I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2024 

To establish the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 18, 2021 

Mr. HOYER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, 

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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southern Maryland 

5 National Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

9 Area’’ means the Southern Maryland National Her10 itage Area established by section 3(a). 


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1 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘Local Coordinating Entity’’ means the local coordi3 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 

4 section 3(c). 

5 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage6 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

7 Heritage Area prepared under section 5(a). 

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

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

11 of Maryland. 

12 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND NA13 TIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the State 

15 the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, to be ad16 ministered in accordance with this Act. 

17 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall include 

18 portions of St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles, and Prince 

19 George’s Counties in the State, with the specific bound20 aries to be established by the Secretary, based on the fea21 sibility study for the Heritage Area. 

22 (c) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Tri-County 

23 Council for Southern Maryland shall serve as the local co24 ordinating entity for the Heritage Area. 


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1 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 

2 (a) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying out the 

3 management plan, the Secretary (acting through the Local 

4 Coordinating Entity) may use amounts made available 

5 under section 9— 

6 (1) to make grants to the State, political sub7 divisions of the State, Indian Tribes, nonprofit orga8 nizations, and other entities; 

9 (2) to enter into cooperative agreements with, 

10 or provide technical assistance to, the State, political 

11 subdivisions of the State, Indian Tribes, nonprofit 

12 organizations, and other interested entities; 

13 (3) to hire and compensate staff, which shall in14 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 

15 and historical resources protection and heritage pro16 gramming; 

17 (4) to obtain money or services from any 

18 source, including any money or services that are pro19 vided under any other Federal law or program; 

20 (5) to contract for marketing, advertising, and 

21 public relations; 

22 (6) to contract for goods or services; 

23 (7) to contract for fundraising; and 

24 (8) to undertake any other activity that— 

25 (A) furthers the purposes of the Heritage 

26 Area; and 


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1 (B) is consistent with the approved man2 agement plan. 

3 (b) DUTIES.—The Local Coordinating Entity shall— 

4 (1) assist Federal agencies, the State, political 

5 subdivisions of the State, Indian Tribes, regional 

6 planning organizations, nonprofit organizations, and 

7 other interested persons in carrying out the ap8 proved management plan by— 

9 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

10 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 

11 resource values in the Heritage Area; 

12 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre13 tive exhibits and programs in the Heritage 

14 Area; 

15 (C) developing recreational, interpretive, 

16 and educational opportunities in the Heritage 

17 Area; 

18 (D) increasing public awareness of, and 

19 appreciation for, natural, historical, scenic, and 

20 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

21 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

22 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

23 consistent with the themes of the Heritage 

24 Area; 


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1 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap2 propriate signs identifying points of public ac3 cess and sites of interest are posted throughout 

4 the Heritage Area; and 

5 (G) promoting a wide range of partner6 ships among the Federal Government, State, 

7 Tribal, and local governments, organizations, 

8 and individuals to further the purposes of the 

9 Heritage Area; 

10 (2) consider the interests of diverse units of 

11 government, businesses, organizations, and individ12 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im13 plementation of the management plan; 

14 (3) conduct meetings open to the public not less 

15 frequently than semiannually regarding the develop16 ment and implementation of the management plan; 

17 and 

18 (4) for any year that Federal funds have been 

19 received under this subsection— 

20 (A) submit to the Secretary an annual re21 port that describes, with respect to the report22 ing period, the activities, expenses, and income 

23 of the Local Coordinating Entity; 


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1 (B) make available to the Secretary for 

2 audit all records relating to the expenditure of 

3 the funds and any matching funds; and 

4 (C) encourage, by appropriate means and 

5 consistent with the purposes of the Heritage 

6 Area, the economic viability of the Heritage 

7 Area. 

8 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

9 PROPERTY.—The Local Coordinating Entity shall not use 

10 Federal funds made available under section 9 to acquire 

11 real property or any interest in real property. 

