II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1489

To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a portion of the

Columbia River as a recreational river, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

DECEMBER 20, 1995

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

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate

a portion of the Columbia River as a recreational river,

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. FINDINGS.

4 Congress finds that—

5 (1) the 50-mile Hanford Reach is the last free6 flowing nontidal segment of the Columbia River in

7 the United States and has been preserved in a rel8 atively natural condition because of its location with9 in the Hanford Nuclear Reservation;
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1 (2) In 1988, Congress, in Public Law 100–605

2 (102 Stat. 3043), called for an analysis of protection

3 alternatives for the Hanford Reach and a report to

4 Congress by the Secretary of the Interior, who con5 cluded in the Hanford Reach Final Environmental

6 Impact Statement dated June 1994 and the Han7 ford Reach should be designated as a recreational

8 river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

9 (3) the Hanford Reach is a vital migration cor10 ridor for anadromous fish and contains some of the

11 most productive spawning areas in the Northwest

12 United States, producing an estimated 80 percent of

13 the Columbia Basin’s fall chinook salmon and

14 healthy runs of naturally spawning steelhead trout,

15 sturgeon, and other highly valued fish species;

16 (4) the Hanford Reach provides important habi17 tat for wintering and migrating waterfowl, bald ea18 gles, deer, elk, and a diversity of other wildlife, in19 cluding numerous Federal and State-listed threat20 ened and endangered plant and animal species, some

21 of which are found nowhere else;

22 (5) the White Bluffs and pristine conditions of

23 the Hanford Reach offer scenic beauty, opportunities

24 for solitude, and recreation, including hunting, fish25 ing, boating, hiking, swimming, and wildlife observa-
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1 tion, in close proximity to the Tri-Cities area of the

2 State of Washington;

3 (6) the Hanford Reach and its salmon runs

4 have been important to mid-Columbia Native Ameri5 cans for subsistence, cultural, and religious purposes

6 for more than 10,000 years, and there are 150 reg7 istered archaeological sites in the area;

8 (7) the southern shore of the Hanford Reach

9 chronicles the history of the Manhattan Project, de10 fense nuclear production during the Cold War, and

11 early Euro-American settlement of the area;

12 (8) the White Bluffs and adjacent shoreline

13 areas are a significant paleontological resource and

14 are rich with fossils remains from the Pliocene pe15 riod;

16 (9) protection of the Hanford Reach as a na17 tional wild and scenic river can enhance local reve18 nues from outdoor recreation and increase economic

19 investment in the Tri-Cities area by highlighting the

20 quality of life and natural amenities of the area;

21 (10) economic activities along the river corridor

22 in existence on the date of enactment of this Act,

23 such as agriculture, power production and trans24 mission, and water withdrawal, are compatible with

25 the recreational classification of the river, and the
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1 classification made by this Act cannot be changed

2 except by a subsequent Act of Congress;

3 (11) designation of the Hanford Reach as a

4 wild and scenic river can facilitate, and make less

5 costly, the remediation of contaminated areas of the

6 Hanford Nuclear Reservation by determining future

7 land use within the river corridor and helping to en8 sure the Federal commitment to the cleanup of the

9 Hanford Site;

10 (12) the Hanford Reach has special significance

11 as an outdoor laboratory and classroom and offers

12 a singular opportunity for government agencies,

13 tribes, and community organizations to develop a

14 partnership around an education and interpretation

15 program focused on the area’s unique natural and

16 human history;

17 (13) the Columbia River shore immediately

18 downstream of the Hanford Reach in the Tri-Cities

19 area currently contains miles of high, steep levees

20 which create a sterile gauntlet through which mi21 grating anadromous fish must pass, and that flow

22 controls on the Columbia River have reduced the

23 need for levees of this height;

24 (14) modifying levees in the Tri-Cities area

25 could significantly improve the habitat value of this
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1 transition area to the Hanford Reach for fish and

2 wildlife, decrease mortality of migratory fish and wa3 terfowl, and have the additional benefits of improv4 ing rivershore access, recreation, and aesthetics; and

5 (15) local jurisdictions in the Tri-Cities area

6 have expressed interest in a partnership with the

7 Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies to

8 study rivershore restoration in the Tri-Cities area

9 and develop a plan of action.

10 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

11 The purposes of this Act are—

12 (1) to protect the natural, cultural, scenic, and

13 recreational resources of the Hanford Reach of the

14 Columbia River;

15 (2) to encourage education and interpretation

16 of the Hanford Reach; and

17 (3) to restore and enhance the natural habitat

18 of the rivershore immediately downstream of the

19 Hanford Reach in the vicinity of the Tri-Cities area

20 of the State of Washington.

21 SEC. 3. COLUMBIA RIVER NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC

22 RIVER.

23 Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16

24 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(lll) HANFORD REACH, COLUMBIA RIVER,

2 WASHINGTON.—The river segment from river mile

3 346.5 to river mile 396, Hanford Reach, Columbia

4 River, Washington, as a recreational river, subject to

5 the following:

6 ‘‘(A) NO PRIVATELY OWNED LAND.—Only

7 public land adjacent to the river segment, and

8 no privately owned land, may be included in the

9 river segment.

10 ‘‘(B) MANAGEMENT.—

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of

12 the Interior shall manage the river seg13 ment as a recreational river in accordance

14 with the National Wildlife Refuge System

15 Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C.

16 668dd et seq.), this Act, and other applica17 ble law.

18 ‘‘(ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—

19 Nothing in this Act or any other law au20 thorizes the Secretary of the Interior or

21 any other governmental officer to alter the

22 classification of the river segment as a rec23 reational river.

