I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 486 

To establish the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 26, 2011 

Mr. GARAMENDI (for himself, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. GEORGE

MILLER of California, and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National 

Heritage Area. 

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 ‘‘Sacramento-San Joa5 quin Delta National Heritage Area Establishment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

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

9 Area’’ means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta 

10 Heritage Area established by section 3(a). 


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1 (2) HERITAGE AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The 

2 term ‘‘Heritage Area management plan’’ means the 

3 plan developed and adopted by the management en4 tity under this Act. 

5 (3) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘man6 agement entity’’ means the management entity for 

7 the Heritage Area designated by section 3(d). 

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

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

11 of California. 

12 SEC. 3. SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA HERITAGE 

13 AREA. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

15 ‘‘Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Heritage Area’’ in the 

16 State. 

17 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Heritage 

18 Area shall be in the counties of Contra Costa, Sacramento, 

19 San Joaquin, Solano, and Yolo in the State of California, 

20 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Sacramento21 San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Proposed 

22 Boundary’’, numbered T27/105,030, and dated September 

23 2010. 

24 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map described in 

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1 spection in the appropriate offices of the National Park 

2 Service and the Delta Protection Commission. 

3 (d) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The management entity 

4 for the Heritage Area shall be the Delta Protection Com5 mission established by section 29735 of the California 

6 Public Resources Code. 

7 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

8 (1) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying 

9 out the Heritage Area management plan, the Sec10 retary, acting through the management entity, may 

11 use amounts made available under this Act to— 

12 (A) make grants to the State or a political 

13 subdivision of the State, nonprofit organiza14 tions, and other persons; 

15 (B) enter into cooperative agreements 

16 with, or provide technical assistance to, the 

17 State or a political subdivision of the State, 

18 nonprofit organizations, and other interested 

19 parties; 

20 (C) hire and compensate staff, which shall 

21 include individuals with expertise in natural, 

22 cultural, and historical resources protection, 

23 and heritage programming; 


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1 (D) obtain money or services from any 

2 source including any that are provided under 

3 any other Federal law or program; 

4 (E) contract for goods or services; and 

5 (F) undertake to be a catalyst for any 

6 other activity that furthers the Heritage Area 

7 and is consistent with the approved Heritage 

8 Area management plan. 

9 (2) DUTIES.—The management entity shall— 

10 (A) in accordance with subsection (f), pre11 pare and submit a Heritage Area management 

12 plan to the Secretary; 

13 (B) assist units of local government, re14 gional planning organizations, and nonprofit or15 ganizations in carrying out the approved Herit16 age Area management plan by— 

17 (i) carrying out programs and projects 

18 that recognize, protect, and enhance im19 portant resource values in the Heritage 

20 Area; 

21 (ii) establishing and maintaining in22 terpretive exhibits and programs in the 

23 Heritage Area; 


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1 (iii) developing recreational and edu2 cational opportunities in the Heritage 

3 Area; 

4 (iv) increasing public awareness of, 

5 and appreciation for, natural, historical, 

6 scenic, and cultural resources of the Herit7 age Area; 

8 (v) protecting and restoring historic 

9 sites and buildings in the Heritage Area 

10 that are consistent with Heritage Area 

11 themes; 

12 (vi) ensuring that clear, consistent, 

13 and appropriate signs identifying points of 

14 public access, and sites of interest are 

15 posted throughout the Heritage Area; and 

16 (vii) promoting a wide range of part17 nerships among governments, organiza18 tions, and individuals to further the Herit19 age Area; 

20 (C) consider the interests of diverse units 

21 of government, businesses, organizations, and 

22 individuals in the Heritage Area in the prepara23 tion and implementation of the Heritage Area 

24 management plan; 


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1 (D) conduct meetings open to the public at 

2 least semiannually regarding the development 

3 and implementation of the Heritage Area man4 agement plan; 

5 (E) for any year that Federal funds have 

6 been received under this Act— 

7 (i) submit an annual report to the 

8 Secretary that describes the activities, ex9 penses, and income of the management en10 tity (including grants to any other entities 

11 during the year that the report is made); 

12 (ii) make available to the Secretary 

13 for audit all records relating to the expend14 iture of the funds and any matching funds; 

15 (iii) require, with respect to all agree16 ments authorizing expenditure of Federal 

17 funds by other organizations, that the or18 ganizations receiving the funds make avail19 able to the Secretary for audit all records 

20 concerning the expenditure of the funds; 

21 and 

22 (F) encourage by appropriate means eco23 nomic viability that is consistent with the Herit24 age Area. 


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1 (3) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF

2 REAL PROPERTY.—The management entity shall not 

3 use Federal funds made available under this Act to 

4 acquire real property or any interest in real prop5 erty. 

6 (4) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Fed7 eral share of the cost of any activity carried out 

8 using any assistance made available under this Act 

9 shall be 50 percent. 

