109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 301

AN ACT

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in implementing cultural heritage, conservation, and

recreational activities in the Connecticut River watershed

of the States of New Hampshire and Vermont.

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 Connecticut

5 River Partnership Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 (1) the upper Connecticut River watershed in

4 the States of New Hampshire and Vermont is a sce5 nic region of historic villages located in a working

6 landscape of farms, forests, and the mountainous

7 headwaters and broad fertile floodplains of New

8 England’s longest river, the Connecticut River;

9 (2) the River provides outstanding fish and

10 wildlife habitat, recreation, and hydropower genera11 tion for the New England region;

12 (3) the upper Connecticut River watershed has

13 been recognized by Congress as part of the Silvio O.

14 Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, estab15 lished by the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and

16 Wildlife Refuge Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd note; Public

17 Law 102–212);

18 (4) the demonstrated interest in stewardship of

19 the River by the citizens living in the watershed led

20 to the Presidential designation of the River as 1 of

21 14 American Heritage Rivers on July 30, 1998;

22 (5) the River is home to the bistate Connecticut

23 River Scenic Byway, which will foster heritage tour24 ism in the region;

25 (6) each of the legislatures of the States of

26 Vermont and New Hampshire has established a
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1 commission for the Connecticut River watershed,

2 and the 2 commissions, known collectively as the

3 ‘‘Connecticut River Joint Commissions’’—

4 (A) have worked together since 1989; and

5 (B) serve as the focal point for cooperation

6 between Federal agencies, States, communities,

7 and citizens;

8 (7) in 1997, as directed by the legislatures, the

9 Connecticut River Joint Commissions, with the sub10 stantial involvement of 5 bistate local river sub11 committees appointed to represent riverfront towns,

12 produced the 6-volume Connecticut River Corridor

13 Management Plan, to be used as a blueprint in edu14 cating agencies, communities, and the public in how

15 to be good neighbors to a great river;

16 (8) this year, by Joint Legislative Resolution,

17 the legislatures have requested that Congress pro18 vide for continuation of cooperative partnerships and

19 support for the Connecticut River Joint Commis20 sions from the New England Federal Partners for

21 Natural Resources, a consortium of Federal agen22 cies, in carrying out recommendations of the Con23 necticut River Corridor Management Plan;

24 (9) this Act effectuates certain recommenda25 tions of the Connecticut River Corridor Management
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1 Plan that are most appropriately directed by the

2 States through the Connecticut River Joint Commis3 sions, with assistance from the National Park Serv4 ice and United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and

5 (10) where implementation of those rec6 ommendations involves partnership with local com7 munities and organizations, support for the partner8 ship should be provided by the Secretary.

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to author10 ize the Secretary to provide to the States of New Hamp11 shire and Vermont (including communities in those

12 States), through the Connecticut River Joint Commis13 sions, technical and financial assistance for management

14 of the River.

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

16 In this Act:

17 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

18 the Secretary of the Interior.

19 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means—

20 (A) the State of New Hampshire; or

21 (B) the State of Vermont.

22 SEC. 4. CONNECTICUT RIVER GRANTS AND TECHNICAL AS23 SISTANCE PROGRAM.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a

25 Connecticut River Grants and Technical Assistance Pro-
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1 gram to provide grants and technical assistance to State

2 and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and the

3 private sector to carry out projects for the conservation,

4 restoration, and interpretation of historic, cultural, rec5 reational, and natural resources in the Connecticut River

6 watershed.

7 (b) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in consultation with

8 the Connecticut River Joint Commissions, shall develop

9 criteria for determining the eligibility of applicants for,

10 and reviewing and prioritizing applications for, grants or

11 technical assistance under the program.

12 (c) COST-SHARING.—

13 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

14 the cost of carrying out a grant project under sub15 section (a) shall not exceed 75 percent.

16 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal

17 share of the cost of a project may be provided in the

18 form of in-kind contributions of services or mate19 rials.
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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this Act $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through

4 2015.

Passed the Senate July 26, 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 301

AN ACT

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to proNew Hampshire and Vermont. Connecticut River watershed of the States of conservation, and recreational activities in the vide assistance in implementing cultural heritage,