24 ‘‘(C) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—In devel25 oping and periodically revising a plan for the
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1 management of the river segment, the Secretary

2 of the Interior shall—

3 ‘‘(i) consult with—

4 ‘‘(I) affected Indian tribes;

5 ‘‘(II) the State of Washington;

6 ‘‘(III) the Secretary of Energy;

7 ‘‘(IV) governments of local juris8 dictions adjacent to the river segment;

9 and

10 ‘‘(V) an advisory council com11 posed of the chairperson of the county

12 commissions for Benton County,

13 Franklin County, and Grant County,

14 Washington, and 4 citizens selected by

15 the Governor of Washington from

16 those counties to represent environ17 mental, recreational, cultural, and

18 other stakeholder interests;

19 ‘‘(ii) provide opportunity for public

20 participation;

21 ‘‘(iii) develop a strategy for acquiring

22 private land in the area defined by the ap23 plicable environmental impact statement by

24 purchase, conservation easement, lease, or

25 donation on a willing-seller basis only;
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1 ‘‘(iv) recognize recreation as an out2 standingly remarkable value of the des3 ignated area and give recreation a high

4 management priority, along with protection

5 of natural, cultural, and scenic resources;

6 ‘‘(v) coordinate and cooperate with

7 State, local, and tribal governments and

8 other entities in the development and im9 plementation of educational and interpre10 tive programs related to the Hanford

11 Reach; and

12 ‘‘(vi) determine how—

13 ‘‘(I) a Hanford Reach edu14 cational and interpretive center with

15 appropriate exhibit, conference, and

16 support facilities can be constructed

17 or be incorporated into a compatible

18 community facility;

19 ‘‘(II) interpretive education ef20 forts can be coordinated with local

21 governments and public school dis22 tricts in the region; and

23 ‘‘(III) recreational tourism ef24 forts associated with the Hanford

25 Reach can be coordinated through a
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1 community-based visitor and conven2 tion bureau.

3 ‘‘(D) ACCESS CORRIDORS.—Access cor4 ridors in existence on the date of enactment of

5 this paragraph shall be retained.

6 ‘‘(E) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—The des7 ignation of the river segment shall not be con8 strued as—

9 ‘‘(i) prohibiting or approving relicens10 ing of any hydroelectric facility by the Fed11 eral Energy Regulatory Commission;

12 ‘‘(ii) affecting any law, agreement,

13 plan, or policy in effect on the date of en14 actment of this paragraph regarding water

15 rights or instream flows on the river seg16 ment;

17 ‘‘(iii) prohibiting the operation or

18 maintenance of any energy, transmission,

19 water intake, or water outfall facility in ex20 istence on the date of enactment of this

21 paragraph;

22 ‘‘(iv) prohibiting the modification, re23 pair, or replacement of any energy, trans24 mission, water intake, or water outfall fa25 cility so long as there is no substantial
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1 impact on the natural, cultural, or scenic

2 resources of the river segment and adja3 cent land area;

4 ‘‘(v) establishing or imposing remedi5 ation requirements more restrictive than

6 those that would apply but for this para7 graph;

8 ‘‘(vi) prohibiting construction of tem9 porary facilities essential to the remedi10 ation and restoration of contaminated

11 areas within the viewshed of the river seg12 ment; or

13 ‘‘(vii) relieving the Secretary of En14 ergy from any obligation or other liability

15 at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation under

16 the Comprehensive Environmental Re17 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of

18 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the Solid

19 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et

20 seq.), and other applicable law or imposing

21 any such obligation or other liability on the

22 Secretary of the Interior.

23 ‘‘(F) RIVERSHORE RESTORATION AND EN24 HANCEMENT.—The Secretary of the Army, act25 ing through the Chief of Engineers of the Army
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1 Corps of Engineers, in cooperation and coordi2 nation with the heads of other relevant Federal

3 agencies and State and local governments, shall

4 develop a comprehensive plan of improvement

5 for restoration and enhancement of fish and

6 wildlife habitat, recreation, river access, and

7 overall aesthetics of the levees and other

8 rivershore areas downstream of the river seg9 ment in the Tri-Cities area of the State of

10 Washington.

11 ‘‘(G) SECTION 1135 PROJECTS.—The Sec12 retary of the Army, acting through the Chief of

13 Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers—

14 ‘‘(i) subject to receipt of a statement

15 of interest from the non-Federal interests

16 for the following projects, shall, not later

17 than 180 days after the date of enactment

18 of this paragraph, complete a preliminary

19 restoration plan under section 1135 of the

20 Water Resources Development Act of 1986

21 (33 U.S.C. 2309a) for each of—

22 ‘‘(I) a portion of the rivershore of

23 Clover Island and a portion of the

24 levee immediately upstream of Clover

25 Island;
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1 ‘‘(II) the rivershore immediately

2 upstream of the portion described in

3 subclause (I) in the city of Kennewick,

4 Washington, to United States Route

5 395 bridge;

6 ‘‘(III) the levee modified in 1994

7 between Road 39 and the United

8 States Route 395 bridge in Franklin

9 County, Washington; and

10 ‘‘(IV) the levee between the

11 United States Route 395 bridge to the

12 area immediately downstream of the

13 10th Avenue bridge in the city of

14 Pasco, Washington;

15 ‘‘(ii) shall consider each of the

16 projects described in subclauses (I), (II),

17 (III), and (IV) of clause (i) to be a sepa18 rate project for purposes of the program

19 under section 1135 of the Water Resources

20 Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C.

21 2309a); and

22 ‘‘(iii) subject to receipt of necessary

23 commitments from the non-Federal inter24 ests for the projects, shall, not later than

25 18 months after the date of enactment of
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1 this paragraph, complete a project modi2 fication report for each of the projects.’’.

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