I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2266

To establish the Hudson River Valley American Heritage Area.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 6, 1995

Mr. HINCHEY (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, and Mrs. LOWEY) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish the Hudson River Valley American Heritage

Area.

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 ‘‘Hudson River Valley

5 American Heritage Area Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) The Hudson River Valley between Yonkers,

9 New York, and Troy, New York, possesses impor10 tant historical, cultural, and natural resources, rep-
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1 resenting themes of settlement and migration, trans2 portation, and commerce.

3 (2) The Hudson River Valley played an impor4 tant role in the military history of the American

5 Revolution.

6 (3) The Hudson River Valley gave birth to im7 portant movements in American art and architecture

8 through the work of Andrew Jackson Downing, Al9 exander Jackson Davis, Thomas Cole, and their as10 sociates, and played a central role in the recognition

11 of the esthetic value of the landscape and the devel12 opment of an American esthetic ideal.

13 (4) The Hudson River Valley played an impor14 tant role in the development of the iron, textile, and

15 collar and cuff industries in the 19th century, exem16 plified in surviving structures such as the Harmony

17 Mills complex at Cohoes, and in the development of

18 early men’s and women’s labor and cooperative orga19 nizations, and is the home of the first women’s labor

20 union and the first women’s secondary school.

21 (5) The Hudson River Valley, in its cities and

22 towns and in its rural landscapes—

23 (A) displays exceptional surviving physical

24 resources illustrating these themes and the so-
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1 cial, industrial, and cultural history of the 19th

2 and early 20th centuries; and

3 (B) includes many National Historic Sites

4 and Landmarks.

5 (6) The Hudson River Valley is the home of

6 traditions associated with Dutch and Huguenot set7 tlements dating to the 17th and 18th centuries, was

8 the locus of characteristic American stories such as

9 ‘‘Rip Van Winkle’’ and the ‘‘Legend of Sleepy Hol10 low’’, and retains physical social, and cultural evi11 dence of these traditions and the traditions of other

12 more recent ethnic and social groups.

13 (7) New York State has established a structure

14 for the Hudson River Valley communities to join to15 gether to preserve, conserve, and manage these re16 sources, and to link them through trails and other

17 means, in the Hudson River Greenway Communities

18 Council and the Greenway Conservancy.

19 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

20 The purposes of this Act are the following:

21 (1) To recognize the importance of the history

22 and the resources of the Hudson River Valley to the

23 Nation.

24 (2) To assist the State of New York and the

25 communities of the Hudson River Valley in preserv-
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1 ing, protecting, and interpreting these resources for

2 the benefit of the Nation.

3 (3) To authorize Federal financial and technical

4 assistance to serve these purposes.

5 SEC. 4. HUDSON RIVER VALLEY AMERICAN HERITAGE

6 AREA.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a

8 Hudson River Valley American Heritage Area (in this Act

9 referred to as the ‘‘Heritage Area’’).

10 (b) BOUNDARIES.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro12 vided in paragraph (2), the Heritage Area shall be

13 comprised of the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Co14 lumbia, Greene, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam,

15 Westchester, and Rockland, New York, and the Vil16 lage of Waterford in Saratoga County, New York.

17 (2) LOCAL AGREEMENT TO INCLUSION.—Each

18 of the following counties, cities, and towns in the

19 State of New York shall not be included within the

20 boundaries of the Heritage Area unless the govern21 ment of such county, city, or town agrees to be so

22 included and submits notification of such agreement

23 to the Secretary:

24 (A) The counties of Greene and Columbia.
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1 (B) Any city or town within the county of

2 Greene or Columbia.

3 (C) The counties of Rensselaer and

4 Dutchess.

5 (D) Any city or town (except the town of

6 Hyde Park) within the county of Rensselaer or

7 Dutchess and located entirely within the 22d

8 Congressional District of New York.

9 (c) MANAGEMENT ENTITIES.—The management en10 tities for the Heritage Area shall be the Hudson River Val11 ley Greenway Communities Council and the Greenway

12 Conservancy (agencies established by the State of New

13 York in its Hudson River Greenway Act of 1991, in the

14 Act referred to as the ‘‘management entities’’). The man15 agement entities shall jointly establish a Heritage Area

16 Committee to manage the Heritage Area.

17 SEC. 5. COMPACT.

18 To carry out the purposes of this Act, the Secretary

19 of the Interior (in this Act referred to as the Secretary)

20 shall enter into a compact with the management entities.

