II

Calendar No. 65

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 601

[Report No. 104–42]

To revise the boundaries of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage

Corridor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 23, 1995

Mr. CHAFEE (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. PELL, and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

APRIL 7 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 1995

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, without amendment

A BILL

To revise the boundaries of the Blackstone River Valley

National Heritage Corridor in Massachusetts and Rhode

Island, 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,
2

S 601 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blackstone River

3 Valley National Heritage Corridor Amendments Act of

4 1995’’.

5 SEC. 2. BOUNDARY CHANGES.

6 Section 2 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish the

7 Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in

8 Massachusetts and Rhode Island’’, approved November

9 10, 1986 (Public Law 99–647; 16 U.S.C. 461 note), is

10 amended by striking the first sentence and inserting the

11 following new sentence: ‘‘The boundaries shall include the

12 lands and water generally depicted on the map entitled

13 Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

14 Boundary Map, numbered BRV–80–80,011, and dated

15 May 2, 1993.’’.

16 SEC. 3. TERMS.

17 Section 3(c) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish

18 the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

19 in Massachusetts and Rhode Island’’, approved November

20 10, 1986 (Public Law 99–647; 16 U.S.C. 461 note), is

21 amended by inserting immediately before the period at the

22 end the following: ‘‘, but may continue to serve after the

23 expiration of this term until a successor has been

24 appointed’’.
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S 601 RS

1 SEC. 4. REVISION OF PLAN.

2 Section 6 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish the

3 Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in

4 Massachusetts and Rhode Island’’, approved November

5 10, 1986 (Public Law 99–647; 16 U.S.C. 461 note), is

6 amended by adding at the end the following new sub7 section:

8 ‘‘(d) REVISION OF PLAN.—(1) Not later than 1 year

9 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Com10 mission, with the approval of the Secretary, shall revise

11 the Cultural Heritage and Land Management Plan. The

12 revision shall address the boundary change and shall in13 clude a natural resource inventory of areas or features

14 that should be protected, restored, managed, or acquired

15 because of their contribution to the understanding of na16 tional cultural landscape values.

17 ‘‘(2) No changes other than minor revisions may be

18 made in the approved plan as amended without the ap19 proval of the Secretary. The Secretary shall approve or

20 disapprove any proposed change in the plan, except minor

21 revisions, in accordance with subsection (b).’’.

22 SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF COMMISSION.

23 Section 7 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish the

24 Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in

25 Massachusetts and Rhode Island’’, approved November
4

S 601 RS

1 10, 1986 (Public Law 99–647; 16 U.S.C. 461 note), is

2 amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘TERMINATION OF COMMISSION

4 ‘‘SEC. 7. (a) TERMINATION.—Except as provided in

5 subsection (b), the Commission shall terminate on the date

6 that is 10 years after the date of enactment of the Black7 stone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Amend8 ments Act of 1995.

9 ‘‘(b) EXTENSION.—The Commission may be extended

10 for an additional term of 10 years if—

11 ‘‘(1) not later than 180 days before the termi12 nation of the Commission, the Commission deter13 mines that an extension is necessary to carry out

14 this Act;

15 ‘‘(2) the Commission submits a proposed exten16 sion to the appropriate committees of the Senate

17 and the House of Representatives; and

18 ‘‘(3) the Secretary, the Governor of Massachu19 setts, and the Governor of Rhode Island each ap20 prove the extension.

21 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF APPROVAL.—The Secretary

22 shall approve the extension if the Secretary finds that—

23 ‘‘(1) the Governor of Massachusetts and the

24 Governor of Rhode Island provide adequate assur25 ances of continued tangible contribution and effec-
5

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1 tive policy support toward achieving the purposes of

2 this Act; and

3 ‘‘(2) the Commission is effectively assisting

4 Federal, State, and local authorities to retain, en5 hance, and interpret the distinctive character and

6 nationally significant resources of the Corridor.’’.

7 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN.

