I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5446

To establish the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in the State of New Hampshire, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 11, 2000

Mr. OLVER (for himself, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr.

BASS, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area

in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in the State

of New Hampshire, 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 ‘‘Freedom’s Way Na5 tional Heritage Area Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) the cultural and natural legacies of the re9 gion encompassing 34 communities in Massachusetts
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1 and 6 communities in New Hampshire have made

2 important and distinctive contributions to the na3 tional character of America;

4 (2) these legacies were the foundation of com5 munities in this region, and by according appro6 priate recognition and protection these legacies can

7 help sustain the quality of life in the future;

8 (3) particularly significant legacies are—

9 (A) the early settlement of the United

10 States and the early evolution of democratic

11 forms of government;

12 (B) the development of intellectual tradi13 tions of the philosophies of freedom, democracy,

14 and conservation;

15 (C) the evolution of social ideas and reli16 gious freedom;

17 (D) the role of immigrants and industry in

18 contributing to ethnic diversity;

19 (E) Native American and African Amer20 ican resources; and

21 (F) the role of innovation and invention in

22 the cottage industries;

23 (4) the communities in this region know the

24 value of their legacy, but need a cooperative frame-
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1 work and technical assistance to achieve important

2 goals by working together;

3 (5) the National Park Service is responsible for

4 advocating the protection and interpretation of the

5 Nation’s cultural and historic resources;

6 (6) within this distinctive area of New Hamp7 shire and Massachusetts there is a Federal interest

8 to support the development of a regional framework

9 to assist the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and

10 the State of New Hampshire, other local organiza11 tions and governments, and private citizens to con12 serve, protect, and bring recognition to this heritage

13 for the educational and recreation benefit of this and

14 future generations of Americans;

15 (7) significant examples of such resources

16 include—

17 (A) Walden Pond State Reservation;

18 (B) Minute Man National Historical Park;

19 (C) Shaker Villages in Shirley and Har20 vard;

21 (D) Wachusett Mountain State Reserva22 tion, Fitchburg Art Museum, and Barrett

23 House in New Ipswich; and

24 (E) Beaver Brook Farms and Lost City of

25 Monson in Hollis;
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1 (8) the Freedom’s Way Heritage Association,

2 Inc., would be an appropriate entity to oversee the

3 development of the Freedom’s Way National Herit4 age Area; and

5 (9) the study entitled ‘‘Freedom’s Way Herit6 age Area Feasibility Study’’, prepared by the Free7 dom’s Way Heritage Association, Inc., and the Mas8 sachusetts Department of Environmental Manage9 ment, demonstrates the sufficient assemblage of na10 tionally distinctive historical resources necessary to

11 establish the Freedom’s Way National Heritage

12 Area.

13 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

14 (1) to foster a close working relationship with

15 all levels of government, the private sector, and the

16 local communities in Massachusetts and New Hamp17 shire;

18 (2) to empower communities and organizations

19 in these 2 States to preserve the special historic

20 identity of the region and with it the identity of the

21 Nation; and

22 (3) to provide for the management, preserva23 tion, protection, and interpretation of the natural,

24 historical, and cultural resources of the region for
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1 the educational and inspirational benefit of future

2 generations.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

4 For the purposes of this Act:

5 (1) ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘‘Association’’

6 means the Freedom’s Way Heritage Association,

7 Inc.

8 (2) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage

9 Area’’ means the Freedom’s Way National Heritage

10 Area established by section 4.

11 (3) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Cul12 tural Heritage and Management Plan required by

13 section 6.

14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

15 the Secretary of the Interior.

16 SEC. 4. FREEDOM’S WAY NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

18 Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in the State of New

19 Hampshire the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area.

20 (b) BOUNDARIES.—Except as otherwise provided in

21 section 6, the boundaries of the Heritage Area shall in22 clude all of those lands depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Free23 dom’s Way National Heritage Area’’, numbered ll and

24 dated ll. The map shall be on file in the appropriate

25 offices of the National Park Service. The Secretary shall
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1 publish in the Federal Register, as soon as practical after

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, a detailed descrip3 tion and map of the boundaries established under this sub4 section. Boundaries may be revised if proposed in the

5 Plan, approved by the Secretary as provided in section

6 8(b), and placed on file in accordance with this subsection.

7 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT.