21 The compact shall include information relating to the ob22 jectives and management of the area, including the follow23 ing:

24 (1) A discussion of the goals and objectives of

25 the Heritage Area, including an explanation of a
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1 proposed approach to conservation and interpreta2 tion, and a general outline of the protection meas3 ures committed to by the parties to the compact.

4 (2) A description of the respective roles of the

5 management entities.

6 (3) A list of the initial partners to be involved

7 in developing and implementing a management plan

8 for the Heritage Area, and a statement of the finan9 cial commitment of such partners.

10 (4) A description of the role of the State of

11 New York.

12 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

13 The management entities shall develop a manage14 ment plan for the Heritage Area that presents comprehen15 sive recommendations for the Heritage Area’s conserva16 tion, funding, management and development. Such plan

17 shall take into consideration existing State, county, and

18 local plans and involve residents, public agencies, and pri19 vate organizations working in the Heritage Area. It shall

20 include actions to be undertaken by units of government

21 and private organizations to protect the resources of the

22 Heritage Area. It shall specify the existing and potential

23 sources of funding to protect, manage and develop the

24 Heritage Area. Such plan shall include specifically as ap25 propriate the following:
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1 (1) An inventory of the resources contained in

2 the Heritage Area, including a list of any property

3 in the Heritage Area that is related to the themes

4 of the Heritage Area and that should be preserved,

5 restored, managed, developed, or maintained because

6 of its natural, cultural, historic, recreational, or sce7 nic significance.

8 (2) A recommendation of policies for resource

9 management which consider and detail application of

10 appropriate land and water management techniques,

11 including but not limited to, the development of

12 intergovernmental cooperative agreements to protect

13 the Heritage Area’s historical, cultural, recreational,

14 and natural resources in a manner consistent with

15 supporting appropriate and compatible economic via16 bility.

17 (3) A program for implementation of the man18 agement plan by the management entities, including

19 plans for restoration and construction, and specific

20 commitments of the identified partners for the first

21 5 years of operation.

22 (4) An analysis of ways in which local, State,

23 and Federal programs may best be coordinated to

24 promote the purposes of the Act.
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1 (5) An interpretation plan for the Heritage

2 Area.

3 SEC. 7. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT ENTI4 TIES.

5 (a) AUTHORITIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTI6 TIES.—The management entities may, for purposes of pre7 paring and implementing the management plan under sec8 tion 6, use Federal funds made available through this

9 Act—

10 (1) to make loans and grants to, and enter into

11 cooperative agreements with, States and their politi12 cal subdivisions, private organizations, or any per13 son; and

14 (2) to hire and compensate staff.

15 (b) DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITIES.—The

16 management entities shall—

17 (1) develop and submit to the Secretary for ap18 proval a management plan as described in section 6

19 within 5 years after the date of the enactment of

20 this Act.

