I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1999

To establish the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area in the State of

Georgia, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 10, 1995

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

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area in

the State of Georgia, 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. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds that—

5 (1) the Augusta Canal National Landmark in

6 the State of Georgia, listed on the National Historic

7 Register of Historic Places, and designated by the

8 Governor of Georgia as one of four regionally impor9 tant resources in the State, is one of the last un10 spoiled areas in the State of Georgia;
2

•HR 1999 IH

1 (2) the Augusta Canal National Historic Land2 mark possesses excellent water quality, beautiful

3 rural and historic cultural landscapes, architecturally

4 significant mill structures and mill villages, and

5 large acreages of parks and permanent open space;

6 (3) three national historic districts, the Harris7 burg, Laney Walker, and Greene Street districts,

8 and two national historic landmarks, Stallings Is9 land, located in the Savannah River, and Meadow

10 Garden, are connected by the Augusta Canal Area;

11 (4) the beautiful rural landscapes and historic

12 cultural landscapes, scenic vistas and excellent water

13 quality of the Augusta Canal contain significant un14 developed recreational opportunities for people

15 throughout the United States;

16 (5) the Augusta Canal and related mill sites,

17 structures, and associated neighborhoods are rep18 resentative of the development of the cotton textile

19 industry and associated agriculture and trade in the

20 South;

21 (6) the transformation of the agrarian economy

22 of the area into an early industrial economy was

23 precipitated by the development and use of the Au24 gusta Canal;
3

•HR 1999 IH

1 (7) several significant sites associated with the

2 American Revolution, the Civil War, Native Ameri3 cans, Colonial Americans, African Americans, Chi4 nese Americans, and Irish Americans are located

5 within the Augusta Canal area;

6 (8) despite the efforts by the State of Georgia,

7 political subdivisions of the State, volunteer organi8 zations, and private businesses, the cultural, histori9 cal, natural, and recreational resources of the area

10 have not realized full potential and may be lost with11 out assistance from the Federal Government;

12 (9) the Secretary of the Interior considers this

13 landmark to be threatened and has designated it a

14 priority for protection;

15 (10) many local, regional, and State agencies,

16 businesses, and private citizens have expressed an

17 overwhelming desire to combine forces to work coop18 eratively to preserve and enhance the resources of

19 the Augusta Canal National Historic Landmark and

20 better plan for its future; and

21 (11) the Augusta Canal Authority, a public

22 body established under the law of the State of Geor23 gia, would be an appropriate management entity for

24 a National Heritage Area established in the area of

25 the Augusta Canal.
4

•HR 1999 IH

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

2 It is the purpose of this Act to provide a cooperative

3 management framework to assist the State of Georgia, its

4 units of local government, and area citizens in retaining,

5 enhancing, and interpreting the significant features of the

6 lands, water, and structures of the Augusta Canal, in a

7 manner that is consistent with positive economic impact

8 and development for the benefit and inspiration of present

9 and future generations in the State of Georgia and the

10 United States.

11 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF AUGUSTA CANAL NATIONAL

12 HERITAGE AREA.

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

14 State of Georgia the Augusta Canal National Heritage

15 Area (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Heritage Area’’).

16 (b) BOUNDARIES.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Heritage Area shall in18 clude the land generally depicted on the map entitled

19 ‘‘The Augusta Canal’’, numbered AUCA–80,000,

20 and dated August 1994, which shall be on file and

21 available for public inspection in the Office of the

22 Director of the National Park Service, Washington,

23 D.C.

24 (2) LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—As soon as prac25 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, the

26 Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this Act as
5

•HR 1999 IH

1 the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall prepare and place on file with

2 the map described in paragraph (1) a legal descrip3 tion of the boundaries of the Heritage Area.

4 SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT.

5 The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Na6 tional Park Service, shall enter into a cooperative agree7 ment with the Augusta Canal Authority, a public body es8 tablished under the law of the State of Georgia, providing

9 for the management of the Heritage Area by the Augusta

10 Canal Authority under terms and conditions stated in the

11 cooperative agreement. The Secretary shall consult with

12 the Augusta Canal Authority before carrying out any man13 agement authority with respect to the Heritage Area

14 which is not provided for by the cooperative agreement.

15 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

16 (a) PREPARATION OF PLAN.—Not later than one

17 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Augusta

18 Canal Authority shall prepare and submit to the Secretary

19 for review and approval a plan for the management and

20 administration of the Heritage Area.

