II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1539

To establish the Los Caminos del Rio National Heritage Area along the

Lower Rio Grande Texas-Mexico border, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 26, 1996

Mrs. HUTCHISON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Los Caminos del Rio National Heritage

Area along the Lower Rio Grande Texas-Mexico border,

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 ‘‘Los Caminos del Rio

5 National Heritage Area Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) along the Lower Rio Grande on the border

9 between Texas and Mexico, from Laredo, Texas, to

10 the Gulf of Mexico, a distinctive heritage is exhibited
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1 through resources of immense economic, natural,

2 scenic, historical, cultural, and recreational value to

3 the citizens of the United States and the United

4 Mexican States;

5 (2) significant historical themes and resources

6 of local, State, national, and international impor7 tance characterize the river communities and coun8 ties along the Lower Rio Grande, representing—

9 (A) early 16th- and 17th-century Spanish

10 and French explorations;

11 (B) 18th-century river settlements founded

12 by Jose ́ de Escando ́n under the Spanish Crown;

13 (C) 18th-century ranches that gave birth

14 to the American cowboy;

15 (D) Texas independence and establishment

16 of the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840;

17 (E) the first battle of the Mexican-Amer18 ican War at Palo Alto in 1846;

19 (F) the last land battle of the American

20 Civil War, fought near the mouth of the Rio

21 Grande in 1865;

22 (G) a thriving steamboat trade in the late

23 19th century; and

24 (H) the development of the Rio Grande

25 Valley as an agricultural empire;
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1 (3) the Lower Rio Grande is 1 of the most com2 plex ecological systems in the United States, with 10

3 habitat types that host a remarkable variety of spe4 cies, including 600 species of vertebrates and 11,000

5 species of plants;

6 (4) many local and regional governments, Fed7 eral and State agencies, businesses, private organi8 zations, and citizens in the United States and Mex9 ico have expressed a desire to work cooperatively to

10 preserve and enhance the most significant compo11 nents of the natural and cultural heritage through12 out the region, while providing for sustainable

13 growth and development; and

14 (5) it is in the best interest of the citizens of

15 the United States that the Federal Government lend

16 aid and assistance to the State of Texas and its po17 litical subdivisions, Los Caminos del Rio of Texas,

18 Incorporated, and other agencies and organizations

19 in developing a management plan to ensure the de20 velopment, preservation, and restoration of the his21 torical, cultural, natural, scenic, and recreational re22 sources of the Lower Rio Grande region of Texas.

23 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

24 The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to recognize the special importance of the

2 Lower Rio Grande region as a living historical leg3 acy of the United States and Mexico containing a

4 wealth of cultural, historical, and heritage resources

5 important to the development of both countries; and

6 (2) to provide a new conceptual framework and

7 administrative structure for assisting the State of

8 Texas and its political subdivisions, Federal agen9 cies, and other organizations within the United

10 States and Mexico, in the development and imple11 mentation of integrated heritage and economic re12 source policies and programs that will—

13 (A) establish stronger, clearer connections

14 between Federal, State, and local agencies with

15 programs for cultural conservation, inter16 national relations, transportation, economic de17 velopment, and natural systems;

18 (B) provide technical assistance to heritage

19 area communities and organizations for historic

20 preservation, heritage education, interpretation,

21 tourism development, environmental restoration

22 and community development;

23 (C) cultivate a consensus vision for the

24 heritage area, based on public dialogue, that

25 advocates intergenerational responsibility and
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1 sustainable growth in a manner that is consist2 ent with the other purposes of the heritage

3 area;

4 (D) promote international understanding

5 and cooperation between Mexico and the United

6 States;

7 (E) enhance the economic base of heritage

8 area communities through heritage tourism,

9 conservation, and development actions as a

10 means of creating an entrepreneurial climate by

11 expanding job opportunities, supporting busi12 nesses, creating capital, and increasing local tax

13 bases;

14 (F) elevate cultural pride and local under15 standing for heritage resources through the de16 velopment and management of regional inter17 pretation and educational programs that con18 nect people with resources, activities, and orga19 nizations; and

20 (G) create partnerships between public and

21 private entities to finance projects and initia22 tives throughout the Lower Rio Grande through

23 which limited Federal, State, and local capital

24 contributions for planning and infrastructure
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1 investments will stimulate private sector con2 tributions.

3 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

4 In this Act:

5 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘heritage

6 area’’ means the Los Caminos del Rio National Her7 itage Area, as determined eligible for designation

8 under section 5 and established by section 6.

