I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3298

To provide for the establishment of the Voyageurs National Park

Intergovernmental Council, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 23, 1996

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

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of the Voyageurs National

Park Intergovernmental Council, 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 ‘‘Voyageurs National

5 Park Intergovernmental Council Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

7 The Congress finds and declares that—

8 (1) intergovernmental cooperation (local, State,

9 and Federal) is essential to optimize the sustainable
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1 development of natural, cultural, and recreational re2 sources of Voyageurs National Park; and

3 (2) the national interest is served by—

4 (A) preserving, protecting, and improving

5 the long-term perpetuation of such diverse re6 sources for the benefit of the people of the

7 United States; and

8 (B) improving the coordination among all

9 levels of government in the Voyageurs region.

10 SEC. 3. VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK INTERGOVERN11 MENTAL COUNCIL.

12 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize the establish13 ment of the Voyageurs National Park in the State of Min14 nesota, and for other purposes’’ (16 U.S.C. 160 et seq.)

15 is amended by inserting after section 305 the following

16 new section:

17 ‘‘SEC. 306. VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK INTERGOVERN18 MENTAL COUNCIL.

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

20 ‘‘(1) MEMBERSHIP.—There is hereby estab21 lished the Voyageurs National Park Intergovern22 mental Council (hereafter in this section referred to

23 as the ‘‘Council’’). The Council shall be composed of

24 11 members, as follows:
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1 ‘‘(A) The Assistant Secretary for Fish and

2 Wildlife and Parks, ex officio, or his designee.

3 ‘‘(B) Four individuals, appointed by the

4 Secretary after consideration of recommenda5 tions by the Governor, to represent the Min6 nesota Department of Natural Resources, De7 partment of Transportation, the Minnesota En8 vironmental Quality Board, and the Minnesota

9 Office of Tourism.

10 ‘‘(C) One individual appointed by the Sec11 retary to represent the Minnesota Historical

12 Society.

13 ‘‘(D) The Chair of the St. Louis County

14 Commissioners, or the designee of the Chair, ex

15 officio.

16 ‘‘(E) The Chair of the Koochiching County

17 Commissioners, or the designee of the Chair, ex

18 officio.

19 ‘‘(F) One State Senator, chosen by the

20 Governor, who represents the area in which the

21 park is located, or the designee of the State

22 Senator, ex officio.

23 ‘‘(G) One State Representative, chosen by

24 the Governor, who represents the area in which
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1 the park is located, or the designee of the State

2 Representative, ex officio.

3 ‘‘(H) One member of the Native American

4 community to represent the 1854 Treaty Au5 thority, appointed by the Secretary.

6 ‘‘(2) TERMS.—A member of the Council ap7 pointed under paragraph (1), other than ex officio

8 members, shall be appointed for a term of four

9 years. Any member of the Council appointed for a

10 definite term may serve after the expiration of his

11 term until his successor is appointed.

12 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Council

13 who are not employed by the Federal Government

14 shall serve without pay. While away from their

15 homes or regular places of business in the perform16 ance of services of the Council, members of the

17 Council shall be allowed travel expenses, including

18 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner

19 as persons employed intermittently in Federal Gov20 ernment service are allowed expenses under section

21 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

22 ‘‘(b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF

23 COUNCIL BUSINESS.—

24 ‘‘(1) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Council

25 shall constitute a quorum.
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1 ‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the

2 Council shall elect a chairperson of the Council from

3 among the members of the Council.

4 ‘‘(3) VACANCY.—Any vacancy in the Council

5 shall be filled in the same manner in which the origi6 nal appointment was made.

7 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at

8 the call of the chairperson or a majority of the mem9 bers.

10 ‘‘(5) STAFF.—The Secretary shall provide the

11 Council with such staff and technical assistance as

12 the Secretary, after consultation with the Council,

13 considers appropriate to enable the Council to carry

14 out its duties. Upon request of the Secretary, any

15 Federal agency may provide information, personnel,

16 property, and services, on a reimbursable basis, to

17 the Council to assist in carrying out its duties under

18 this section. The Secretary may accept the services

19 of personnel detailed from the State of Minnesota or

20 any political subdivision of the State and may reim21 burse the State or such political subdivision for such

22 services.

23 ‘‘(6) PROCEDURAL MATTERS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Com2 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to

3 the Council.

4 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCT OF BUSI5 NESS.—The following guidelines apply with re6 spect to the conduct of business at meetings of

7 the Council:

8 ‘‘(i) Each regular meeting and each

9 emergency meeting shall be open to the

10 public.

11 ‘‘(ii) Emergency meetings shall be

12 held at the call of the chair or equivalent

13 presiding officer.

14 ‘‘(iii) Timely public notice of each reg15 ular meeting and each emergency meeting,

16 including the time, place, and agenda of

17 the meeting, shall be published in local

18 newspapers and such notice may be given

19 by such other means as will result in wide

20 publicity.

21 ‘‘(iv) Interested persons shall be per22 mitted to present oral or written state23 ments regarding the matters on the agenda

24 at meetings.
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1 ‘‘(v) Minutes of each meeting shall be

2 kept and shall contain a record of the per3 sons present, an accurate description of

4 matters discussed and conclusions reached,

5 and copies of all statements filed.

6 ‘‘(vi) The administrative record, in7 cluding minutes required under clause (v),

8 of each meeting, and records or other doc9 uments which were made available to or

10 prepared for or by the Council incident to

11 the meeting, shall be available for public

12 inspection and copying at a single location

13 in the offices of the Council.