8 Subsection (c) of section 8 of the Act entitled ‘‘An

9 Act to establish the Blackstone River Valley National Her10 itage Corridor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island’’, ap11 proved November 10, 1986 (Public Law 99–647; 16

12 U.S.C. 461 note), is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—(1) To assist in the imple14 mentation of the Cultural Heritage and Land Manage15 ment Plan in a manner consistent with purposes of this

16 Act, the Secretary is authorized to undertake a limited

17 program of financial assistance for the purpose of provid18 ing funds for the preservation and restoration of struc19 tures on or eligible for inclusion on the National Register

20 of Historic Places within the Corridor which exhibit na21 tional significance or provide a wide spectrum of historic,

22 recreational, or environmental education opportunities to

23 the general public.
6

S 601 RS

1 ‘‘(2) To be eligible for funds under this section, the

2 Commission shall submit an application to the Secretary

3 that includes—

4 ‘‘(A) a 10-year development plan including

5 those resource protection needs and projects critical

6 to maintaining or interpreting the distinctive char7 acter of the Corridor; and

8 ‘‘(B) specific descriptions of annual work pro9 grams that have been assembled, the participating

10 parties, roles, cost estimates, cost-sharing, or cooper11 ative agreements necessary to carry out the develop12 ment plan.

13 ‘‘(3) Funds made available pursuant to this sub14 section shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the

15 work programs.

16 ‘‘(4) In making the funds available, the Secretary

17 shall give priority to projects that attract greater non-Fed18 eral funding sources.

19 ‘‘(5) Any payment made for the purposes of conserva20 tion or restoration of real property or structures shall be

21 subject to an agreement either—

22 ‘‘(A) to convey a conservation or preservation

23 easement to the Department of Environmental Man24 agement or to the Historic Preservation Commis-
7

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1 sion, as appropriate, of the State in which the real

2 property or structure is located; or

3 ‘‘(B) that conversion, use, or disposal of the re4 sources so assisted for purposes contrary to the pur5 poses of this Act, as determined by the Secretary,

6 shall result in a right of the United States for reim7 bursement of all funds expended upon such re8 sources or the proportion of the increased value of

9 the resources attributable to such funds as deter10 mined at the time of such conversion, use, or dis11 posal, whichever is greater.

12 ‘‘(6) The authority to determine that a conversion,

13 use, or disposal of resources has been carried out contrary

14 to the purposes of this Act in violation of an agreement

15 entered into under paragraph (5)(A) shall be solely at the

16 discretion of the Secretary.’’.

17 SEC. 7. LOCAL AUTHORITY.

18 Section 5 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish the

19 Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in

20 Massachusetts and Rhode Island’’, approved November

21 10, 1986 (Public Law 99–647; 16 U.S.C. 461 note), is

22 amended by adding at the end the following new sub23 section:

24 ‘‘(j) LOCAL AUTHORITY AND PRIVATE PROPERTY

25 NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed
8

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1 to affect or to authorize the Commission to interfere

2 with—

3 ‘‘(1) the rights of any person with respect to

4 private property; or

5 ‘‘(2) any local zoning ordinance or land use

6 plan of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or a

7 political subdivision of such Commonwealth.’’.

8 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

9 Section 10 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish

10 the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

11 in Massachusetts and Rhode Island’’, approved November

12 10, 1986 (Public Law 99–647; 16 U.S.C. 461 note), as

13 amended, is further amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘$350,000’’

15 and inserting ‘‘$650,000’’; and

16 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as

17 follows:

18 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT FUNDS.—For fiscal years 1996,

19 1997, and 1998, there is authorized to be appropriated

20 to carry out section 8(c), $5,000,000 in the aggregate.’’.
Calendar No. 65

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 601

[Report No. 104–42]

A BILL

To revise the boundaries of the Blackstone River

setts and Rhode Island, and for other purposes.Valley National Heritage Corridor in MassachuAPRIL 7 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 1995

Reported without amendment