69–010 

Calendar No. 669 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 110–317 

TAUNTON, MASSACHUSETTS SPECIAL RESOURCES STUDY 

ACT 

APRIL 10, 2008.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1021] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 1021) to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to conduct a special resources study regarding the suitability and 

feasibility of designating certain historic buildings and areas in 

Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park System, 

and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act do 

pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 1021 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to conduct a special resources study regarding the suitability and 

feasibility of designating certain historic buildings and areas in 

Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park System, 

and for other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The City of Taunton, located in southeastern Massachusetts in 

Bristol County, can trace its roots back to the earliest days of our 

Nation. The first county courthouse was built in Taunton in 1772, 

and the town served as an organizational center for the Revolutionary War. 

In 1774, Taunton was the site of the raising of the Liberty and 

Union flag, one of the earliest actions to gain international attention as a symbol of America’s defiance of British rule and taxation. 

The town settlement was anchored around the Taunton River and 


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its tributaries, which provided a focus for its shipbuilding and shipping activities during the 1800s. The historic nature of the city 

draws tourists to visit the well-preserved greens and houses that 

date back to the 1800s. Taunton’s history spans from its earliest 

beginnings as an agrarian hinterland to its development as a major 

industrial urban core (particularly for iron) and regional political 

center during the Revolutionary War. The city emerged at an early 

date as a regional communications focus for the exchange and 

interaction of goods, people, and information. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 1021 passed the House of Representatives on March 19, 

2007. A companion measure, S. 1184, was introduced in the Senate 

on April 4, 2007. During the 108th Congress, a similar bill passed 

the House of Representatives by voice vote on October 10, 2004, 

H.R. 2129, although no further action was taken in the Senate. 

The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 

1021 on September 11, 2007. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered it favorably reported on January 30, 2008. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on January 30, 2008, by a voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1021. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 contains the short title. 

Section 2 contains findings. 

Section 3 directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 

resources study regarding the suitability and feasibility of designating certain historic buildings and areas in Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park System. 

Section 4 requires the Secretary to submit, to the Committee on 

Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, a report on 

the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the study required under section 3. 

Section 5 requires the recommendations in the report to include 

discussion and consideration of the concerns expressed by private 

landowners with respect to designating certain structures referred 

to in this Act as a unit of the National Park System. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 1021—Taunton, Massachusetts Special Resources Study Act 

H.R. 1021 would direct the Department of the Interior, in consultation with various state and local stakeholders, to conduct a 

special resource study to determine the feasibility and suitability 

of designating certain historic buildings and areas of Taunton, 

Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park System. The bill 

would require the department to report its findings and recVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:14 Apr 12, 2008 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR317.XXX SR317

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ommendations to the appropriate Congressional committees within 

three years of receiving funding for the study. 

Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $300,000 over the 

next three years. Enacting this legislation would not affect direct 

spending or revenues. 

H.R. 1021 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 1021. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant economic 

responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 1021, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 1021, as reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the September 11, 2007 Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1021 follows: 

STATEMENT OF DANIEL N. WENK, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 

before your committee to present the views of the Department of the Interior on H.R. 1021 and S. 1184, identical 

bills that direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

special resources study regarding the suitability and feasibility of designating certain historic buildings and areas in 

Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park 

System. 

The Department does not support these bills. On June 

15, 2004, in the 108th Congress, the Department also did 

not support H.R. 2129, a similar bill. 

The City of Taunton, located in southeastern Massachusetts in Bristol County, can trace its roots back to the earliest days of our Nation. As the seat of Bristol County 

since 1746, Taunton was the site of that county’s first 

courthouse built in 1772, and the town served as a locale 

for colonial discontent prior to the Revolutionary War. In 

1774, Taunton was the site of the raising of the Liberty 


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4 

and Union flag, one of a number of symbolic representations in the Colonies expressing discontent with British 

rule. The town settlement was anchored around the Taunton River and its tributaries, which provided a focus for its 

shipbuilding and shipping activities during the 1800s. The 

historic nature of the city draws tourists to visit the wellpreserved greens and houses that date back to the 1800s. 