10 (f) HERITAGE AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the management 

13 entity shall submit to the Secretary for approval a 

14 proposed Heritage Area management plan. 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Heritage Area man16 agement plan shall— 

17 (A) incorporate an integrated and coopera18 tive approach to agricultural resources and ac19 tivities, flood protection facilities, and other 

20 public infrastructure; 

21 (B) emphasizes the importance of the re22 sources described in subparagraph (A); 

23 (C) take into consideration State and local 

24 plans; 

25 (D) include— 


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1 (i) an inventory of— 

2 (I) the resources located in the 

3 core area described in subsection (b); 

4 and 

5 (II) any other property in the 

6 core area that— 

7 (aa) is related to the themes 

8 of the Heritage Area; and 

9 (bb) should be preserved, re10 stored, managed, or maintained 

11 because of the significance of the 

12 property; 

13 (ii) comprehensive policies, strategies 

14 and recommendations for conservation, 

15 funding, management, and development of 

16 the Heritage Area; 

17 (iii) a description of actions that gov18 ernments, private organizations, and indi19 viduals have agreed to take to protect the 

20 natural, historical and cultural resources of 

21 the Heritage Area; 

22 (iv) a program of implementation for 

23 the Heritage Area management plan by 

24 the management entity that includes a de25 scription of— 


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1 (I) actions to facilitate ongoing 

2 collaboration among partners to pro3 mote plans for resource protection, 

4 restoration, and construction; and 

5 (II) specific commitments for im6 plementation that have been made by 

7 the management entity or any govern8 ment, organization, or individual for 

9 the first 5 years of operation; 

10 (v) the identification of sources of 

11 funding for carrying out the Heritage Area 

12 management plan; 

13 (vi) analysis and recommendations for 

14 means by which local, State, and Federal 

15 programs, including the role of the Na16 tional Park Service in the Heritage Area, 

17 may best be coordinated to carry out this 

18 Act; and 

19 (vii) an interpretive plan for the Her20 itage Area; and 

21 (E) recommend policies and strategies for 

22 resource management that consider and detail 

23 the application of appropriate land and water 

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1 operative agreements to protect the natural, 

2 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec3 reational resources of the Heritage Area. 

4 (3) RESTRICTIONS.—The Heritage Area man5 agement plan submitted under this subsection 

6 shall— 

7 (A) ensure participation by appropriate 

8 Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies, in9 cluding the Delta Stewardship Council, special 

10 districts, natural and historical resource protec11 tion and agricultural organizations, educational 

12 institutions, businesses, recreational organiza13 tions, community residents, and private prop14 erty owners; and 

15 (B) not be approved until the Secretary 

16 has received certification from the Delta Protec17 tion Commission that the Delta Stewardship 

18 Council has reviewed the Heritage Area man19 agement plan for consistency with the plan 

20 adopted by the Delta Stewardship Council pur21 suant to State law. 

22 (4) DEADLINE.—If a proposed Heritage Area 

23 management plan is not submitted to the Secretary 

24 by the date that is 3 years after the date of enact25 ment of this Act, the management entity shall be inVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:25 Feb 04, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H486.IH H486

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1 eligible to receive additional funding under this Act 

2 until the date that the Secretary receives and ap3 proves the Heritage Area management plan. 

4 (5) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF HERITAGE

5 AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

7 days after the date of receipt of the Heritage 

8 Area management plan under paragraph (1), 

9 the Secretary, in consultation with the State, 

10 shall approve or disapprove the Heritage Area 

11 management plan. 

12 (B) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In deter13 mining whether to approve the Heritage Area 

14 management plan, the Secretary shall consider 

15 whether— 

16 (i) the management entity is rep17 resentative of the diverse interests of the 

18 Heritage Area, including governments, nat19 ural and historic resource protection orga20 nizations, educational institutions, busi21 nesses, and recreational organizations; 

22 (ii) the management entity has af23 forded adequate opportunity, including 

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1 mental involvement in the preparation of 

2 the Heritage Area management plan; and 

3 (iii) the resource protection and inter4 pretation strategies contained in the Herit5 age Area management plan, if imple6 mented, would adequately protect the nat7 ural, historical, and cultural resources of 

8 the Heritage Area. 

9 (C) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If 

10 the Secretary disapproves the Heritage Area 

11 management plan under subparagraph (A), the 

12 Secretary shall— 

13 (i) advise the management entity in 

14 writing of the reasons for the disapproval; 

15 (ii) make recommendations for revi16 sions to the Heritage Area management 

17 plan; and 

18 (iii) not later than 180 days after the 

19 receipt of any proposed revision of the 

20 Heritage Area management plan from the 

21 management entity, approve or disapprove 

22 the proposed revision. 

23 (D) AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

25 approve or disapprove each amendment to 


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1 the Heritage Area management plan that 

2 the Secretary determines make a substan3 tial change to the Heritage Area manage4 ment plan. 

5 (ii) USE OF FUNDS.—The manage6 ment entity shall not use Federal funds 

7 authorized by this Act to carry out any 

8 amendments to the Heritage Area manage9 ment plan until the Secretary has approved 

10 the amendments. 

