PUBLIC LAW 106–299—OCT. 13, 2000

WEKIVA WILD AND SCENIC RIVER ACT OF 2000

114 STAT. 1050 PUBLIC LAW 106–299—OCT. 13, 2000

Public Law 106–299

106th Congress

An Act

To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate the Wekiva River and

its tributaries of Wekiwa Springs Run, Rock Springs Run, and Black Water

Creek in the State of Florida as components of the national wild and scenic

rivers system.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wekiva Wild and Scenic River

Act of 2000’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) Public Law 104–311 (110 Stat. 3818) amended section

5 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276) to require

the study of the Wekiva River and its tributaries of Rock

Springs Run and Seminole Creek for potential inclusion in

the national wild and scenic rivers system.

(2) The study determined that the Wekiva River, Wekiwa

Springs Run, Rock Springs Run, and Black Water Creek are

eligible for inclusion in the national wild and scenic rivers

system.

(3) The State of Florida has demonstrated its commitment

to protecting these rivers and streams by the enactment of

the Wekiva River Protection Act (Florida Statute chapter 369),

by the establishment of a riparian wildlife protection zone

and water quality protection zone by the St. Johns River Water

Management District, and by the acquisition of lands adjacent

to these rivers and streams for conservation purposes.

(4) The Florida counties of Lake, Seminole, and Orange

have demonstrated their commitment to protect these rivers

and streams in their comprehensive land use plans and land

development regulations.

(5) The desire for designation of these rivers and streams

as components of the national wild and scenic rivers system

has been demonstrated through strong public support, State

and local agency support, and the endorsement of designation

by the Wekiva River Basin Ecosystem Working Group, which

represents a broad cross section of State and local agencies,

landowners, environmentalists, nonprofit organizations, and

recreational users.

(6) The entire lengths of the Wekiva River, Rock Springs

Run, and Black Water Creek are held in public ownership

16 USC 1271

note.

Wekiva Wild and

Scenic River Act

of 2000.

Oct. 13, 2000

[H.R. 2773]

PUBLIC LAW 106–299—OCT. 13, 2000 114 STAT. 1051

or conservation easements or are defined as waters of the

State of Florida.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF WEKIVA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES, FLORIDA,

AS COMPONENTS OF NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC

RIVERS SYSTEM.

Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C.

1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

‘‘(161) WEKIVA RIVER, WEKIWA SPRINGS RUN, ROCK SPRINGS

RUN, AND BLACK WATER CREEK, FLORIDA.—The 41.6-mile segments

referred to in this paragraph, to be administered by the Secretary

of the Interior:

‘‘(A) WEKIVA RIVER AND WEKIWA SPRINGS RUN.—The 14.9

miles of the Wekiva River, along Wekiwa Springs Run from

its confluence with the St. Johns River to Wekiwa Springs,

to be administered in the following classifications:

‘‘(i) From the confluence with the St. Johns River to

the southern boundary of the Lower Wekiva River State

Preserve, approximately 4.4 miles, as a wild river.

‘‘(ii) From the southern boundary of the Lower Wekiva

River State Preserve to the northern boundary of Rock

Springs State Reserve at the Wekiva River, approximately

3.4 miles, as a recreational river.

‘‘(iii) From the northern boundary of Rock Springs

State Reserve at the Wekiva River to the southern

boundary of Rock Springs State Reserve at the Wekiva

River, approximately 5.9 miles, as a wild river.

‘‘(iv) From the southern boundary of Rock Springs State

Reserve at the Wekiva River upstream along Wekiwa

Springs Run to Wekiwa Springs, approximately 1.2 miles,

as a recreational river.

‘‘(B) ROCK SPRINGS RUN.—The 8.8 miles from the confluence

of Rock Springs Run with the Wekiwa Springs Run forming

the Wekiva River to its headwaters at Rock Springs, to be

administered in the following classifications:

‘‘(i) From the confluence with Wekiwa Springs Run

to the western boundary of Rock Springs Run State Reserve

at Rock Springs Run, approximately 6.9 miles, as a wild

river.

‘‘(ii) From the western boundary of Rock Springs Run

State Reserve at Rock Springs Run to Rock Springs,

approximately 1.9 miles, as a recreational river.

‘‘(C) BLACK WATER CREEK.—The 17.9 miles from the confluence of Black Water Creek with the Wekiva River to outflow

from Lake Norris, to be administered in the following classifications:

‘‘(i) From the confluence with the Wekiva River to

approximately .25 mile downstream of the Seminole State

Forest road crossing, approximately 4.1 miles, as a wild

river.

‘‘(ii) From approximately .25 mile downstream of the

Seminole State Forest road to approximately .25 mile

upstream of the Seminole State Forest road crossing,

approximately .5 mile, as a scenic river.

‘‘(iii) From approximately .25 mile upstream of the

Seminole State Forest road crossing to approximately .25

114 STAT. 1052 PUBLIC LAW 106–299—OCT. 13, 2000

mile downstream of the old railroad grade crossing

(approximately River Mile 9), approximately 4.4 miles, as

a wild river.

‘‘(iv) From approximately .25 mile downstream of the

old railroad grade crossing (approximately River Mile 9),

upstream to the boundary of Seminole State Forest

(approximately River Mile 10.6), approximately 1.6 miles,

as a scenic river.

‘‘(v) From the boundary of Seminole State Forest

(approximately River Mile 10.6) to approximately .25 mile

downstream of the State Road 44 crossing, approximately

.9 mile, as a wild river.

‘‘(vi) From approximately .25 mile downstream of State

Road 44 to approximately .25 mile upstream of the State

Road 44A crossing, approximately .6 mile, as a recreational

river.

