IB 

Union Calendar No. 375 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2569 

[Report No. 113–502] 

To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the 

Missisquoi River and the Trout River in the State of Vermont, as 

components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 27, 2013 

Mr. WELCH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

JUNE 30, 2014 

Reported with an amendment, 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 June 27, 2013] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate 

segments of the Missisquoi River and the Trout River 

in the State of Vermont, as components of the National 

Wild and Scenic Rivers System. 


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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 ‘‘Upper Missisquoi and 

5 Trout Wild and Scenic Rivers Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF WILD AND SCENIC RIVER SEG7 MENTS. 

8 Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 

9 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(208) MISSISQUOI RIVER AND TROUT RIVER, 

12 VERMONT.—The following segments in the State of 

13 Vermont, to be administered by the Secretary of the 

14 Interior as a recreational river: 

15 ‘‘(A) The 20.5-mile segment of the 

16 Missisquoi River from the Lowell/Westfield town 

17 line to the Canadian border in North Troy, ex18 cluding the property and project boundary of the 

19 Troy and North Troy hydroelectric facilities. 

20 ‘‘(B) The 14.6-mile segment of the 

21 Missisquoi River from the Canadian border in 

22 Richford to the upstream project boundary of the 

23 Enosburg Falls hydroelectric facility in 

24 Sampsonville. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The 11-mile segment of the Trout 

2 River from the confluence of the Jay and Wade 

3 Brooks in Montgomery to where the Trout River 

4 joins the Missisquoi River in East Berkshire.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT. 

6 (a) MANAGEMENT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The river segments designated 

8 by paragraph (208) of section 3(a) of the Wild and 

9 Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) shall be man10 aged in accordance with— 

11 (A) the Upper Missisquoi and Trout Rivers 

12 Management Plan developed during the study 

13 described in section 5(b)(19) of the Wild and 

14 Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(b)(19)) (re15 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘management 

16 plan’’); and 

17 (B) such amendments to the management 

18 plan as the Secretary determines are consistent 

19 with this Act and as are approved by the Upper 

20 Missisquoi and Trout Rivers Wild and Scenic 

21 Committee (referred to in this section as the 

22 ‘‘Committee’’). 

23 (2) COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The 

24 management plan, as finalized in March 2013, and 

25 as amended, shall be considered to satisfy the requireVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:36 Jul 01, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2569.RH H2569

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1 ments for a comprehensive management plan pursu2 ant to section 3(d) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 

3 (16 U.S.C. 1274(d)). 

4 (b) COMMITTEE.—The Secretary shall coordinate man5 agement responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior under 

6 this Act with the Committee, as specified in the manage7 ment plan. 

8 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide for the 

10 long-term protection, preservation, and enhancement 

11 of the river segments designated by paragraph (208) 

12 of section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 

13 U.S.C. 1274(a)), the Secretary of the Interior may 

14 enter into cooperative agreements pursuant to sections 

15 10(e) and 11(b)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1281(e), 1282(b)(1)) of 

16 the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act with— 

17 (A) the State of Vermont; 

18 (B) the municipalities of Berkshire, 

19 Enosburg Falls, Enosburgh, Montgomery, North 

20 Troy, Richford, Troy, and Westfield; and 

21 (C) appropriate local, regional, statewide, 

22 or multi-state planning or recreational organiza23 tions consistent with the management plan. 

24 (2) CONSISTENCY.—Each cooperative agreement 

25 entered into under this section shall be consistent with 


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1 the management plan and may include provisions for 

2 financial or other assistance from the United States. 

3 (d) EFFECT ON EXISTING HYDROELECTRIC FACILI4 TIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The designation of the river 

6 segments by paragraph (208) of section 3(a) of the 

7 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)), does 

8 not— 

9 (A) preclude, prohibit, or restrict the Fed10 eral Energy Regulatory Commission from licens11 ing, relicensing, or otherwise authorizing the op12 eration or continued operation of the Troy Hy13 droelectric, North Troy, or Enosburg Falls hy14 droelectric project under the terms of licenses or 

15 exemptions in effect on the date of enactment of 

16 this Act; or 

17 (B) limit modernization, upgrade, or other 

18 changes to the projects described in paragraph 

19 (1). 

20 (2) HYDROPOWER PROCEEDINGS.—Resource pro21 tection, mitigation, or enhancement measures re22 quired by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

23 hydropower proceedings— 

24 (A) shall not be considered to be project 

25 works for purposes of this Act; and 


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1 (B) may be located within the river seg2 ments designated by paragraph (208) of section 

3 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 

4 U.S.C. 1274(a)). 

5 (e) LAND MANAGEMENT.— 

6 (1) ZONING ORDINANCES.—For the purpose of 

7 the segments designated in paragraph (208) of section 

8 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 

9 1274(a)), the zoning ordinances adopted by the towns 

10 of Berkshire, Enosburg Falls, Enosburgh, Mont11 gomery, North Troy, Richford, Troy, and Westfield in 

12 the State of Vermont, including provisions for con13 servation of floodplains, wetlands, and watercourses 

14 associated with the segments, shall be considered to 

15 satisfy the standards and requirements of section 6(c) 

16 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 

17 1277(c)). 

18 (2) ACQUISITIONS OF LAND.—The authority of 

19 the Secretary to acquire land for the purposes of the 

20 segments designated in paragraph (208) of section 

21 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 

22 1274(a)) shall be— 

23 (A) limited to acquisition by donation or 

24 exchange; and 


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1 (B) subject to the additional criteria set 

2 forth in the management plan. 

3 (3) NO CONDEMNATION.—The Secretary of the 

4 Interior may not acquire by condemnation any land 

5 or interest in land within the boundaries of the river 

6 segments designated by paragraph (208) of section 

7 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 

8 1274(a)). 

9 (4) WRITTEN CONSENT OF OWNER REQUIRED.— 

10 No private property or non-Federal public property 

11 shall be included within the boundaries of the river 

12 segments designated by paragraph (208) of section 

13 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 

14 1274(a)) without the written consent of the owner of 

15 that property. 

16 (f) RELATION TO NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.—Notwith17 standing section 10(c) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 

18 (16 U.S.C. 1281(c)), the Missisquoi and Trout Rivers shall 

19 not be administered as part of the National Park System 

20 or be subject to regulations that govern the National Park 

21 System. 

22 (g) NO BUFFER ZONE CREATED.—Nothing in this Act 

23 or the Upper Missisquoi and Trout Rivers Management 

24 Plan shall be construed to create buffer zones outside the 

25 designated river segment boundaries designated by paraVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:36 Jul 01, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2569.RH H2569

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1 graph (208) of section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 

2 Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)). That activities or uses can be seen, 

3 heard, or detected from areas within the designated river 

4 segments shall not preclude, limit, control, regulate or deter5 mine the conduct of management of activities or uses out6 side those designated river segments. 


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Union Calendar No. 375 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2569 

[Report No. 113–502] 

A BILL 

To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to desSystem. nents of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Trout River in the State of Vermont, as compo- ignate segments of the Missisquoi River and the 

JUNE 30, 2014 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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