9 (2) HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘her10 itage partnership’’ means the public-private adminis11 trative entity established for the heritage area under

12 section 7.

13 (3) HERITAGE STUDY.—The term ‘‘heritage

14 study’’ means the report entitled ‘‘Los Caminos del

15 Rio Heritage Area Study’’, prepared by the task

16 force, which contains—

17 (A) an inventory of natural, historical, cul18 tural, and recreational resources along the her19 itage area and their relative value and signifi20 cance;

21 (B) recommendations for the creation of a

22 partnership that will coordinate activities within

23 the heritage area; and

24 (C) strategies and proposed actions to pro25 tect and enhance the most significant and
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1 meaningful components of the natural and cul2 tural heritage of the heritage area while provid3 ing for sustainable growth and development.

4 (4) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage5 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the her6 itage area developed under section 8.

7 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

8 the Secretary of the Interior.

9 (6) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘task force’’

10 means the State task force for the Los Caminos del

11 Rio Heritage Project appointed by the Governor of

12 the State of Texas, which is—

13 (A) composed of representatives of the

14 Texas Department of Commerce, the Texas De15 partment of Transportation, the Texas Histori16 cal Commission, and the Texas Parks and Wild17 life Department; and

18 (B) charged with working in coordination

19 with public- and private-sector efforts to deter20 mine efficient methods to accomplish the devel21 opment of the Los Caminos del Rio Heritage

22 Project.
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1 SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION.

2 An area shall be eligible for designation as a heritage

3 area under this Act only if the area meets each of the

4 following criteria:

5 (1) ASSEMBLAGE OF RESOURCES.—The area is

6 a cohesive assemblage of natural, historic, cultural,

7 or recreational resources that—

8 (A) together represent distinctive aspects

9 of American heritage worthy of recognition,

10 conservation, interpretation, and continuing

11 use; and

12 (B) are best managed through partner13 ships between public and private entities.

14 (2) TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, BELIEFS, OR

15 FOLKLIFE.—The area reflects traditions, customs,

16 beliefs, or folklife, or any combination thereof, that

17 are a valuable part of the story of the United States.

18 (3) CONSERVATION OF NATURAL, CULTURAL,

19 OR HISTORIC FEATURES.—The area provides out20 standing opportunities to conserve natural, cultural,

21 or historic features, or any combination thereof.

22 (4) RECREATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL OPPOR23 TUNITIES.—The area provides outstanding rec24 reational and educational opportunities.

25 (5) THEMES AND INTEGRITY OF RESOURCES.—

26 The area has an identifiable theme, and resources
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1 important to the theme retain integrity capable of

2 supporting interpretation.

3 (6) SUPPORT.—Residents, nonprofit organiza4 tions, other private entities, and governments

5 throughout the proposed area—

6 (A) demonstrate support for designation of

7 the area and for management of the area ap8 propriate to the designation; and

9 (B) are willing to commit to the implemen10 tation of the compact for the area as described

11 in section 7(e).

12 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF LOS CAMINOS DEL RIO NA13 TIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to section 5, the Sec15 retary shall establish in the State of Texas the Los Cami16 nos del Rio National Heritage Area.

17 (b) BOUNDARY.—The heritage area shall be com18 prised of Cameron County, Hildalgo County, Starr Coun19 ty, Webb County, and Zapata County, Texas, as depicted

20 on the map entitled ‘‘Los Caminos del Rio National Herit21 age Area’’ numbered ll and dated ll, which shall

22 be on file and available for public inspection in the offices

23 of the Department of the Interior in Washington, District

24 of Columbia, and the Texas Historical Commission in Aus25 tin, Texas.
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1 (c) PUBLICATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION AND

2 MAP.—As soon as practicable after the date of enactment

3 of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg4 ister a legal description and map of the boundaries of the

5 heritage area.

6 SEC. 7. HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP.

7 (a) PARTICIPATION BY THE SECRETARY.—The Sec8 retary shall participate in an administrative entity to be

9 known as the ‘‘heritage partnership’’ (which shall not con10 stitute a partnership in a legal sense) that includes rep11 resentatives of—

12 (1) Los Caminos del Rio of Texas, Incor13 porated;

14 (2) the Texas Department of Commerce, the

15 Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas

16 Historical Commission, and the Texas Parks and

17 Wildlife Department;

18 (3) residents of the heritage area;

19 (4) public and private organizations dedicated

20 to cultural conservation, community development,

21 tourism, education, business, interpretation, or the

22 environment;

23 (5) the National Park Service and United

24 States Fish and Wildlife Service; and
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1 (6) pertinent entities in Mexico as ex officio

2 members.

