I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2188

To establish in the Department of the Interior the Essex National Heritage

Area Commission, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 3, 1995

Mr. TORKILDSEN (for himself and Mr. MEEHAN) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish in the Department of the Interior the Essex

National Heritage Area Commission, 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 AND PURPOSE.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

5 (1) Essex County, Massachusetts, was host to

6 a series of historic events that influenced the course

7 of the early settlement of the United States, its

8 emergence as a maritime power, and its subsequent

9 industrial development;
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1 (2) the North Shore of Essex County and the

2 Merrimack River valley in Essex County contain ex3 amples of significant early American architecture

4 and significant Federal-period architecture, many

5 sites and buildings associated with the establishment

6 of the maritime trade in the United States, the site

7 of the witchcraft trials of 1692, the birthplace of

8 successful iron manufacture, and the establishment

9 of the textile and leather industries in and around

10 the cities of Peabody, Beverly, Lynn, Lawrence, and

11 Haverhill;

12 (3) Salem, Massachusetts, has a rich heritage

13 as one of the earliest landing sites of the English

14 colonists, the first major world harbor for the Unit15 ed States, and an early thriving hub of American in16 dustries;

17 (4) the Saugus Iron Works National Historic

18 Site is the site of the first sustained, integrated iron

19 works in Colonial America, and the technology em20 ployed at the Iron Works was dispersed throughout

21 the Colonies and was critical to the development of

22 industry and technology in America;

23 (5) the Salem Maritime National Historic Site

24 contains nationally significant resources that explain

25 the manner in which the Nation was settled, its evo-
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1 lution into a maritime power, and its development as

2 a major industrial force;

3 (6) the story told at the Salem Maritime and

4 Saugus Iron Works National Historic Sites would be

5 greatly enhanced through the interpretation of sig6 nificant theme-related resources in Salem and

7 Saugus and throughout Essex County;

8 (7) partnerships between the private and public

9 sectors have been created and additional partner10 ships will be encouraged to preserve the rich cultural

11 heritage of the region, which will stimulate cultural

12 awareness, preservation, and economic development

13 through tourism;

14 (8) a visitors’ center that has already been con15 structed at Salem Maritime National Historic Site in

16 Salem, Massachusetts, will be available to interpret

17 the themes of the Essex National Heritage Area es18 tablished by this Act and to coordinate the interpre19 tive and preservation activities of the Area; and

20 (9) the resident and business communities of

21 the region have formed the Essex Heritage Ad Hoc

22 Commission for the preservation, interpretation, pro23 motion, and development of the historic, cultural,

24 and natural resources of the region and are invest25 ing significant private funds and energy to develop
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1 a plan to preserve the nationally significant re2 sources of Essex County.

3 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act—

4 (1) to establish the Essex National Heritage

5 Area and the Essex National National Heritage

6 Area Commission, representing all concerned levels

7 of government, to recognize, preserve, promote, in8 terpret, and make available for the benefit of the

9 public the historic, cultural, and natural resources of

10 the North Shore and lower Merrimack River valley

11 in Essex County, Massachusetts, which encompass

12 the three primary themes of the Salem Maritime

13 National Historic Site and Saugus Iron Works Na14 tional Historic Site (the histories of early settlement,

15 maritime trade, and the textile and leather indus16 tries);

17 (2) to implement the appropriate alternative as

18 described in the document entitled ‘‘The Salem

19 Project: A Study of Alternatives’’, dated January

20 1990, within the boundaries of Essex County; and

21 (3) to provide a management framework to as22 sist the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its

23 units of local government in the development and

24 implementation of an integrated cultural, historical,

25 and land resource management program in order to
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1 retain, enhance, and interpret the significant values

2 of the lands, waters, and structures located in the

3 Essex National Heritage Area.

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

5 For purposes of this Act:

6 (1) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Essex

7 National Heritage Area Commission established by

8 section 201.

9 (2) The term ‘‘Area’’ means the Essex National

10 Heritage Area established by section 101.

11 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

12 of the Interior.

13 TITLE I—ESSEX NATIONAL

14 HERITAGE AREA

15 SEC. 101. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

16 (a) DESIGNATION.—For the purpose of preserving

17 and interpreting, for the educational and inspirational

18 benefit of present and future generations, the unique and

19 significant contributions to our national heritage of cer20 tain historic and cultural lands, natural waterways, and

21 structures within the County of Essex in the Common22 wealth of Massachusetts, there is hereby established the

23 Essex National Heritage Area.

24 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Area shall comprise the

25 lands generally depicted on the map numbered NAR–51–
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1 80,000 and dated August 1994. The map shall be on file

2 and available for public inspection in the office of the Di3 rector of the National Park Service.