21 (b) CONTENTS.—The plan shall be based on Federal,

22 State, and local plans in existence on the date of enact23 ment of this Act, including the Augusta Canal Master

24 Plan. The Augusta Canal Authority shall coordinate and

25 combine such plans and present an integrated and cooper-
6

•HR 1999 IH

1 ative approach for the protection, enhancement, and inter2 pretation of the cultural, natural, scenic, and recreational

3 resources of the Heritage Area.

4 (c) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide tech5 nical and financial assistance in the preparation of the

6 management plan.

7 (d) APPROVAL.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

9 after receipt of the plan submitted under subsection

10 (a), the Secretary shall approve or disapprove the

11 plan.

12 (2) CRITERIA.—In determining whether to ap13 prove a plan, the Secretary shall consider—

14 (A) whether the planning area has strong

15 local support for the study from a diversity of

16 landowners, business interests, nonprofit orga17 nizations, and governments within the proposed

18 study area;

19 (B) whether the proposal is consistent with

20 and complements continued economic activity in

21 the area;

22 (C) whether the planning area has a high

23 potential for effective partnership mechanisms;

24 (D) whether the plan improperly infringes

25 on private property rights; and
7

•HR 1999 IH

1 (E) whether the plan will take appropriate

2 action to ensure private property rights are ob3 served.

4 (3) DISAPPROVAL.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary dis6 approves the management plan, the Secretary

7 shall notify the Augusta Canal Authority of the

8 disapproval in writing.

9 (B) CONTENTS.—A notification under sub10 paragraph (A) shall include—

11 (i) the reasons for the disapproval;

12 and

13 (ii) recommendations for revision.

14 (C) REVISED PLAN.—The Augusta Canal

15 Authority shall revise and resubmit the man16 agement plan to the Secretary for approval. Not

17 later than 180 days after receipt of the revised

18 plan, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove

19 the plan as provided in paragraph (2). The Au20 gusta Canal Authority shall revise and submit

21 the management plan until the management

22 plan is approved by the Secretary.

23 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon approval of the man25 agement plan as provided in subsection (d), the Sec-
8

•HR 1999 IH

1 retary, in conjunction with the Augusta Canal Au2 thority, shall take appropriate steps to implement

3 the management plan.

4 (2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec5 retary is authorized to enter into cooperative agree6 ments with the State of Georgia, political subdivi7 sions of the State, the Augusta Canal Authority, or

8 any organization or individual to implement the

9 management plan.

10 (f) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—It is the sense of

11 Congress that the Augusta Canal Authority, the State of

12 Georgia, and the city of Augusta and other political sub13 divisions of the State of Georgia should encourage, by ap14 propriate means, enhanced economic and industrial devel15 opment in the area consistent with the goals of the Au16 gusta Canal Master Plan.

17 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES.

18 Any Federal entity conducting or supporting activi19 ties directly affecting the Heritage Area shall—

20 (1) consult with the Secretary and the Augusta

21 Canal Authority with respect to such activities;

22 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the Au23 gusta Canal Authority with respect to such activi24 ties;
9

•HR 1999 IH

1 (3) coordinate such activities with the Secretary

2 and the Augusta Canal Authority; and

3 (4) conduct or support such activities in a man4 ner that the Secretary and the Augusta Canal Au5 thority determine will not have an adverse effect on

6 the Heritage Area.

7 SEC. 7. ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY.

8 The Augusta Canal Authority may not use any Fed9 eral funds that it may receive pursuant to this Act to ac10 quire real property or an interest in real property.

11 SEC. 8. OCCUPATIONAL, SAFETY, CONSERVATION, AND EN12 VIRONMENTAL REGULATION.

13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to—

14 (1) impose any occupational, safety, conserva15 tion, or environmental regulation on the Heritage

16 Area that is more stringent than the regulations

17 that would be applicable to the Heritage Area but

18 for the establishment of the Heritage Area under

19 section 3; or

20 (2) authorize any Federal agency to promulgate

21 an occupational, safety, conservation, or environ22 mental regulation for the Heritage Area that is more

23 stringent than the regulations applicable to the Her24 itage Area in existence on the date of enactment of
10

•HR 1999 IH

1 this Act, solely as a result of the establishment of

2 the Heritage Area under section 3.

3 SEC. 9. LAND USE REGULATION.

4 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to—

5 (1) modify, enlarge, or diminish any authority

6 of Federal, State, and local governments to regulate

7 any use of land as provided for by current law or

8 regulation; or

9 (2) grant powers of zoning or land use to the

10 Augusta Canal Authority.

11 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

13 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

Æ