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The heritage partnership shall unite

4 the task force, participating Federal agencies, Los Cami5 nos del Rio of Texas, Incorporated, and other heritage

6 partners in a single organization to effectively blend gov7 ernment technical expertise with private sector resource8 fulness and understanding of local issues and values and

9 provide essential coordination and leadership for the herit10 age area.

11 (c) ESTABLISHMENT.—The executive committee of

12 the board of directors for Los Caminos del Rio of Texas,

13 Incorporated, and the executive directors representing the

14 task force, including the Texas Department of Commerce,

15 the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas His16 torical Commission, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife De17 partment, or their designees, shall facilitate the establish18 ment of the heritage partnership.

19 (d) ACTIVITIES.—

20 (1) COORDINATION.—The heritage partnership

21 shall provide overall coordination of the various enti22 ties and funding sources relevant to the purposes of

23 the heritage area.

24 (2) MISSION.—The primary mission of the her25 itage partnership shall be to—
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1 (A) facilitate development and implementa2 tion of a management plan;

3 (B) provide technical assistance and lever4 age financial assistance for heritage area com5 munities and resource areas;

6 (C) coordinate existing and potential ac7 tivities and programs that encourage positive

8 development of the region; and

9 (D) become a self-sustaining entity.

10 (e) COMPACT.—

11 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—The members of the her12 itage partnership shall develop a compact that iden13 tifies the initial partners to be involved in developing

14 and implementing the management plan and a state15 ment of the financial commitment of the partners.

16 (2) PROHIBITION ON LAND USE RESTRIC17 TIONS.—The compact may not require the enact18 ment or modification of land use restrictions.

19 (f) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The heritage partnership

20 shall conduct public meetings at least quarterly regarding

21 the implementation of the management plan for the herit22 age area.

23 (g) PROHIBITION OF ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP24 ERTY.—The heritage partnership may not use Federal
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1 funds received under this Act to acquire real property or

2 an interest in real property.

3 (h) DURATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—

4 The heritage partnership shall be eligible to receive assist5 ance from funds appropriated under this Act for a 13-

6 year period beginning on the date on which the Secretary

7 approves a compact under this section.

8 SEC. 8. HERITAGE AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN.

9 (a) PREPARATION.—Subject to sections 12 and 14,

10 the heritage partnership, in conjunction with private land11 owners within the heritage area, local governments, Fed12 eral and State agencies, and the public, shall develop a

13 management plan to ensure proper management of signifi14 cant cultural and heritage resources within the heritage

15 area in a manner that is compatible with, and supportive

16 of, natural, cultural, scenic, educational, recreational, and

17 economic values of the resources and takes into account

18 the existing uses of land within the area and any develop19 ment already in progress.

20 (b) COMPONENTS.—Subject to sections 12 and 14,

21 the management plan shall include—

22 (1) recommended policies and techniques for re23 source management, including development of inter24 governmental cooperative agreements to protect his25 torical, cultural, recreational, scenic, and heritage re-
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1 sources of the heritage area in a manner that is con2 sistent with, and supportive of, compatible economic

3 revitalization efforts;

4 (2) goals, criteria, and standards applicable to

5 the preservation and use of important cultural and

6 heritage resources of the heritage area;

7 (3) a regional heritage education and interpre8 tive plan to address the cultural and natural history

9 of the heritage area, including actions to enhance

10 visitor use and understanding and promote protec11 tion and awareness of the heritage area resources in

12 schools located in the heritage area;

13 (4) an inventory that identifies properties in the

14 heritage area that should be preserved, restored,

15 managed, developed, or maintained, because of their

16 natural, cultural, historical, or scenic significance,

17 with recognition of the rights of private landowners

18 and traditional land users;

19 (5) an implementation program for the plan

20 that includes actions and responsibilities of the her21 itage partnership, local governments, and Federal

22 and State agencies, as agreed on by the parties and

23 private landowners within the heritage area; and

24 (6) a coordination and consistency component

25 that describes the ways in which private, local,
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1 State, and Federal programs will be coordinated to

2 promote the purposes of this Act and protect the in3 terests of private landowners within the heritage

4 area.