21 (2) give priority to implementing actions as set

22 forth in the compact and the management plan, in23 cluding taking steps to—
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1 (A) assist units of government, regional

2 planning organizations, and nonprofit organiza3 tions in preserving the Heritage Area;

4 (B) assist units of government, regional

5 planning organizations, and nonprofit organiza6 tions in establishing, and maintaining interpre7 tive exhibits in the Heritage Area;

8 (C) assist units of government, regional

9 planning organizations, and nonprofit organiza10 tions in developing recreational resources in the

11 Heritage Area;

12 (D) assist units of government, regional

13 planning organizations, and nonprofit organiza14 tions in increasing public awareness of and ap15 preciation for the natural, historical and archi16 tectural resources and sites in the Heritage

17 Area;

18 (E) assist units of government, regional

19 planning organizations and nonprofit organiza20 tions in the restoration of any historic building

21 relating to the themes of the Heritage Area;

22 (F) encourage by appropriate means eco23 nomic viability in the corridor consistent with

24 the goals of the Plan;
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1 (G) encourage local governments to adopt

2 land use policies consistent with the manage3 ment of the Heritage Area and the goals of the

4 plan; and

5 (H) assist units of government, regional

6 planning organizations and nonprofit organiza7 tions to ensure that clear, consistent, and envi8 ronmentally appropriate signs identifying access

9 points and sites of interest are put in place

10 throughout the Heritage Area;

11 (3) consider the interests of diverse govern12 mental, business, and nonprofit groups within the

13 Heritage Area;

14 (4) conduct public meetings at least quarterly

15 regarding the implementation of the management

16 plan;

17 (5) submit substantial changes (including any

18 increase of more than 20 percent in the cost esti19 mates for implementation) to the management plan

20 to the Secretary for the Secretary’s approval;

21 (6) for any year in which Federal funds have

22 been received under this Act, submit an annual re23 port to the Secretary setting forth its accomplish24 ments, its expenses and income, and the entities to
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1 which any loans and grants were made during the

2 year for which the report is made; and

3 (7) for any year in which Federal funds have

4 been received under this Act, make available for

5 audit all records pertaining to the expenditure of

6 such funds and any matching funds, and require, for

7 all agreements authorizing expenditure of Federal

8 funds by other organizations, that the receiving or9 ganizations make available for audit all records per10 taining to the expenditure of such funds.

11 If a management plan is not submitted to the Secretary

12 as required under paragraph (1) within the specified time,

13 the Heritage Area shall no longer qualify for Federal

14 funding.

15 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

16 PROPERTY.—The management entities may not use Fed17 eral funds received under this Act to acquire real property

18 or an interest in real property. Nothing in this Act shall

19 preclude any management entity from using Federal funds

20 from other sources for their permitted purposes.

21 (d) ELIGIBILITY FOR RECEIVING FINANCIAL ASSIST22 ANCE.—

23 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—The management entities

24 shall be eligible to receive funds appropriated

25 through this Act for a period of 10 years after the
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1 day on which the compact under section 5 is signed

2 by the Secretary and the management entities, ex3 cept as provided in paragraph (2).

4 (2) EXCEPTION.—The management entities’ eli5 gibility for funding under this Act may be extended

6 for a period of not more than 5 additional years,

7 if—

8 (A) the management entities determine

9 such extension is necessary in order to carry

10 out the purposes of this Act and notify the Sec11 retary not later than 180 days prior to the ter12 mination date;

13 (B) the management entities, not later

14 than 180 days prior to the termination date,

15 present to the Secretary a plan of their activi16 ties for the period of the extension, including

17 provisions for becoming independent of the

18 funds made available through this Act; and

19 (C) the Secretary, with the advice of the

20 Governor of New York approves such extension

21 of funding.

22 SEC. 8. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

23 (a) DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SEC24 RETARY.—

25 (1) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may,

2 upon request of the management entities, pro3 vide technical and financial assistance to the

4 Heritage Area to develop and implement the

5 management plan. In assisting the Heritage

6 Area, the Secretary shall give priority to actions

7 that in general assist in—

8 (i) conserving the significant natural,

9 historic, and cultural resources which sup10 port its themes; and

11 (ii) providing educational, interpretive,

12 and recreational opportunities consistent

13 with its resources and associated values.

14 (B) SPENDING FOR NONFEDERALLY

15 OWNED PROPERTY.—The Secretary may spend

16 Federal funds directly on nonfederally owned

17 property to further the purposes of this Act, es18 pecially in assisting units of government in ap19 propriate treatment of districts, sites, buildings,

20 structures, and objects listed or eligible for list21 ing on the National Register of Historic Places.