12 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

14 date on which funds are first made available to carry out 

15 this Act, the Local Coordinating Entity shall submit to 

16 the Secretary for approval a proposed management plan 

17 for the Heritage Area. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 

19 (1) incorporate an integrated and cooperative 

20 approach for the protection, enhancement, and inter21 pretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, 

22 and recreational resources of the Heritage Area; 

23 (2) take into consideration other applicable 

24 Federal, State, local, and Tribal plans and treaty 

25 rights; 


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1 (3) include— 

2 (A) an inventory of— 

3 (i) the resources located in the Herit4 age Area; and 

5 (ii) any other property in the Heritage 

6 Area that— 

7 (I) is related to the themes of the 

8 Heritage Area; and 

9 (II) should be preserved, re10 stored, managed, or maintained be11 cause of the significance of the prop12 erty; 

13 (B) comprehensive policies, strategies, and 

14 recommendations for the conservation, funding, 

15 management, and development of the Heritage 

16 Area; 

17 (C) a description of activities that the Fed18 eral Government, State, Tribal, and local gov19 ernments, private organizations, and individuals 

20 have agreed to carry out to protect the natural, 

21 historical, cultural, scenic, and recreational re22 sources of the Heritage Area; 

23 (D) a program of implementation for the 

24 management plan by the Local Coordinating 

25 Entity that includes a description of— 


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1 (i) actions to facilitate ongoing col2 laboration among partners to promote 

3 plans for resource protection, restoration, 

4 and construction; and 

5 (ii) specific commitments for imple6 mentation that have been made by the 

7 Local Coordinating Entity or any unit of 

8 government, organization, or individual for 

9 the first 5 years of operation of the Herit10 age Area; 

11 (E) the identification of sources of funding 

12 to implement the management plan; 

13 (F) analysis and recommendations for 

14 means by which Federal, State, local, and Trib15 al programs (including the role of the National 

16 Park Service in the Heritage Area) may carry 

17 out the purposes of this Act; 

18 (G) an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

19 Area; and 

20 (H) recommended policies and strategies 

21 for resource management that consider and de22 tail the application of appropriate land and 

23 water management techniques, including the de24 velopment of intergovernmental and interagency 

25 cooperative agreements to protect the natural, 


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1 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec2 reational resources of the Heritage Area. 

3 (c) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management plan is 

4 not submitted to the Secretary by the date that is 3 years 

5 after the date on which funds are first made available to 

6 carry out this Act, the Local Coordinating Entity shall be 

7 ineligible to receive additional funding under this Act until 

8 the date on which the Secretary approves the management 

9 plan. 

10 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

11 PLAN.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of receipt of the management plan 

14 under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation 

15 with State and Tribal governments, shall approve or 

16 disapprove the management plan. 

17 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

18 whether to approve the management plan, the Sec19 retary shall consider whether— 

20 (A) the Local Coordinating Entity is rep21 resentative of the diverse interests of the Herit22 age Area, including the Federal Government, 

23 State, Tribal, and local governments, natural 

24 and historic resource protection organizations, 


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1 educational institutions, businesses, and rec2 reational organizations; 

3 (B) the Local Coordinating Entity has af4 forded adequate opportunity, including public 

5 hearings, for public and governmental involve6 ment in the preparation of the management 

7 plan; and 

8 (C) the resource protection and interpreta9 tion strategies contained in the management 

10 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

11 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 

12 the Heritage Area. 

13 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

14 Secretary disapproves the management plan under 

15 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

16 (A) advise the Local Coordinating Entity 

17 in writing of the reasons for the disapproval; 

18 (B) make recommendations to the Local 

19 Coordinating Entity for revisions to the man20 agement plan; and 

21 (C) not later than 180 days after the re22 ceipt of any proposed revision of the manage23 ment plan from the Local Coordinating Entity, 

24 approve or disapprove the proposed revision. 