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

6 TITLE II—ESSEX NATIONAL

7 HERITAGE AREA COMMISSION

8 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purpose of this

10 Act there is hereby established in the Department of the

11 Interior the Essex National Heritage Area Commission.

12 The Commission shall exercise the responsibilities and au13 thorities conferred on the Commission by this title with

14 respect to the Area. The Commission shall consist of 33

15 members (including ex officio members), appointed by the

16 Secretary, as follows:

17 (1) Five members appointed from recommenda18 tions submitted by the Governor of Massachusetts,

19 of which one shall represent the interests of the

20 Massachusetts Historical Commission, one shall rep21 resent the Executive Office of Environmental Man22 agement, one shall represent the Massachusetts Ex23 ecutive Office of Transportation and Highways, one

24 shall represent the Executive Office of Administra-
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1 tion and Finance, and one shall represent the Exec2 utive Office of Communities and Development.

3 (2) Eleven members representing the interests

4 of local government, appointed from recommenda5 tions submitted as follows:

6 (A) One each from recommendations sub7 mitted by the mayors of the cities of Peabody,

8 Salem, Lynn, Lawrence, Haverhill, Newbury9 port, Beverly, and Gloucester.

10 (B) Three representing the towns of Essex

11 County, from recommendations submitted by

12 the Essex County Advisory Board.

13 (3) Eight members representing local business,

14 nonprofit organizations, and other nongovernmental

15 groups, appointed from recommendations submitted

16 as follows:

17 (A) Two from recommendations submitted

18 by the Salem Partnership.

19 (B) One each from recommendations sub20 mitted by the Lynn Business Partnership, the

21 Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce, the

22 Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, the

23 Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce, the

24 North Shore Chamber of Commerce, and the
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1 Society for the Preservation of New England

2 Antiquities.

3 (4) Three members representing nonprofit orga4 nizations which have significant interests and re5 sources located in the Area, from recommendations

6 submitted as follows:

7 (A) One from recommendations submitted

8 by the Peabody Essex Museum, to represent the

9 interests of major museums.

10 (B) One from recommendations submitted

11 by the Essex County Greenbelt Association, to

12 represent the interests of the natural resources

13 of the Area.

14 (C) One from recommendations submitted

15 by the President of Salem State College, to rep16 resent the interests of institutions of higher

17 education.

18 (5) The Director of the National Park Service,

19 ex officio, or the delegate of the Director, the super20 intendent of the Salem Maritime National Historic

21 Site, ex officio, or the delegate of the superintend22 ent, and the superintendent of the Saugus Ironworks

23 National Historic Site, ex officio, or the delegate of

24 the superintendent.
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1 (6) One member recommended by the Rep2 resentative to the Congress from the Fifth Congres3 sional District of Massachusetts.

4 (7) Two members recommended by the Rep5 resentative to the Congress from the Sixth Congres6 sional District of Massachusetts.

7 (b) TERMS.—The term of appointed members of the

8 Commission shall be 3 years, except as provided in sub9 section (d).

10 (c) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall elect a

11 chairperson from among its members. The term of office

12 of the chairperson shall be 2 years.

13 (d) VACANCY.—Any member of the Commission ap14 pointed for a definite term may serve after the expiration

15 of his term until his successor is appointed. Any vacancy

16 in the Commission shall be filled in the same manner in

17 which the original appointment was made. The term of

18 any member appointed to fill a vacancy shall be the re19 mainder of the term for which the member’s predecessor

20 was appointed.

21 (e) QUORUM.—A simple majority of Commission

22 members shall constitute a quorum.

23 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

24 call of the chairperson or a majority of its members, but

25 not less than quarterly.
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1 (g) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission

2 shall serve without compensation, except as otherwise pro3 vided in this subsection. Members of the Commission may

4 receive travel expenses (including per diem in lieu of sub5 sistence) when engaged in Commission business, in ac6 cordance with section 5703, title 5, United States Code,

7 in the same manner as persons employed intermittently.

8 SEC. 202. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION.

9 (a) STAFF.—(1) The Commission shall have the

10 power to appoint and fix the compensation of such staff

11 as may be necessary to carry out its duties.