11 (g) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGEN12 CIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects 

14 the authority of a Federal agency to provide tech15 nical or financial assistance under any other law. 

16 (2) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

17 head of any Federal agency planning to conduct ac18 tivities that may have an impact on the Heritage 

19 Area is encouraged to consult and coordinate the ac20 tivities with the Secretary and the management enti21 ty to the maximum extent practicable. 

22 (3) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in 

23 this Act— 

24 (A) modifies, alters, or amends any law or 

25 regulation authorizing a Federal agency to 


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1 manage Federal land under the jurisdiction of 

2 the Federal agency; 

3 (B) limits the discretion of a Federal land 

4 manager to implement an approved land use 

5 plan within the boundaries of the Heritage 

6 Area; or 

7 (C) modifies, alters, or amends any author8 ized use of Federal land under the jurisdiction 

9 of a Federal agency. 

10 (h) PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC11 TIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

13 nothing in this Act— 

14 (A) abridges the rights of any property 

15 owner (whether public or private), including the 

16 right to refrain from participating in any plan, 

17 project, program, or activity conducted within 

18 the Heritage Area; 

19 (B) requires any property owner to permit 

20 public access (including access by Federal, 

21 State, or local agencies) to the property of the 

22 property owner, or to modify public access or 

23 use of property of the property owner under 

24 any other Federal, State, or local law; 


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1 (C) alters any duly adopted land use regu2 lation, approved land use plan, or other regu3 latory authority of any Federal, State or local 

4 agency, or conveys any land use or other regu5 latory authority to the management entity; 

6 (D) authorizes or implies the reservation 

7 or appropriation of water or water rights; 

8 (E) diminishes the authority of the State 

9 to manage fish and wildlife, including the regu10 lation of fishing and hunting within the Herit11 age Area; or 

12 (F) creates any liability, or affects any li13 ability under any other law, of any private 

14 property owner with respect to any person in15 jured on the private property. 

16 (2) OPT OUT.—An owner of private property 

17 within the Heritage Area may opt out of partici18 pating in any plan, project, program, or activity car19 ried out within the Heritage Area under this Act, if 

20 the property owner provides written notice to the 

21 management entity. 

22 (i) EVALUATION; REPORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years be24 fore the date on which authority for Federal funding 


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1 terminates for the Heritage Area, the Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 (A) conduct an evaluation of the accom4 plishments of the Heritage Area; and 

5 (B) prepare a report in accordance with 

6 paragraph (3). 

7 (2) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted 

8 under paragraph (1)(A) shall— 

9 (A) assess the progress of the management 

10 entity with respect to— 

11 (i) accomplishing the purposes of this 

12 Act for the Heritage Area; and 

13 (ii) achieving the goals and objectives 

14 of the approved Heritage Area manage15 ment plan; 

16 (B) analyze the Federal, State, local, and 

17 private investments in the Heritage Area to de18 termine the leverage and impact of the invest19 ments; and 

20 (C) review the management structure, 

21 partnership relationships, and funding of the 

22 Heritage Area for purposes of identifying the 

23 critical components for sustainability of the 

24 Heritage Area. 

25 (3) REPORT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Based on the evalua2 tion conducted under paragraph (1)(A), the 

3 Secretary shall prepare a report that includes 

4 recommendations for the future role of the Na5 tional Park Service, if any, with respect to the 

6 Heritage Area. 

7 (B) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—If the report 

8 prepared under subparagraph (A) recommends 

9 that Federal funding for the Heritage Area be 

10 reauthorized, the report shall include an anal11 ysis of— 

12 (i) ways in which Federal funding for 

13 the Heritage Area may be reduced or 

14 eliminated; and 

15 (ii) the appropriate time period nec16 essary to achieve the recommended reduc17 tion or elimination. 

18 (C) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On com19 pletion of the report, the Secretary shall submit 

20 the report to— 

21 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

22 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

23 (ii) the Committee on Natural Re24 sources of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (j) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—Nothing in this 

2 Act— 

3 (1) precludes the management entity from 

4 using Federal funds made available under other laws 

5 for the purposes for which those funds were author6 ized; or 

7 (2) affects any water rights or contracts. 

8 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro10 priated to carry out this Act $10,000,000, of which not 

11 more than $1,000,000 may be made available for any fis12 cal year. 

13 (b) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Federal 

14 share of the total cost of any activity under this Act shall 

15 be determined by the Secretary, but shall be not more than 

16 50 percent. 

17 (c) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share 

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

19 in the form of in-kind contributions of goods or services. 

20 SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—If a proposed Heritage Area man22 agement plan has not been submitted to the Secretary by 

23 the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of 

24 this Act, the Heritage Area designation shall be rescinded. 


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1 (b) FUNDING AUTHORITY.—The authority of the 

2 Secretary to provide assistance under this Act terminates 

3 on the date that is 15 years after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act. 

Æ 


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