14 ‘‘(C) NEW INFORMATION.—At any time

15 when the Council determines it appropriate to

16 consider new information from a State or Fed17 eral agency or from a Council advisory body,

18 the Council shall give comparable consideration

19 to new information offered at that time by in20 terested members of the public. Interested par21 ties shall have a reasonable opportunity to re22 spond to new data or information before the

23 Council takes final action on management

24 measures.
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1 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall, in accordance

2 with the provisions of this Act—

3 ‘‘(1) prepare and submit to the Secretary com4 prehensive draft amendments to the management

5 plan and, from time to time, such amendments to

6 the plan as are necessary, which provides for as

7 broad a range of sustainable land and water uses

8 and scenic and recreational activities as are compat9 ible with the laws and regulations governing Voya10 geurs National Park and other local, State, or Fed11 eral public lands;

12 ‘‘(2) analyze the economic and environmental

13 costs and benefits of implementing sustainable prac14 tices for Voyageurs National Park;

15 ‘‘(3) conduct public hearings, at appropriate

16 times and in appropriate locations, so as to allow all

17 interested persons an opportunity to be heard in the

18 development of amendments to the plan, and with

19 respect to the administration and implementation of

20 the provisions of this Act;

21 ‘‘(4) after considering public comment and com22 ment from the Secretary, prepare and submit to the

23 Secretary proposed revisions to the draft manage24 ment plan;
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1 ‘‘(5) establish an ongoing process of review and

2 evaluation of local, State, and Federal actions,

3 plans, ordinances, regulations, laws, and land use

4 decisions for the purpose of assessing their effect on

5 the long-term sustainability of the economic and en6 vironmental values and resources of the region;

7 ‘‘(6) submit to the Secretary such periodic re8 ports as the Council deems appropriate, and any

9 other relevant report which may be requested by the

10 Secretary; and

11 ‘‘(7) conduct other activities which are required

12 by, or provided for in, this Act or which are nec13 essary and appropriate to the functions specified in

14 paragraphs (1) through (6).

15 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

16 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

17 necessary to carry out this section.’’.

18 SEC. 4. REVISION OF VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK MAN19 AGEMENT PLAN.

20 (a) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Section 303 of the Act en21 titled ‘‘An Act to authorize the establishment of the Voya22 geurs National Park in the State of Minnesota, and for

23 other purposes’’ (16 U.S.C. 160h) is amended—

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ after ‘‘303.’’; and

25 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary shall prepare in accordance

2 with this section and implement amendments to the man3 agement plan for the park. Where appropriate, such

4 amendments shall provide for recreational opportunities,

5 including (but not limited to) access and use of boats, air6 craft, snowmobiles, hiking, and skiing on all major lakes

7 and bays within the park.

8 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall receive the draft amend9 ments to the management plan prepared and submitted

10 by the Voyageurs National Park Intergovernmental Coun11 cil under section 306(c)(1), together with public comments

12 on the draft amendments, and shall review and, if nec13 essary, submit to the Council such recommendations as

14 the Secretary determines appropriate for revising the draft

15 amendments.

16 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall receive revised draft amend17 ments prepared and submitted by the Council under sec18 tion 306(c)(1).

19 ‘‘(c)(1) If the Secretary determines that the revised

20 amendments to the management plan are not inconsistent

21 with other provisions of this Act or applicable laws, trea22 ties, executive orders, and that the revised amendments

23 to the management plan are in the public interest, the Sec24 retary shall adopt the revised amendments to the manage25 ment plan.
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1 ‘‘(2)(A) If the Secretary decides not to adopt the re2 vised amendments to the management plan, the amend3 ments to the management plan shall be made by the Sec4 retary in accordance with subparagraph (C) pursuant to

5 recommendations made by a management plan board ap6 pointed under subparagraph (B).

7 ‘‘(B)(i) The management plan board shall consist of

8 three members, appointed as follows:

9 ‘‘(I) One member appointed by the Secretary.

10 ‘‘(II) One member appointed by the Secretary

11 from a list of 5 or more individuals submitted by the

12 Voyageurs National Park Intergovernmental Coun13 cil, by majority vote. The Secretary may request ad14 ditional lists.

15 ‘‘(III) One member appointed by the Secretary

16 from a list of 5 or more individuals submitted by the

17 2 members appointed under subclauses (I) and (II).

18 The Secretary may request additional lists.

19 ‘‘(ii) Members of a management plan board who are

20 not employed by the Federal Government shall serve with21 out pay. While away from their homes or regular places

22 of business in the performance of services of the board,

23 members of the board shall be allowed travel expenses, in24 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same man25 ner as persons employed intermittently in Federal Govern-
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1 ment service are allowed expenses under section 5703 of

2 title 5, United States Code.

3 ‘‘(iii) The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

4 App.) shall not apply to a management plan board.

5 ‘‘(C) The management plan board shall review the re6 vised amendments to the management plan submitted by

7 the Council to the Secretary under section 306(c)(1), and

8 such comments on the revised amendments and rec9 ommendations for such amendments as the Secretary sub10 mits to the board. Following such review, the board shall

11 submit to the Secretary such amendments as the board

12 finds to be appropriate under the provisions of this Act.

13 The Secretary shall revise the management plan in a man14 ner based on the amendments submitted by the board.

15 ‘‘(d) If the Secretary fails to approve or disapprove

16 revised amendments to the management plan submitted

17 under this section within 95 days after the date of the

18 submission of the amendments, no amendment to the plan

19 shall be implemented by the Secretary until the Secretary

20 complies with subsections (b) and (c).

21 ‘‘(e) If the Council declines to submit to the Secretary

22 revised amendments to the management plan, or revisions

23 of the amendments, the Secretary may make such amend24 ments as the Secretary considers necessary or appropriate

25 and implement the plan.
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1 ‘‘(f) The management plan of the park may not be

2 changed except in accordance with this section.’’.

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