survey and the Historic American Engi17 neering Record, shall conduct studies necessary to 

18 document the industrial, engineering, building, and 

19 architectural history of the Heritage Area. 

20 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

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

22 of Pennsylvania, shall approve or disapprove a manage23 ment plan submitted under this Act not later than 90 days 

24 after receiving such plan. In approving the plan, the Sec25 retary shall take into consideration the following criteria: 
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1 (1) The extent to which the management plan 

2 adequately preserves and protects the natural, cul3 tural, and historical resources of the Heritage Area. 

4 (2) The level of public participation in the de5 velopment of the management plan. 

6 (3) The extent to which the board of directors 

7 of the management entity is representative of the 

8 local government and a wide range of interested or9 ganizations and citizens. 

10 (c) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the Sec11 retary disapproves a management plan, the Secretary shall 

12 advise the management entity in writing of the reasons 

13 for the disapproval and shall make recommendations for 

14 revisions in the management plan. The Secretary shall ap15 prove or disapprove a proposed revision within 90 days 

16 after the date it is submitted. 

17 (d) APPROVING CHANGES.—The Secretary shall re18 view and approve amendments to the management plan 

19 under section 5(b) that make substantial changes. Funds 

20 appropriated under this Act may not be expended to im21 plement such changes until the Secretary approves the 

22 amendments. 

23 (e) EFFECT OF INACTION.—If the Secretary does not 

24 approve or disapprove a management plan, revision, or 

25 change within 90 days after it is submitted to the Sec-
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1 retary, then such management plan, revision, or change 

2 shall be deemed to have been approved by the Secretary. 

3 SEC. 7. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES. 

4 Any Federal entity conducting or supporting activi5 ties directly affecting the Heritage Area shall—

6 (1) consult with the Secretary and the manage7 ment entity with respect to such activities; 

8 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the man9 agement entity in carrying out their duties under 

10 this Act and, to the maximum extent practicable, co11 ordinate such activities with the carrying out of such 

12 duties; and 

13 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct 

14 or support such activities in a manner that the man15 agement entity determines shall not have an adverse 

16 effect on the Heritage Area. 

17 SEC. 8. SUNSET. 

18 The Secretary may not make any grant or provide 

19 any assistance under this Act after the expiration of the 

20 15-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act. 

22 SEC. 9. USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FROM OTHER SOURCES. 

23 Nothing in this Act shall preclude the management 

24 entity from using Federal funds available under Acts other 
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1 than this Act for the purposes for which those funds were 

2 authorized. 

3 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated to carry out this Act—

6 (1) not more than $1,000,000 for any fiscal 

7 year; and 

8 (2) not more than a total of $10,000,000. 

9 (b) 50 PERCENT MATCH.—Financial assistance pro10 vided under this Act may not be used to pay more than 

11 50 percent of the total cost of any activity carried out with 

12 that assistance.

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