5 SEC. 9. WITHDRAWAL OF DESIGNATION.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The heritage area designation of

7 an area under this Act shall continue unless—

8 (1) the Secretary determines that—

9 (A) the heritage area no longer meets the

10 criteria referred to in section 5;

11 (B) the use, condition, or development of

12 the area is inconsistent with the criteria re13 ferred to in section 5, the compact for the area,

14 or the management plan for the area; or

15 (C) as demonstrated by a request from the

16 Governor of the State of Texas is located or a

17 petition reflecting the interest of residents of

18 the area, the heritage area is no longer sup19 ported by the residents of the area; and

20 (2) after making a determination referred to in

21 paragraph (1), the Secretary submits to Congress

22 notification that the heritage area designation of the

23 area should be withdrawn.

24 (b) PUBLIC HEARING.—Before the Secretary makes

25 a determination referred to in subsection (a)(1) regarding
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1 a heritage area, the Secretary or a designee shall hold a

2 public hearing within the area.

3 (c) TIME OF WITHDRAWAL OF DESIGNATION.—The

4 withdrawal of the heritage area designation of an area

5 shall become final 90 legislative days after the Secretary

6 submits to Congress the notification referred to in sub7 section (a)(2) regarding the area.

8 (d) RESTRICTIONS ON REDESIGNATION.—If the her9 itage area designation of any area under this Act is with10 drawn, the area may not be redesignated as a heritage

11 area before the expiration of the 10-year period beginning

12 on the date of the withdrawal. In the case of any heritage

13 area that is redesignated, the length of time the area shall

14 be eligible for Federal funds under this Act shall be the

15 excess (if any) of 15 years over the amount of time for

16 which the area was previously eligible for Federal funds

17 under this Act.

18 SEC. 10. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

19 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the herit21 age partnership, the Secretary shall provide tech22 nical and financial assistance to the heritage part23 nership in the preparation and implementation of

24 any plan or research recommended in the heritage

25 study or management plan.
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1 (2) LAND USE RESTRICTIONS.—The Secretary

2 shall not, as a condition to the award of technical

3 and financial assistance under paragraph (1), re4 quire any recipient of assistance to enact or modify

5 any land use restriction.

6 (b) COORDINATION WITH MEXICO.—The Secretary

7 may work in cooperation with the government of Mexico

8 (including providing technical assistance) to coordinate

9 planning, interpretation, and implementation activities as

10 recommended in the heritage study or management plan.

11 SEC. 11. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES.

12 To avoid any decision or action by any department,

13 agency, or instrumentality of the United States that could

14 unfavorably affect or alter any significant resource of the

15 heritage area having substantial natural, scenic, historical,

16 cultural, or recreational value, the head of the department,

17 agency, or instrumentality shall—

18 (1) notify the Secretary, and before taking final

19 action with respect to implementing any such deci20 sion or action, allow the Secretary 30 days in which

21 to present the Secretary’s views on the matter;

22 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the herit23 age partnership in carrying out their duties under

24 this Act and, to the maximum extent practicable, co25 ordinate activities of the department, agency, or in-
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1 strumentality that affect the heritage area with the

2 carrying out of those duties; and

3 (3) cooperate with the heritage partnership, to

4 the greatest extent practicable, in supporting the

5 purposes of the heritage area.

6 SEC. 12. NO EFFECT ON LAND USE REGULATION.

7 (a) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF GOVERN8 MENTS.—Nothing in this Act modifies, enlarges, or dimin9 ishes any authority of Federal, State, or local government

10 to regulate any use of land as provided for by law.

11 (b) NO ZONING OR LAND USE POWERS IN THE HER12 ITAGE PARTNERSHIP.—Nothing in this Act grants powers

13 of zoning or land use to the heritage partnership.

14 SEC. 13. FISHING AND HUNTING SAVINGS CLAUSE.

15 (a) NO DIMINISHMENT OF STATE AUTHORITY.—Es16 tablishment of the heritage area does not diminish the au17 thority of the State of Texas to manage fish and wildlife

18 inside or outside the heritage area.

19 (b) NO CONDITIONING OF APPROVAL AND ASSIST20 ANCE.—Neither the Secretary nor any other Federal agen21 cy may—

22 (1) make any limitation on hunting, fishing, or

23 trapping a condition for the approval of a compact

24 or the determination of eligibility for assistance

25 under this Act; or
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1 (2) make any such limitation a condition for the

2 receipt, in connection with the heritage area, of any

3 other form of assistance.

4 SEC. 14. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.

5 (a) LIMITATION ON INCLUSION OF PRIVATE PROP6 ERTY IN HERITAGE AREAS.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—No privately owned property

8 shall be included in the heritage area unless the gov9 ernment of the county, city, or town in which the

10 property is located agrees that the property may be

11 included and notifies the Secretary of the agreement.