8 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—The Heritage Area shall be

9 administered in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

10 (b) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The management entity

11 of the Heritage Areashall be the Freedom’s Way Heritage

12 Association, Inc.

13 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

14 (a) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The Association shall

15 prepare and submit for review and approval by the Sec16 retary, a Cultural Heritage and Management Plan for the

17 Heritage Area that presents comprehensive recommenda18 tions and strategies for the conservation, funding, man19 agement, and development of the Heritage Area. The Plan

20 shall—

21 (1) take into consideration current Federal,

22 State, county, and local plans and involve residents,

23 public agencies, and private organizations in the

24 Heritage Area, but shall coordinate those plans and
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1 present a unified historic preservation and interpre2 tation plan;

3 (2) include a description of actions that units of

4 government and private organizations are rec5 ommended to take to protect the resources of the

6 Heritage Area; and

7 (3) identify existing and potential sources of

8 Federal and non-Federal funding for the conserva9 tion, management, and development of the Heritage

10 Area, and include—

11 (A) an inventory which includes any prop12 erty in the Heritage Area that should be con13 served, restored, managed, developed, or main14 tained because of the natural, cultural, rec15 reational or historic significance to the themes

16 of the Heritage Area;

17 (B) a recommendation of policies for re18 source management and protection that con19 sider and detail the application of appropriate

20 land and water management techniques, includ21 ing the development of intergovernmental coop22 erative agreements to manage and protect the

23 historical, cultural, and natural resources and

24 recreation opportunities of the Heritage Area in
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1 a manner consistent with supporting compatible

2 economic revitalization efforts;

3 (C) a program of strategies and actions to

4 implement the Plan, including identification of

5 the roles of agencies and organizations which

6 are party to the implementation of the Plan,

7 identification of specific restoration and con8 struction plans or goals, and identification of a

9 program of public involvement, annual work

10 plans and reports, and the role of the Associa11 tion;

12 (D) an analysis of ways in which Federal,

13 State, and local programs may best be coordi14 nated to promote the purposes of this Act;

15 (E) an interpretive and educational plan

16 for the Heritage Area;

17 (F) any revisions proposed by the Associa18 tion to the boundaries of the Heritage Area and

19 requested by the affected local government; and

20 (G) a process to provide public access to

21 the Association for the purpose of attempting to

22 informally resolve any disputes arising from the

23 Plan.
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1 (b) APPROVAL OF PLAN.—The Secretary shall ap2 prove or disapprove the Plan in accordance with section

3 8(b).

4 SEC. 7. AUTHORITIES, PROHIBITIONS, AND DUTIES OF THE

5 ASSOCIATION.

6 (a) AUTHORITIES.—The Association may, for pur7 poses of preparing and implementing the Plan, use Fed8 eral funds made available through this Act—

9 (1) to make grants to the Commonwealth of

10 Massachusetts, its political subdivisions, or both, the

11 State of New Hampshire, its political subdivisions,

12 or both, nonprofit organizations, and other persons;

13 (2) to enter into cooperative agreements with or

14 provide technical assistance to the Commonwealth of

15 Massachusetts, its political subdivisions, or both, the

16 State of New Hampshire, its political subdivisions,

17 or both, nonprofit organizations, and other organiza18 tions;

19 (3) to hire and compensate staff;

20 (4) to obtain money from any source and to

21 participate in any program or law requiring the re22 cipient of such money to make a contribution in

23 order to receive such money; and

24 (5) to contract for goods and services.
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1 (b) PROHIBITION OF ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP2 ERTY.—The Association may not use Federal funds re3 ceived under this Act to acquire real property or any inter4 est in real property. Nothing in this Act shall preclude

5 the Association from acquiring real property or any inter6 est in real property using other funds intended for that

7 purpose.

8 (c) DUTIES OF THE ASSOCIATION.—The Association

9 shall carry out the following duties:

10 (1) Prepare and submit to the Secretary for ap11 proval a plan as described in section 6 not later than

12 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 If the Plan is not submitted to the Secretary as re14 quired under this paragraph within the specified

15 time, the Heritage Area shall no longer qualify for

16 Federal funding until the Plan is submitted and ap17 proved by the Secretary.

18 (2) Give priority to the implementation of ac19 tions, goals, and strategies set forth in the Plan, in20 cluding assisting units of government and others

21 in—

22 (A) carrying out the programs that recog23 nize and protect important resource values

24 within the Heritage Area;
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1 (B) encouraging, by appropriate means,

2 economic viability in the Heritage Area con3 sistent with the goals of the Plan;

4 (C) establishing and maintaining interpre5 tive exhibits in the Heritage Area;

6 (D) developing recreational and edu7 cational opportunities in the Heritage Area;

8 (E) increasing public awareness of and ap9 preciation for the natural, historical, and cul10 tural resources of the Heritage Area;

11 (F) restoring historic buildings that are lo12 cated within the boundaries of the Heritage

13 Area relating to the themes of the Heritage

14 Area; and

15 (G) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap16 propriate signs identifying public access points

17 and sites of interest are posted throughout the

18 Heritage Area.

19 (3) Prepare and implement the Plan while con20 sidering the interests of diverse units of government,

21 businesses, private property owners, and nonprofit

22 groups within the Heritage Area.