22 (2) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF COM23 PACTS, AND MANAGEMENT PLANS.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con25 sultation with the Governor of New York, shall
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1 approve or disapprove a compact or manage2 ment plan submitted under this Act not later

3 than 90 days after receiving such compact or

4 management plan.

5 (B) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—

6 If the Secretary disapproves a submitted com7 pact or management plan, the Secretary shall

8 advise the management entities in writing of

9 the reasons therefor and shall make rec10 ommendations for revisions in the compact or

11 plan. The Secretary shall approve or disapprove

12 a proposed revision within 90 days after the

13 date it is submitted.

14 (3) APPROVING AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary

15 shall review substantial amendments to the manage16 ment plan for the Heritage Area. Funds appro17 priated pursuant to this Act may not be expended to

18 implement the changes until the Secretary approves

19 the amendments.

20 (4) PROMULGATING REGULATIONS.—The Sec21 retary shall promulgate such regulations as are nec22 essary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

23 (b) DUTIES OF FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Any Federal

24 entity conducting or supporting activities directly affecting

25 the Heritage Area, and any unit of government acting pur-
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1 suant to a grant of Federal funds or a Federal permit

2 or agreement conducting or supporting such activities,

3 shall to the maximum extent practicable—

4 (1) consult with the Secretary and the manage5 ment entities with respect to such activities;

6 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the man7 agement entities in carrying out their duties under

8 this Act and coordinate such activities with the car9 rying out of such duties; and

10 (3) conduct or support such activities in a man11 ner consistent with the management plan unless the

12 Federal entity, after consultation with the manage13 ment entities, determines there is no practicable al14 ternative.

15 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 (a) COMPACTS AND MANAGEMENT PLAN.—From the

17 amounts made available to carry out the National Historic

18 Preservation Act, there is authorized to be appropriated

19 to the Secretary, for grants for developing a compact

20 under section 5 and providing assistance for a manage21 ment plan under section 6, not more than $300,000, to

22 remain available until expended, subject to the following

23 conditions:
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1 (1) No grant for a compact or management

2 plan may exceed 75 percent of the grantee’s cost for

3 such study, plan, or early action.

4 (2) The total amount of Federal funding for the

5 compact for the Heritage Area may not exceed

6 $150,000.

7 (3) The total amount of Federal funding for a

8 management plan for the Heritage Area may not ex9 ceed $150,000.

10 (b) MANAGEMENT ENTITY OPERATIONS.—From the

11 amounts made available to carry out the National Historic

12 Preservation Act, there is authorized to be appropriated

13 to the Secretary for the management entities, amounts as

14 follows:

15 (1) For the operating costs of each manage16 ment entity, pursuant to section 7, not more than

17 $250,000 annually.

18 (2) For technical assistance pursuant to section

19 8, not more than $50,000 annually.

20 The Federal contribution to the operations of the manage21 ment entities shall not exceed 50 percent of the annual

22 operating costs of the entities.

23 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—From the amounts made

24 available to carry out the National Historic Preservation

25 Act, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
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1 retary, for grants and the administration thereof for the

2 implementation of the management plans for the Heritage

3 Area pursuant to section 8, not more than $10,000,000,

4 to remain available until expended, subject to the following

5 conditions:

6 (1) No grant for implementation may exceed 50

7 percent of the grantee’s cost of implementation.

8 (2) Any payment made shall be subject to an

9 agreement that conversion, use, or disposal of the

10 project so assisted for purposes contrary to the pur11 poses of this Act, as determined by the Secretary,

12 shall result in a right of the United States of reim13 bursement of all funds made available to such

14 project or the proportion of the increased value of

15 the project attributable to such funds as determined

16 at the time of such conversion, use, or disposal,

17 whichever is greater.

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