I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3988

To provide for the preservation and interpretation of certain lands and structures relating to the coal mining heritage of the State of West Virginia

and the Nation, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 9, 1994

Mr. RAHALL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To provide for the preservation and interpretation of certain

lands and structures relating to the coal mining heritage

of the State of West Virginia and the Nation, 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 ‘‘West Virginia National

5 Coal Heritage Area Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that:
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1 (1) Certain events that led to the development

2 of southern West Virginia’s coalfields during the lat3 ter part of the 19th century and the early part of

4 the current century are of national historic and cul5 tural significance in terms of their contribution to

6 the industrialization of the United States, the orga7 nization of workers into trade unions and the unique

8 culture of the Appalachian Region.

9 (2) It is in the national interest to preserve and

10 protect physical remnants of this era for the edu11 cation and benefit of present and future generations.

12 (3) There is a need to provide assistance for the

13 preservation and promotion of those vestiges of

14 southern West Virginia’s coal heritage which have

15 outstanding cultural, historic and architectural

16 values.

17 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of preserving and

19 interpreting for the educational and inspirational benefit

20 of present and future generations certain lands and struc21 tures with unique and significant historical and cultural

22 values associated with the coal mining heritage of the

23 State of West Virginia and the Nation there is hereby es24 tablished the West Virginia National Coal Heritage Area

25 (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Area’’).
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1 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Area shall be comprised of

2 the counties in the State of West Virginia that are the

3 subject of the study by the National Park Service, dated

4 1993, entitled ‘‘A Coal Mining Heritage Study: Southern

5 West Virginia’’ conducted pursuant to title VI of Public

6 Law 100–699.

7 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Area shall be adminis8 tered in accordance with this Act.

9 SEC. 4. CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT.

10 The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to

11 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) is authorized to enter into a contrac12 tual agreement with the Governor of the State of West

13 Virginia, acting through the Division of Culture and His14 tory and the Division of Tourism and Parks, pursuant to

15 which the Secretary shall assist the State of West Virginia

16 and its units of local government in each of the following:

17 (1) The development and implementation of in18 tegrated cultural, historical and land resource man19 agement policies and programs in order to retain,

20 enhance and interpret the significant values of the

21 lands, waters and structures of the Area.

22 (2) The preservation, restoration, maintenance,

23 operation, interpretation and promotion of buildings,

24 structures, facilities, sites and points of interest for

25 public use that possess cultural, historical and archi-
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1 tectural values associated with the coal mining herit2 age of the Area.

3 (3) The coordination of activities by Federal,

4 State and local governments and private businesses

5 and organizations in order to further historic preser6 vation and compatible economic revitalization.

7 (4) The development of guidelines and stand8 ards for projects, consistent with standards estab9 lished by the National Park Service, for the preser10 vation and restoration of historic properties, includ11 ing interpretive methods, that will further historic

12 preservation in the region.

13 (5) The acquisition of real property, or interests

14 in real property, by donation or by purchase, for

15 public use that possess cultural, historical and archi16 tectural values associated with the coal mining herit17 age of the Area from a willing seller with donated

18 or appropriated funds.

19 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE RESOURCES.

20 The resources eligible for the assistance under para21 graphs (2) and (5) of section 4 shall include those set

22 forth in appendix D of the study by the National Park

23 Service, dated 1993, entitled ‘‘A Coal Mining Heritage

24 Study: Southern West Virginia’’ conducted pursuant to

25 title VI of Public Law 100–699. Priority consideration
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1 shall be given to those sites listed as ‘‘Conservation Prior2 ities’’ and ‘‘Important Historic Resources’’ as depicted on

3 the map entitled ‘‘Study Area: Historic Resources’’ in

4 such study.

5 SEC. 6. COAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to the contractual

7 agreement referred to in section 4, within 2 years after

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Governor of the

9 State of West Virginia, acting through the Division of Cul10 ture and History and the Division of Tourism and Parks,

11 shall submit to the Secretary a Coal Heritage Manage12 ment Plan for the Area. The plan shall at a minimum—

13 (1) set forth the integrated cultural, historical

14 and land resource management policies and pro15 grams referred to in section 4;

16 (2) describe the guidelines and standards for

17 projects referred to in section 4; and

18 (3) set forth the responsibilities of the State of

19 West Virginia, units of local government, non-profit

20 entities or of the Secretary to administer any prop21 erties acquired pursuant to section 4.

22 (b) PLAN APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall approve

23 the plan submitted under subsection (a) unless he deter24 mines that it would not meet the objectives of this Act.
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such

3 sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of

4 this Act.

5 SEC. 8. DESIGNATION OF MINERS’ MARCH TRAIL AS A

6 STUDY TRAIL.

7 Section 5(c) of the National Trails System Act (16

8 U.S.C. 1244(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new paragraph:

10 ‘‘( ) The route from Lens Creek near Marmet to

11 Blair Mountain in West Virginia traveled by coal miners

12 dramatizing the need for social justice between August 20,

13 1921, and September 4, 1921, during what is commonly

14 known as the Battle of Blair Mountain.’’.

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