12 (2) REMOVAL.—If at any time after inclusion of

13 privately owned property in the heritage area, the

14 government of a county, city, or town that submitted

15 a notification under paragraph (1) requests to be re16 moved from the heritage area, the members of the

17 heritage partnership shall revise the compact to ex18 clude the county, city, or town from the heritage

19 area.

20 (b) PROHIBITION OF ASSISTANCE IF MANAGEMENT

21 ENTITY EXERCISES ZONING OR LAND USE POWERS.—

22 The Secretary may not provide grants or technical assist23 ance under this Act with respect to any heritage area if

24 the management entity for such area possesses or exer25 cises any zoning or land use regulation powers.
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1 (c) PRIVATE PROPERTY.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act—

3 (A) requires an owner of private property

4 to participate in or be associated with the herit5 age area or to permit public access to the pri6 vate property; or

7 (B) modifies any provision of State law

8 with regard to public access to or use of private

9 land.

10 (2) LIMITATION ON INCLUSION IN HERITAGE

11 AREAS.—No privately owned property shall be in12 cluded in the heritage area if the owner of the prop13 erty notifies the Secretary that the owner does not

14 wish to include the property in the area.

15 (3) CONSENT OF OWNERS.—A Federal em16 ployee may not enter or otherwise take an action on

17 private property to carry out this Act without the

18 consent of the owner of the property.

19 (4) ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.—A manage20 ment entity for the heritage area may not acquire

21 real or personal property, or any interest in the

22 property, without the consent of the owner of the

23 property.
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1 (5) PROPERTY VALUES.—A Federal agency or

2 employee may not take an action under this Act that

3 would diminish the value of private property.

4 (d) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL

5 LAND USE.—No provision of this Act shall be construed

6 to modify any authority of Federal, State, or local govern7 ment to regulate land use.

8 (e) NOTIFICATION ON MAPS.—All maps and bro9 chures prepared under this Act shall include language

10 stating that certain lands within the heritage areas are

11 private lands.

12 SEC. 15. EFFECT ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER STAND13 ARDS.

14 This Act does not—

15 (1) require the imposition of any environmental,

16 occupational, safety, or other regulation, standard,

17 or permit process that is different from those that

18 would be applicable had the heritage area not been

19 established;

20 (2) require the imposition of any Federal or

21 State water use designation or water quality stand22 ard on uses of, or discharges to, waters of a State

23 or waters of the United States, within or adjacent

24 to a heritage area, that is different from those that
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1 would be applicable had the heritage area not been

2 established;

3 (3) affect the continuing use and operation, re4 pair, rehabilitation, expansion, or new construction

5 of water supply facilities, water and wastewater

6 treatment facilities, stormwater facilities, public util7 ities, and common carriers;

8 (4) authorize or imply the reservation or appro9 priation of water or water rights; or

10 (5) abridge, restrict, or alter any applicable

11 rule, regulation, standard, or review procedure for

12 the permitting of facilities within or adjacent to the

13 heritage area.

14 SEC. 16. MULTIPLE USE SAVINGS CLAUSE.

15 (a) NO DIMINISHMENT OF STATE AUTHORITY.—

16 This Act does not diminish the authority of the State of

17 Texas to manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation

18 of fishing and hunting within the heritage area.

19 (b) NO CONDITIONING OF COMPACT AND ASSIST20 ANCE.—The Secretary may not require limitations on any

21 multiple use on Federal land (including oil and gas, explo22 ration and production, timbering, grazing, mining, irriga23 tion, recreation, fishing, hunting, or trapping) as a condi24 tion for approval of a compact under section 7 or the pro25 vision of technical or financial assistance under section 10.
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1 SEC. 17. REPORT.

2 On or before the last day of the 5th fiscal year begin3 ning after the date of enactment of this Act and of each

4 5th year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Con5 gress a report on the status and accomplishments of the

6 heritage area.

7 SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 (a) HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP.—There are authorized

9 to be appropriated to the heritage partnership to carry out

10 its duties under this Act such sums as are necessary for

11 each fiscal year.

12 (b) LIMITATION.—Assistance under this Act for a

13 management plan may not exceed 75 percent of the cost

14 for such plan.

15 (c) SECRETARY.—There are authorized to be appro16 priated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to

17 carry out this Act.

18 SEC. 19. EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITIES.

19 The authorities contained in this Act shall expire on

20 September 30 of the 15th fiscal year beginning after the

21 date of enactment of this Act.

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