12 (2) Staff appointed by the Commission—

13 (A) shall be appointed subject to the provisions

14 of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint15 ments in the competitive services; and

16 (B) shall be paid in accordance with the provi17 sions of chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code,

18 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, relat19 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates.

20 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Subject to such

21 rules as may be adopted by the Commission, the Commis22 sion may procure services of experts and consultants to

23 the same extent as is authorized by section 3109(b) of title

24 5, United States Code, but at rates determined by the

25 Commission to be reasonable.
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1 (c) STAFF AND OTHER AGENCIES.—(1) Upon re2 quest of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency

3 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel

4 of such agency to the Commission to assist the Commis5 sion in carrying out the Commission’s duties.

6 (2) The Commission may accept the services of per7 sonnel detailed from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

8 (and any political subdivision thereof) and may reimburse

9 the Commonwealth or political subdivision for the services.

10 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Administrator

11 of the General Services Administration shall provide to the

12 Commission such administrative support services as the

13 Commission may request, on a reimbursable basis.

14 SEC. 203. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may for the pur16 pose of carrying out this Act hold such hearings, sit and

17 act at such times and places, take such testimony, and

18 receive such evidence, as the Commission may deem advis19 able.

20 (b) BYLAWS.—The Commission may make such by21 laws, rules and regulations, consistent with this Act, as

22 it considers necessary to carry out its functions under this

23 title.

24 (c) DELEGATION.—When so authorized by the Com25 mission, any member or agent of the Commission may
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1 take any action which the Commission is authorized to

2 take by this section.

3 (d) TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUPS.—The Commis4 sion may establish and appoint one or more technical advi5 sory groups and subcommittees to provide technical advice

6 to the Commission with respect to issues including, but

7 not limited to, financing, historic preservation, natural re8 source preservation, recreation, tourism, or intergovern9 mental coordination.

10 (e) GIFTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

11 law, the Commission may seek, accept, and dispose of do12 nations of funds, property, or services from individuals,

13 from foundations, corporations, and other private entities,

14 and from public entities, for the purpose of carrying out

15 its duties.

16 (f) FUNDS FROM OTHER SOURCES.—The Commis17 sion may use its funds to obtain money from any source

18 under any program or law, including a program or law

19 requiring the recipient of such money to make a contribu20 tion in order to receive such money.

21 (g) MAIL.—The Commission may use the United

22 States mails in the same manner and upon the same con23 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

24 States.
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1 (h) OBTAINING PROPERTY, FACILITIES AND SERV2 ICES.—The Commission may obtain by purchase, rental,

3 donation, or otherwise, such property, facilities, and serv4 ices as may be needed to carry out its duties. The Commis5 sion may acquire real property, or interests in real prop6 erty, in the Area only by gift, by rental, or by purchase

7 from a willing seller with money which was given, be8 queathed, or appropriated to the Commission on the condi9 tion that such money would be used to purchase real prop10 erty, or interests in real property, in the Area.

11 (i) ADVISORY GROUPS.—The Commission may estab12 lish such advisory groups as the Commission deems nec13 essary to ensure open communication with, and assistance

14 from, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, political sub15 divisions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and in16 terested persons.

17 (j) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Commission

18 may enter into cooperative agreements with the Secretary,

19 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, any political sub20 division of the Commonwealth, or any person.

21 SEC. 204. FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission is authorized

23 to—

24 (1) coordinate activities of and establish cooper25 ative agreements with Federal, State, and local gov-
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1 ernments and private businesses and organizations

2 in order to further historic preservation, cultural

3 conservation, natural area protection, and compat4 ible revitalization with respect to the Area;

5 (2) establish guidelines and standards for

6 projects and prepare programs and exhibits, consist7 ent with standards established by the National Park

8 Service for preservation of historic properties (in9 cluding standards regarding interpretive methods),

10 that will further the recognition, preservation, pro11 motion, interpretation, and economic revitalization of

12 the historic and natural resources in the Area;

13 (3) provide advice and assistance in preparation

14 of loan or grant applications to the Commission and

15 applications for loan or grants from Federal or non16 Federal sources in furtherance of the purpose of this

17 Act;

18 (4) make loans and grants, from funds appro19 priated for that purpose or from funds donated or

20 otherwise made available to the Commission, for the

21 purpose of conserving and protecting sites, buildings,

22 resources, and objects which are included or eligible

23 for inclusion on the National Register of Historic

24 Places or for the purposes of providing educational
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1 and cultural programs which encourage appreciation

2 of the resources of the Area; and

3 (5) implement the study report prepared by the

4 Essex Heritage Ad-Hoc Commission.

5 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—

6 (1) REPORTS BY COMMISSION.—The Commis7 sion shall submit an annual report to the Secretary

8 setting forth its expenses and income and the enti9 ties to which any loans and grants were made by the

10 Commission during the year for which the report is

11 made.

