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[Senate Report 106-317]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 635
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-317

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    UPPER HOUSATONIC VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA STUDY ACT OF 2000

                                _______
                                

                 June 27, 2000.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2421]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2421) to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a study of the suitability and feasibility 
of establishing an Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage 
Area in Connecticut and Massachusetts, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purpose of S. 2421 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a study of the suitability and feasibility 
of establishing an Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage 
Area in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

                          background and need

    The Housatonic River region of New England is home to many 
of the nation's first industrial iron sites, which produced 
iron used to make weapons for the Revolutionary War. 
Furthermore, the area includes homes of historical significance 
belonging to Edith Wharton and author Herman Melville as well 
as the Monument Mountain Reservation, where Melville and 
Nathaniel Hawthorne picnicked. The area also has great outdoor 
recreational resources and is the base for much of 
Connecticut's tourism business.
    S. 2421 authorizes the National Park Service to conduct a 
study to determine the feasibility and suitability of 
designating the Upper Housatonic Valley as a National Heritage 
Area.

                          legislative history

    S. 2421 was introduced by Senators Lieberman, Dodd, Kerry, 
and Kennedy on April 13, 2000. Testimony from witnesses on this 
bill was included in the record of the hearing held by the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, and 
Recreation on May 25, 2000. At its business meeting on June 7, 
2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 
2421 favorably reported.

            committee recommendation and tabulation of votes

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on June 7, 2000, by a unanimous vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2421 as 
described herein.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1 designates the bill's short title.
    Section 2 defines the term ``Secretary'' as the Secretary 
of the Interior, and describes the areas in Connecticut and 
Massachusetts that comprise the ``Study Area.''
    Section 3 directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the 
Study Area that addresses 8 specific elements with respect to 
the area's resources, community support, and existence of a 
potential management entity. The Secretary must consult with 
State Historic Preservation Officers, State Historical 
Societies, and other appropriate organizations, and must 
complete and submit the report to Congress within 3 years after 
the date of enactment of this legislation.
    Section 4 authorizes the appropriation of $300,000 to carry 
out the purposes of this legislation.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, June 9, 2000.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2421, the Upper 
Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area Study Act of 2000.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts for this 
estimate are Deborah Reis and Ali Aslam.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 2421--Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area Study Act of 
        2000

    S. 2421 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
establishing an Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area 
in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The bill would require the 
Secretary to report on the national, historical, and cultural 
resources within the study area which merit recognition and 
conservation.
    Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO 
estimates that the federal government would spend about 
$300,000 over the next three years to implement S. 2421. The 
bill would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, 
pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. S. 2421 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets 
of state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis 
and Ali Aslam. The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      regulatory impact evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 2421. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 2421, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On May 23, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 2421. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 2421 
was filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will 
request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for 
the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the 
National Park Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

   Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Associate Director, Cultural 
     Resource Stewardship and Partnerships, National Park Service, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before the subcommittee to present the views of the Department 
of the Interior on S. 2421, a bill to direct the Secretary of 
the Interior to conduct a study of the suitability and 
feasibility of establishing an Upper Housatonic Valley National 
Heritage Area in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
    The Department of the Interior supports this legislation. 
S. 2421 would authorize a suitability and feasibility study to 
determine the potential for establishing a national heritage 
area along sixty miles of the Upper Housatonic River, in 
twenty-six towns in Connecticut and Massachusetts. State 
historic preservation officers, State historical societies and 
other appropriate organizations would be consulted in 
conducting the study.
    The study would include a number of components we believe 
are helpful for public review. These components are based on 
our experience with heritage areas previously designated by 
Congress. The components include analysis and documentation 
that the study area:
          1. Has an assemblage of natural, historic, or 
        cultural resources representing distinctive aspects of 
        American heritage worthy of recognition, conservation, 
        interpretation, and continued use, and are best managed 
        through partnerships among public and private entities, 
        and by combining diverse and sometimes noncontiguous 
        resources and active communities;
          2. Reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, and 
        folklife that are a valuable part of the national 
        story;
          3. Provides outstanding opportunities to conserve 
        natural, cultural, historic, and/or scenic features;
          4. Provides outstanding recreational and educational 
        opportunities;
          5. Contains resources important to the identified 
        theme or themes of the study area that retain a degree 
        of integrity capable of supporting interpretation;
          6. Includes residents, business interests, non-profit 
        organizations, and local and State governments involved 
        in the planning who have demonstrated support for the 
        concept of a national heritage area;
          7. Has a potential management entity to work in 
        partnership with residents, business interests, 
        nonprofit organizations and local and state governments 
        to develop a heritage area consistent with continued 
        local and state economic activity;
          8. Is depicted on a conceptual boundary map supported 
        by the public.
    In conducting the study, the National Park Service would 
assist the communities in the valley in determining their own 
sense of how best to work together to protect those resources. 
A description of the area's resources would be developed and 
the theme or themes for the area would be identified. We would 
also work with State and local agencies to address the 
interests of local governments in preserving their heritage, 
maintaining their local economy and determining the means for 
that preservation, whether through a national heritage area, a 
state heritage area, or regional effort. Funding for this study 
would be subject to the availability of appropriations and 
National Park Service priorities among the many requirements 
for studies.
    The Housatonic River has played an important role in the 
growth and development of the valley. The earliest residents 
were Native Americans who settled along the river's banks to 
farm and fish. The first English colonists arrived in 1639 at 
the mouth of the river and later began farming in the upper 
reaches. Agriculture was a major activity throughout the valley 
and is evident today.
    During the 18th and 19th century, waterpower played a 
prominent role in the region's industrial development, with the 
remnants of dams, millraces, and furnaces still seen today. The 
iron industry evolved based on the high-grade ore found in the 
hills of northwestern Connecticut. Forged products included 
utensils and armaments used in the American Revolution. 
Throughout the valley more than forty blast furnaces were 
active over time. The last furnace closed in 1923.
    In the 1800s, the area was known for manufacturing and 
mining. The region was the first in the country to make paper, 
and by the end of the Civil War there were at least twenty-
eight paper mills in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, alone. 
However, the onset of the 20th century brought a decline of 
industrialization due to inadequate railroad and roadways, as 
well as competition from larger industries outside the region.
    The resources that illustrate the area's history in 
agriculture, iron making and industry and the growing public 
commitment to heritage conservation, make the Upper Housatonic 
Valley worthy of the proposed study.
    This concludes my prepared testimony. I would be happy to 
answer any questions you may have.

                        changes in existing law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 2421, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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