23 (4) Conduct Association meetings open to the

24 public at least quarterly regarding the development

25 and implementation of the Plan.
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1 (5) Submit an annual report to the Secretary

2 for any fiscal year in which the Association receives

3 Federal funds under this Act, setting forth its ac4 complishments, its expenses and income, including

5 the entities to which it made grants during the year

6 for which the report is made.

7 (6) Make available for audit for any fiscal year

8 in which it receives Federal funds under this Act, by

9 the Congress, the Secretary, and appropriate units

10 of government, all records and other information

11 pertaining to the expenditure of such funds and any

12 matching funds; and require, for all agreements au13 thorizing expenditure of Federal funds by other or14 ganizations, that the receiving organizations make

15 available for such audit all records and other infor16 mation pertaining to the expenditure of such funds.

17 SEC. 8. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY.

18 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, upon

20 the request of the Association, provide technical and

21 financial assistance to the Heritage Area to develop

22 and implement the approved Plan. In assisting the

23 Heritage Area, the Secretary shall give priority to

24 actions that in general assist in—
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1 (A) conserving the significant natural, his2 toric, and cultural resources of the Heritage

3 area; and

4 (B) providing educational, interpretive, and

5 recreational opportunities consistent with the

6 purposes of the Heritage Area.

7 (2) SPENDING FOR NONFEDERALLY OWNED

8 PROPERTY.—Federal funds made available by the

9 Secretary to the Association may be spent directly

10 on nonfederally owned property identified in the

11 Plan, or listed or eligible for listing on the National

12 Register of Historic Places.

13 (3) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may

14 enter into cooperative agreements with public and

15 private organizations for the purposes of imple16 menting this subsection.

17 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF PLAN.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve

19 or disapprove the Plan not later than 90 days after

20 receiving the Plan.

21 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining

22 whether to approve the Plan, the Secretary shall

23 consider whether—

24 (A) the Association has afforded adequate

25 opportunity, including public hearings, for pub-
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1 lic and governmental involvement in the prepa2 ration of the Plan;

3 (B) the resource protection and interpreta4 tion strategies contained in the Plan, if imple5 mented, would adequately protect the historic

6 and cultural resources of the Heritage Area;

7 and

8 (C) the Secretary has received adequate

9 assurances from the appropriate state and local

10 officials whose support is needed to ensure the

11 effective implementation of the State and local

12 aspects of the Plan.

13 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the

14 Secretary disapproves the Plan, the Secretary shall

15 advise the Association in writing of the reasons

16 therefor and shall make recommendations for revi17 sions to the Plan. The Secretary shall approve or

18 disapprove a proposed revision within 60 days after

19 the date it is submitted.

20 (c) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—Substantial

21 amendments to the Plan shall be reviewed by the Sec22 retary and approved in the same manner as provided for

23 the original Plan. The Association shall not use Federal

24 funds authorized by this Act to implement any amend-
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1 ments until the amendments are approved by the Sec2 retary.

3 SEC. 9. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.

4 Any Federal entity conducting or supporting activi5 ties directly affecting the Heritage Area shall consider the

6 potential effect of the activity on the purposes and the

7 Plan, and shall consult with the Association with respect

8 to the activity, and to the extent practicable conduct or

9 support such activities to avoid adverse effects on the pur10 poses of the Heritage Area.

11 SEC. 10. RELATIONSHIP TO LAND USE REGULATION AND

12 PRIVATE PROPERTY.

13 (a) LAND USE REGULATION.—The Association shall

14 provide assistance and encouragement to State and local

15 governments and to private organizations and individuals

16 to protect and promote the resources and values of the

17 Heritage Area. Nothing in this Act is intended to abrogate

18 in any way the authority of State or local governments.

19 Nothing in this Act may be construed to provide any au20 thority to the Association to regulate any use of land

21 under this or any other law, nor to grant any zoning or

22 land use authority to the Association.

23 (b) PRIVATE PROPERTY.—The Association shall be

24 an advocate for land management practices consistent

25 with the purposes of the Heritage Area. This Act provides
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1 no authority to the Association to abridge the rights of

2 any person with regard to private property. Nothing in

3 this Act is intended to abrogate in any way any State or

4 local authority regarding private property. Nothing in this

5 Act shall impose any additional burden on any property

6 owner by the listing of his property pursuant to section

7 6(a)(3)(A).

8 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro10 priated for the purposes of this Act not more than

11 $1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Not more than a total of

12 $10,000,000 may be appropriated for the Heritage Area

13 under this Act.

14 (b) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided

15 under this Act may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost

16 of any assistance or grant provided or authorized under

17 this Act.

18 SEC. 12. SUNSET.

19 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance

20 under this Act shall terminate on the day occurring 15

21 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

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