12 (2) REPORTS BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary

13 shall submit an annual report to the Congress de14 scribing the loans, grants, and technical assistance

15 provided under this Act. The report shall specify the

16 amount, recipient, and purpose of any loan, grant,

17 or technical assistance so provided, and shall include

18 an analysis of the adequacy of actions taken during

19 the year the report concerns to preserve, protect,

20 and interpret the significant sites, buildings, and ob21 jects within the Area. The report shall describe the

22 anticipated funds and personnel to be made available

23 by the Secretary during the fiscal year following the

24 year the report concerns to implement the provisions

25 of this Act.
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1 (c) COST ESTIMATES.—Prior to making any grant or

2 loan, the Commission shall require detailed cost estimates

3 to be prepared for the project to be funded. Within 1 year

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis5 sion shall submit to the appropriate committees of the

6 Congress detailed cost estimates for the projects for which,

7 at the time the report is submitted, the Commission has

8 made, has agreed to make, or plans to make a grant or

9 loan under this Act.

10 SEC. 205. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purpose of this

12 Act, the Secretary shall assist the Commission in prepar13 ing such studies and plans as the Secretary considers ap14 propriate and in implementing the recommendations con15 tained in study report prepared by the Essex Heritage Ad16 Hoc Commission. The Secretary is authorized to enter

17 into agreements with the Commission or with any owner

18 of property with national historic or cultural significance

19 within the Area for the purpose of facilitating public use

20 and enjoyment of such resources or to otherwise further

21 the objectives of the Commission. Any such agreement

22 shall provide whenever appropriate that—

23 (1) the public may have access to such re24 sources at specified, reasonable times for the pur-
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1 pose of viewing the property or exhibits or attending

2 programs or other activities, as may be appropriate;

3 (2) the Secretary may make improvements to

4 such resources as the Commission or the Secretary

5 deem necessary to enhance the public use and enjoy6 ment of the resources, or to render such property

7 usable by the Secretary, the Commission, or any

8 person for the purpose of this Act; and

9 (3) the Secretary may occupy, utilize, and ac10 quire easements or leasehold interests in resources

11 as required to implement the programs and purpose

12 of this Act.

13 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

14 provide, upon request, technical assistance to the Commis15 sion to assist the Commission in the performance of its

16 powers and functions as authorized under this Act. The

17 Secretary may provide to any owner of property within

18 the Area, to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to the

19 City of Salem and other participating municipalities, to

20 any other Federal or State entity, to any institution, or

21 to any person such technical assistance as the Secretary

22 considers appropriate to carry out the purpose of this Act.

23 SEC. 206. EXPIRATION.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall cease to

25 exist 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 (b) SUCCESSOR ENTITY.—The Commission shall as2 sist, if appropriate, in the establishment of a nonprofit

3 management entity, exempt from income taxes under sec4 tion 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to

5 continue as necessary the functions of the Commission and

6 the management of the Area upon the expiration of the

7 Commission.

8 (c) PROPERTY OR FUNDS REMAINING.—Any prop9 erty or funds of the Commission remaining upon the expi10 ration of the Commission shall be transferred to the non11 profit management entity referred to in subsection (b), if

12 such an entity exists and is willing to accept the transfer.

13 If such an entity does not exist or is not willing to accept

14 such transfer, the property or funds referred to in the pre15 ceding sentence shall be transferred to the Treasury of

16 the United States, to a State or local government agency,

17 or to any combination thereof, as determined by the Com18 mission or, if the Commission fails to so determine and

19 such an entity exists, by the nonprofit management entity

20 referred to in subsection (b).

21 SEC. 207. PRIVATE PROPERTY.

22 No privately owned property shall be included within

23 the boundaries of the Area unless the government of the

24 county, city, or town in which the property is located
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1 agrees to be so included and submits notification of such

2 agreement to the Secretary.

3 SEC. 208. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such

5 sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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