Taunton’s history spans from its earliest beginnings as an 

agrarian hinterland to its development as a major industrial urban core (particularly for iron) and regional political center during the Revolutionary War. The city 

emerged at an early date as a regional communications 

focus for the exchange and interaction of goods, people, 

and information. 

H.R. 1021 and S. 1184 both propose that the Secretary 

conduct a study of historic buildings and areas in Taunton, 

to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of designating 

them as a unit of the National Park System. The study is 

to be conducted in accordance with the National Park 

Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1a–5). In addition to the 

criteria set out in the Organic Act, the bills also require 

an evaluation of these areas against a list of criteria commonly seen in study legislation for evaluating individual 

National Heritage Areas, and not part of the usual evaluation of a park unit. 

The Department has concerns about enactment of these 

bills, because the named historic properties have been 

studied and determined not to be nationally significant, 

the first criterion that must be met for inclusion in the National Park System as spelled out in the Organic Act and 

in National Park Service Management Policies 2006. Most 

of the historic properties cited in the findings were included in a Multiple Resource Area nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, completed in 1984 and 

nominated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which 

formed the basis for listing properties. The Multiple Resource Area nomination documented and evaluated Taunton’s historic properties including buildings, structures and 

districts that were found to have architectural and historic 

merit. These properties were evaluated within the context 

of significant historical themes and time periods in Taunton’s history. The Multiple Resource Area nomination included 86 individual properties, two districts, three industrial complexes, and one religious complex, primarily spanning from the mid-18th Century through the mid-20th 

Century. The Massachusetts State Historic Preservation 

Officer nominated these properties for their local historic 

or architectural significance, rather than for their state or 

national significance. The National Park Service agreed 

with this recommendation and listed the properties in the 

National Register of Historic Places for their local historic 

or architectural importance. 

The Department is concerned with H.R. 1021 and S. 

1184 because other authorities and mechanisms exist at 

the Federal, State, and local levels, to support the preserVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:14 Apr 12, 2008 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR317.XXX SR317

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vation of historic properties of local significance. To expend 

limited study funds on properties that are known not to 

meet National Park Service standards seems ill-advised 

when the Department is pressed to meet the budgetary 

needs of previously authorized studies of nationally significant resources. 

Currently, the National Park Service is in various stages 

of progress with 37 studies previously authorized by Congress. These studies are focusing on potential National 

Park System Units, National Heritage Areas, additions to 

the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, or additions 

to the National Trails System. Our highest priority is to 

complete the studies previously authorized by Congress, 

and to begin work on newly authorized studies as soon as 

funds are available. 

In addition, the Department notes that the National 

Park Service is currently in the midst of a wild and scenic 

river study of the Taunton River, authorized by Congress 

in December 2000. The City of Taunton is actively engaged 

in this process along with the nine other communities that 

abut the main stem of the Taunton River. Historical and 

cultural resources associated with the river, including sites 

in the City of Taunton, are an important part of the study, 

recognizing that the river has a rich history dating from 

Native American use to colonial settlement and early industrial development. The study is currently out for public 

comment and we expect to finalize and transmit it to Congress in 2008. 

It would appear that the wild and scenic river study is 

evaluating many of the same resources identified in H.R. 

1021 and S. 1184. Furthermore, the wild and scenic river 

study is appropriately considering a larger area than the 

city limits of Taunton. To launch an overlapping study 

with similar but slightly different criteria from those governing the wild and scenic river study, would seem to invite both confusion and duplication. Therefore, the Department does not support enactment of H.R. 1021 and S. 

1184. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to comment. This concludes my prepared remarks and I will be 

happy to answer any questions you or other committee 

members might have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill H.R. 1021, as ordered reported. 

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