I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1188

To provide for the preservation of the coal mining heritage of southern

West Virginia, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 9, 1995

Mr. RAHALL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide for the preservation of the coal mining heritage

of southern West Virginia, 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 ‘‘National Coal Heritage

5 Area Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that:

8 (1) Certain events that led to the development

9 of southern West Virginia’s coalfields during the lat10 ter part of the 19th Century and the early part of
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1 the current century are of national historic and cul2 tural significance in terms of their contribution to

3 the industrialization of the United States, the orga4 nization of workers into trade unions and the unique

5 culture of the Appalachian Region.

6 (2) It is in the national interest to preserve and

7 protect physical remnants of this era for the edu8 cation and benefit of present and future generations.

9 (3) There is a need to provide assistance for the

10 preservation and promotion of those vestiges of

11 southern West Virginia’s coal heritage which have

12 outstanding cultural, historic, and architectural val13 ues.

14 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of preserving

16 and interpreting for the educational and inspirational ben17 efit of present and future generations certain lands and

18 structures with unique and significant historic and cul19 tural values associated with the coal mining heritage of

20 the State of West Virginia and the Nation there is hereby

21 established the National Coal Heritage Area (hereinafter

22 in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Area’’).

23 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Area shall be comprised of

24 the counties in the State of West Virginia that are the

25 subject of the study by the National Park Service, dated
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1 1993, entitled ‘‘A Coal Mining Heritage Study: Southern

2 West Virginia’’ conducted pursuant to title VI of Public

3 Law 100–699

4 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Area shall be adminis5 tered in accordance with this Act.

6 SEC. 4. CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT.

7 The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to

8 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) is authorized to enter into a contrac9 tual agreement with the Governor of the State of West

10 Virginia, acting through the Division of Culture and His11 tory and the Division of Tourism and Parks, pursuant to

12 which the Secretary shall assist the State of West Vir13 ginia, its units of local government, and non-profit organi14 zations in each of the following:

15 (1) The development and implementation of in16 tegrated cultural, historical, and land resource man17 agement policies and programs in order to retain,

18 enhance, and interpret the significant values of the

19 lands, waters, and structures of the Area.

20 (2) The preservation, restoration, maintenance,

21 operation, interpretation, and promotion of build22 ings, structures, facilities, sites, and points of inter23 est for public use that possess cultural, historical,

24 and architectural values associated with the coal

25 mining heritage of the Area.
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1 (3) The coordination of activities by Federal,

2 State and local governments and private businesses

3 and organizations in order to further historic preser4 vation and compatible economic revitalization.

5 (4) The development of guidelines and stand6 ards for projects, consistent with standards estab7 lished by the National Park Service, for the preser8 vation and restoration of historic properties, includ9 ing interpretive methods, that will further history

10 preservation in the region.

11 (5) The acquisition of real property, or interests

12 in real property, for public use by donation or by

13 purchase, that possess cultural, historical, and archi14 tectural values associated with the coal mining herit15 age of the Area from a willing seller with donated

16 or appropriated funds.

17 (6) The assistance referred to in section 7(d).

18 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE RESOURCES.

19 The resources eligible for the assistance under para20 graphs (2) and (5) of section 4 shall include those set

21 forth in appendix D of the study by the National Park

22 Service, dated 1993, entitled ‘‘A Coal Mining Heritage

23 Study: Southern West Virginia’’ conducted pursuant to

24 title VI of Public Law 100–699. Priority consideration

25 shall be given to those sites listed as ‘‘Conservation Prior-
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1 ities’’ and ‘‘Important Historic Resources’’ as depicted on

2 the map entitled ‘‘Study Area: Historic Resources’’ in

3 such study.

4 SEC. 6. COAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to the contractual

6 agreement referred to in section 4, within two years after

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Governor of the

8 State of West Virginia, acting through the Division of Cul9 ture and History and the Division of Tourism and Parks,

10 shall submit to the Secretary a Coal Heritage Manage11 ment Plan for the Area. The plan shall at a minimum—

12 (1) set forth the integrated cultural, historic,

13 and land resource management policies and pro14 grams referred to in section 4;

15 (2) describe the guidelines and standards for

16 projects referred to in section 4;

17 (3) set forth the responsibilities of the State of

18 West Virginia, units of local government, non-profit

19 entities or of the Secretary to administer any prop20 erties acquired pursuant to section 4; and

21 (4) provide for the restoration, preservation, in22 terpretation, and administration of the historic, cul23 tural, and architectural resources of the Bramwell

24 National Historic Site.
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1 (b) PLAN APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall approve

2 the plan submitted under subsection (a) unless he deter3 mines that it would not meet the objectives of this Act.

4 SEC. 7. DESIGNATION OF BRAMWELL NATIONAL HISTORIC

5 SITE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to preserve, restore, and

7 interpret the unique historical, cultural, and architectural

8 values of Bramwell, West Virginia, there is hereby estab9 lished the Bramwell National Historic Site (hereinafter re10 ferred to as the ‘‘Site’’).

11 (b) AREA INCLUDED.—The Site shall consist of the

12 lands and interests therein within the corporate limits of

13 the town of Bramwell.

14 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Site shall be adminis15 tered by the State of West Virginia, an appropriate unit

16 of local government, or a non-profit organization as deter17 mined by the management plan referred to in section 6.

18 (d) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—To carry out the

19 purposes of this section, the Secretary shall assist in the

20 implementation of the management plan referred to in sec21 tion 6. Such assistance shall include, but necessarily be

22 limited to—

23 (1) faciliting the restoration, preservation, and

24 interpretation of the historic, cultural, and architec25 tural resources of the Site;
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1 (2) offsetting the costs of operating and main2 taining the Site; and

3 (3) providing for the acquisition of land or in4 terests in land within the boundaries of the Site

5 from willing sellers.

6 (e) PROPERTY OWNER RIGHTS.—(1) Nothing in this

7 section may be construed as authorizing access to private

8 residential property within the Site for the purpose of con9 ducting visitors through such property, or for any other

10 purpose, without the advice and consent of the owner of

11 such property.

12 (2) The entity referred to in subsection (c) may mark,

13 interpret, restore, and provide technical assistance for the

14 preservation and interpretation of properties with historic

15 or cultural significance within the Site only pursuant to

16 cooperative agreements with the owners of such prop17 erties.

18 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such

20 sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of

21 this Act, to remain available until expended.
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1 SEC. 9. DESIGNATION OF MINERS’ MARCH TRAIL AS A

2 STUDY TRAIL.

3 Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (16

4 U.S.C. 1244(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new paragraph:

6 ‘‘( ) The route from Lens Creek near Marmet to

7 Blair Mountain in West Virginia traveled by coal miners

8 dramatizing the need for social justice between August 20,

9 1921, and September 4, 1921, during what is commonly

10 known as the Battle of Blair Mountain.’’.

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