‘‘(vii) From approximately .25 mile upstream of the

State Road 44A crossing to approximately .25 mile downstream of the Lake Norris Road crossing, approximately

4.7 miles, as a wild river.

‘‘(viii) From approximately .25 mile downstream of the

Lake Norris Road crossing to the outflow from Lake Norris,

approximately 1.1 miles, as a recreational river.’’.

SEC. 4. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO WEKIVA RIVER AND

TRIBUTARIES.

(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section and section 5:

(1) WEKIVA RIVER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Wekiva River

system’’ means the segments of the Wekiva River, Wekiwa

Springs Run, Rock Springs Run, and Black Water Creek in

the State of Florida designated as components of the national

wild and scenic rivers system by paragraph (161) of section

3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)),

as added by this Act.

(2) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ means the Wekiva

River System Advisory Management Committee established

pursuant to section 5.

(3) COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The terms ‘‘comprehensive management plan’’ and ‘‘plan’’ mean the comprehensive management plan to be developed pursuant to section

3(d) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(d)).

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

of the Interior.

(b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—

(1) USE AUTHORIZED.—In order to provide for the longterm protection, preservation, and enhancement of the Wekiva

River system, the Secretary shall offer to enter into cooperative

agreements pursuant to sections 10(e) and 11(b)(1) of the Wild

and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1281(e), 1282(b)(1)) with the

State of Florida, appropriate local political jurisdictions of the

State, namely the counties of Lake, Orange, and Seminole,

and appropriate local planning and environmental organizations.

(2) EFFECT OF AGREEMENT.—Administration by the Secretary of the Wekiva River system through the use of cooperative agreements shall not constitute National Park Service

administration of the Wekiva River system for purposes of

16 USC 1274

note.

PUBLIC LAW 106–299—OCT. 13, 2000 114 STAT. 1053

section 10(c) of such Act (10 U.S.C. 1281(c)) and shall not

cause the Wekiva River system to be considered as being a

unit of the National Park System. Publicly owned lands within

the boundaries of the Wekiva River system shall continue to

be managed by the agency having jurisdiction over the lands,

in accordance with the statutory authority and mission of the

agency.

(c) COMPLIANCE REVIEW.—After completion of the comprehensive management plan, the Secretary shall biennially review compliance with the plan and shall promptly report to the Committee

on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee

on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate any deviation

from the plan that could result in any diminution of the values

for which the Wekiva River system was designated as a component

of the national wild and scenic rivers system.

(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER SUPPORT.—The Secretary may provide technical assistance, staff support, and funding

to assist in the development and implementation of the comprehensive management plan.

(e) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL SUPPORT.—Nothing in this section

shall be construed to authorize funding for land acquisition, facility

development, or operations.

SEC. 5. WEKIVA RIVER SYSTEM ADVISORY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish an advisory

committee, to be known as the Wekiva River System Advisory

Management Committee, to assist in the development of the comprehensive management plan for the Wekiva River system.

(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be composed of a representative of each of the following agencies and organizations:

(1) The Department of the Interior, represented by the

Director of the National Park Service or the Director’s designee.

(2) The East Central Florida Regional Planning Council.

(3) The Florida Department of Environmental Protection,

Division of Recreation and Parks.

(4) The Florida Department of Environmental Protection,

Wekiva River Aquatic Preserve.

(5) The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer

Services, Division of Forestry, Seminole State Forest.

(6) The Florida Audubon Society.

(7) The nonprofit organization known as the Friends of

the Wekiva.

(8) The Lake County Water Authority.

(9) The Lake County Planning Department.

(10) The Orange County Parks and Recreation Department,

Kelly Park.

(11) The Seminole County Planning Department.

(12) The St. Johns River Water Management District.

(13) The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

(14) The City of Altamonte Springs.

(15) The City of Longwood.

(16) The City of Apopka.

(17) The Florida Farm Bureau Federation.

(18) The Florida Forestry Association.

16 USC 1274

note.

Reports.

114 STAT. 1054 PUBLIC LAW 106–299—OCT. 13, 2000

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 2773 (S. 2352):

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 106–739 (Comm. on Resources).

SENATE REPORTS: No. 106–316 accompanying S. 2352 (Comm. on Energy and

Natural Resources).

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 146 (2000):

July 24, considered and passed House.

Oct. 3, considered and passed Senate.

Æ

(c) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—Other interested parties may be

added to the Committee by request to the Secretary and unanimous

consent of the existing members.

(d) APPOINTMENT.—Representatives and alternates to the Committee shall be appointed as follows:

(1) State agency representatives, by the head of the agency.

(2) County representatives, by the Boards of County

Commissioners.

(3) Water management district, by the Governing Board.

(4) Department of the Interior representative, by the Southeast Regional Director, National Park Service.

(5) East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, by

Governing Board.

(6) Other organizations, by the Southeast Regional

Director, National Park Service.

(e) ROLE OF COMMITTEE.—The Committee shall assist in the

development of the comprehensive management plan for the Wekiva

River system and provide advice to the Secretary in carrying out

the management responsibilities of the Secretary under this Act.

The Committee shall have an advisory role only, it will not have

regulatory or land acquisition authority.

(f ) VOTING AND COMMITTEE PROCEDURES.—Each member

agency, agency division, or organization referred to in subsection

(b) shall have one vote and provide one member and one alternate.

Committee decisions and actions will be made with consent of

three-fourths of all voting members. Additional necessary Committee procedures shall be developed as part of the comprehensive

management plan.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may

be necessary to carry out this Act and paragraph (161) of section

3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)), as

added by this Act.

Approved October 13, 2000.

16 USC 1274

note.