89–006 

1 Public Law 108–447. 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–1062 

OIL REGION NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA 

REAUTHORIZATION ACT 

DECEMBER 3, 2018.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 6507] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 6507) to amend the Oil Region National Heritage Area 

Act to reauthorize the Oil Region National Heritage Area, and for 

other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 6507 is to amend the Oil Region Heritage 

Area Act to reauthorize the Oil Region National Heritage Area. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Oil Region National Heritage Area (ORNHA) was designated 

in 2004 and encompasses 34 municipalities in 708 square miles in 

northwestern Pennsylvania, including all of Venango County.1 The 

same acreage was designated as a Pennsylvania Heritage Area in 

1994. The ORNHA includes oil artifacts, scenic communities and 

farmland, and industrial landscapes to teach visitors about the beginnings of the petroleum industry. 

The northwestern region of Pennsylvania is known as the birthplace of petroleum and as ‘‘The Valley That Changed the World,’’ 

because it was the location of the world’s first successful commerVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Dec 07, 2018 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR1062.XXX HR1062

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2 National Park Service. ‘‘Oil Region National Heritage Area.’’ https://www.nps.gov/places/oilregion-national-heritage-area.htm. 3 ‘‘Oil Region Alliance.’’ http://oilheritage.org/oil-region-alliance/. 

4 Oil Heritage Region Management Action Plan Update Executive Summary http:// 

oilheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/OHRSummary.pdf. 5 ‘‘National Heritage Area Management Plan’’ http://oilheritage.org/national-heritage-areamanagement-plan/. 

cial oil well.2 The developments in the region encompassed by the 

ORNHA led to major advancements in the transportation, communications, and energy industries and spurred population and economic growth in the area. 

The ORNHA is managed by the Oil Region Alliance of Business, 

Industry and Tourism, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to increase the prosperity and population of the region.3 The corporation took over management when the original entity, Oil Heritage 

Inc., merged with other organizations to form the Alliance in 2005.4

Since the designation, public and private organizations have 

worked together to expand trail systems, restored historic downtowns, and completed other preservation and economic development in the ORNHA.5

Authorization for the expenditure of funds and for technical assistance from the Department of the Interior for the ORNHA will 

sunset in late 2019 or early 2020 (depending on the interpretation 

of when funds were first made available). H.R. 6507 would extend 

the authorization to fiscal year 2026 and update the name of the 

management entity. Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D–PA) has introduced companion legislation, S. 2604, in the Senate. The Senate 

Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks 

held a legislative hearing on the bill on August 15, 2018. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 6507 was introduced on July 25, 2018, by Congressman 

Glenn Thompson (R–PA). The bill was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On November 15, 2018, the Natural 

Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee 

was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 

Representatives by unanimous consent. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

ACT

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 

received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office: 


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U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, November 29, 2018. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6507, the Oil Region National Heritage Area Reauthorization Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani Shankaran. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 6507—Oil Region National Heritage Area Reauthorization Act 

H.R. 6507 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to 

provide technical and financial assistance for the Oil Region National Heritage Area, located in northwestern Pennsylvania, 

through 2026. Under current law, the NPS’s authority to provide 

such assistance expires in 2020. 

In recent years, the NPS has allocated about $19 million annually in appropriated funds to provide financial assistance to 49 national heritage areas. Based on the average amount of assistance 

for those areas, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would 

cost $400,000 annually and would total about $1 million over the 

2021–2023 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting H.R. 6507 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6507 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

H.R. 6507 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to amend the Oil Region Heritage Area Act to reauthorize the Oil Region National Heritage Area. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 


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COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5 

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

OIL REGION NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA ACT 

* * * * * * * 

DIVISION J—OTHER MATTERS 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE VI—OIL REGION NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA 

SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE; DEFINITIONS. 

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Region National Heritage Area Act’’. 

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—For the purposes of this title, the following definitions shall apply: 

(1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage Area’’ means the 

Oil Region National Heritage Area established in section 

603(a). 

(2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘management entity’’ 

means the øOil Heritage Region, Inc.¿ Oil Region Alliance of 

Business, Industry and Tourism, or its successor entity. 

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

of the Interior. 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 603. OIL REGION NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established the Oil Region 

National Heritage Area. 

(b) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Heritage Area shall include all of those lands depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Oil Region National Heritage Area’’, numbered OIRE/20,000 and dated October 

2000. The map shall be on file in the appropriate offices of the NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Dec 07, 2018 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR1062.XXX HR1062

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tional Park Service. The Secretary of the Interior shall publish in 

the Federal Register, as soon as practical after the date of the enactment of this Act, a detailed description and map of the boundaries established under this subsection. 

(c) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The management entity for the Heritage Area shall be the øOil Heritage Region, Inc.¿ Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry and Tourism, the locally based private, 

nonprofit management corporation which shall oversee the development of a management plan in accordance with section 605(b). 

* * * * * * * 

øSEC. 608. SUNSET. 

øThe Secretary may not make any grant or provide any assistance under this title after the expiration of the 15-year period beginning on the date that funds are first made available for this 

title.¿ 

SEC. 608. SUNSET. 

The authority of the Secretary to grant or provide any assistance 

under this title shall terminate on September 30, 2026. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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