25 (4) AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap2 prove or disapprove each amendment of the 

3 management plan that the Secretary determines 

4 makes a substantial change to the management 

5 plan. 

6 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—The Local Coordi7 nating Entity shall not use Federal funds au8 thorized under section 9 to carry out any 

9 amendment to the management plan until the 

10 date on which the Secretary has approved the 

11 amendment. 

12 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au14 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan15 cial assistance under any other law. 

16 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

17 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

18 may have an impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged 

19 to consult and coordinate the activities with the Secretary 

20 and the Local Coordinating Entity to the maximum extent 

21 practicable. 

22 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 

23 Act— 

24 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law (includ25 ing regulations) authorizing a Federal agency to 


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1 manage Federal land under the jurisdiction of the 

2 Federal agency; 

3 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man4 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

5 the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or 

6 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 

7 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed8 eral agency. 

9 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC10 TIONS. 

11 Nothing in this Act— 

12 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 

13 (whether public or private), including the right to re14 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro15 gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage 

16 Area; 

17 (2) requires any property owner— 

18 (A) to permit public access (including ac19 cess by Federal, State, or local agencies) to the 

20 property of the property owner; or 

21 (B) to modify public access or use of prop22 erty of the property owner under any other 

23 Federal, State, or local law; 


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1 (3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 

2 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author3 ity of any Federal, State, Tribal, or local agency; 

4 (4) conveys any land use or other regulatory 

5 authority to the Local Coordinating Entity; 

6 (5) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap7 propriation of water or water rights; 

8 (6) enlarges or diminishes the treaty rights of 

9 any Indian Tribe within the Heritage Area; 

10 (7) diminishes— 

11 (A) the authority of the State to manage 

12 fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

13 fishing and hunting, within the Heritage Area; 

14 or 

15 (B) the authority of Indian Tribes to regu16 late members of Indian Tribes with respect to 

17 fishing, hunting, and gathering in the exercise 

18 of treaty rights; or 

19 (8) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

20 under any other law, of any private property owner 

21 with respect to any person injured on the private 

22 property. 


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1 SEC. 8. EVALUATION AND REPORT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years before the 

3 date on which authority for Federal funding terminates 

4 for the Heritage Area, the Secretary shall— 

5 (1) conduct an evaluation of the accomplish6 ments of the Heritage Area; and 

7 (2) prepare a report in accordance with sub8 section (c). 

9 (b) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted under 

10 subsection (a)(1) shall— 

11 (1) assess the progress of the Local Coordi12 nating Entity with respect to— 

13 (A) accomplishing the purposes of the Her14 itage Area; and 

15 (B) achieving the goals and objectives of 

16 the approved management plan; 

17 (2) analyze the investments of the Federal Gov18 ernment, State, Tribal, and local governments, and 

19 private entities in the Heritage Area to determine 

20 the impact of the investments; and 

21 (3) review the management structure, partner22 ship relationships, and funding of the Heritage Area 

23 for purposes of identifying the critical components 

24 for sustainability of the Heritage Area. 

25 (c) REPORT.—Based on the evaluation conducted 

26 under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall submit to the 


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1 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen2 ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

3 of Representatives a report that includes recommendations 

4 for the future role of the National Park Service, if any, 

5 with respect to the Heritage Area. 

6 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro8 priated for the Heritage Area to carry out the purposes 

9 of this Act $10,000,000, of which not more than 

10 $1,000,000 may be made available in any fiscal year. 

11 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available under 

12 subsection (a) shall remain available until expended. 

13 (c) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

15 total cost of any activity under this Act shall be not 

16 more than 50 percent. 

17 (2) FORM.—The non-Federal share of the total 

18 cost of any activity under this Act may be in the 

19 form of in-kind contributions of goods or services 

20 fairly valued. 

21 (d) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of 

22 the Secretary to provide assistance under this Act termi23 nates on the date that is 15 years after the date of enact24 ment of this Act. 

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