103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1348

AN ACT

To establish the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers

Connecticut, and for other purposes.Valley National Heritage Corridor in the State of
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1348

AN ACT

To establish the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley

National Heritage Corridor in the State of Connecticut,

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 ‘‘Quinebaug and

5 Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor Act

6 of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that:

3 (1) The Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley

4 in the State of Connecticut is one of the last un5 spoiled and undeveloped areas in the Northeastern

6 United States and has remained largely intact, in7 cluding important aboriginal archaeological sites, ex8 cellent water quality, beautiful rural landscapes,

9 architecturally significant mill structures and mill

10 villages, and large acreage of parks and other per11 manent open space.

12 (2) The State of Connecticut ranks last among

13 the 50 States in the amount of federally protected

14 park and open space lands within its borders and

15 lags far behind the other northeastern States in the

16 amount of land set-aside for public recreation.

17 (3) The beautiful rural landscapes, scenic vistas

18 and excellent water quality of the Quinebaug and

19 Shetucket Rivers contain significant undeveloped

20 recreational opportunities for people throughout the

21 United States.

22 (4) The Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley

23 is within a 2-hour drive of the major metropolitan

24 areas of New York City, Hartford, Providence,

25 Worcester, Springfield, and Boston. With the Presi26 dent’s Commission on Americans Outdoors reporting
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1 that Americans are taking shorter ‘‘closer-to-home’’

2 vacations, the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Val3 ley represents important close-by recreational oppor4 tunities for significant population.

5 (5) The existing mill sites and other structures

6 throughout the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers

7 Valley were instrumental in the development of the

8 industrial revolution.

9 (6) The Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley

10 contains a vast number of discovered and unre11 covered Native American and colonial archaeological

12 sites significant to the history of North America and

13 the United States.

14 (7) The Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley

15 represents one of the last traditional upland farming

16 and mill village communities in the northeastern

17 United States.

18 (8) The Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley

19 played a nationally significant role in the cultural

20 evolution of the prewar colonial period. Leading the

21 transformation from Puritan to Yankee, the ‘‘Great

22 Awakening’’ religious revival and early political de23 velopment leading up to and during the War of

24 Independence.
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1 (9) Many local, regional and State agencies,

2 businesses, and private citizens and the New Eng3 land Governors’ Conference have expressed an over4 whelming desire to combine forces: to work coopera5 tively to preserve and enhance resources region-wide

6 and better plan for the future.

7 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF QUINEBAUG AND SHETUCKET

8 RIVERS VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE COR9 RIDOR; PURPOSE.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established in

11 the State of Connecticut the Quinebaug and Shetucket

12 Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro14 vide a management framework to assist the State of Con15 necticut, its units of local and regional government and

16 citizens in the development and implementation of inte17 grated cultural, historical, and recreational land resource

18 management programs in order to retain, enhance, and

19 interpret the significant features of the lands, water, and

20 structures of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley

21 in the State of Connecticut.

22 SEC. 4. BOUNDARIES AND ADMINISTRATION.

23 (a) BOUNDARIES.—The Boundaries of the Corridor

24 shall include the towns of Ashford, Brooklyn, Canterbury,

25 Chaplin, Coventry, Eastford, Franklin, Griswold, Hamp-
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1 ton, Killingly, Lebanon, Lisbon, Mansfield, Norwich,

2 Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Putnam, Scotland, Sprague,

3 Sterling, Thompson, Voluntown, Windham, and Wood4 stock. As soon as practical after the date of enactment

5 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall publish in

6 the Federal Register a detailed description and map of

7 boundaries established under this subsection.

8 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Corridor shall be admin9 istered in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

10 SEC. 5. QUINEBAUG AND SHETUCKET RIVERS VALLEY NA11 TIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR COMMISSION.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

13 within the Department of the Interior the Quinebaug and

14 Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor Com15 mission (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’).

16 The Commission shall assist appropriate Federal, State,

17 regional planning organizations, and local authorities in

18 the development and implementation of an integrated re19 source management plan for the lands and water as speci20 fied in section 3.

21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com22 prised of 19 members appointed not later than 6 months

23 after the date of enactment of this Act as follows:

24 (1) The Director of the National Park Service

25 ex officio (or his delegate).
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1 (2) 3 individuals appointed by the Secretary

2 after consultation with the governor, who shall rep3 resent the interests of—

4 (A) the Connecticut Department of Envi5 ronmental Protection,

6 (B) the Connecticut Historical Commis7 sion, and

8 (C) the Connecticut Department of Eco9 nomic Development.

10 (3) 6 individuals representing the interests of

11 local government or regional planning organizations

12 from Connecticut appointed by the Secretary after

13 consultation with the Governor, of whom, 3 shall be

14 representatives of the 3 regional planning organiza15 tions within the Corridor region and 3 shall be local

16 elected officials from the region.

17 (4) 9 individuals from the general public, who

18 are citizens of the State of Connecticut, appointed

19 by the Secretary, after consultation with the Gov20 ernor, representing conservation, business, tourism,

21 and recreational interests.

22 A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in the manner

23 in which the original appointments were made.

24 (c) TERMS.—(1) Members of the Commission shall

25 be appointed for terms of 3 years and may be reappointed.
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1 (2) Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring

2 before the expiration of the term for which his predecessor

3 was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder

4 of such term. Any member of the Commission appointed

5 for a definite term may serve after the expiration of his

6 term until his successor has taken office.

7 (d) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission

8 shall receive no pay on account of their service on the

9 Commission but while away from their homes or regular

10 places of business in the performance of services for the

11 Commission, members of the Commission shall be allowed

12 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,

13 in the same manner as persons employed intermittently

14 in the Government service are allowed expenses under sec15 tion 5703 of title 5, United State Code.

16 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Commis17 sion shall be elected by the members of the Commission.

18 (f) QUORUM.—(1) 8 members of the Commission

19 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold

20 hearings.

21 (2) The affirmative vote of not less than 10 members

22 of the Commission shall be required to approve the budget

23 of the Commission.

24 (g) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall hold its first

25 meeting not later than 90 days after the date on which
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1 its members are appointed, and shall meet at least quar2 terly at the call of the chairperson or 10 of its members.

3 Meetings of the Commission shall be subject to section

4 552(b) of title 5, United States Code (relating to open

5 meetings).

6 (h) PROXY.—Any member of the Commission may

7 vote by means of a signed proxy exercised by another

8 member of the Commission, but any member so voting

9 shall not be considered present for purposes of establish10 ing a quorum.

11 SEC. 6. STAFF OF THE COMMISSION.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Commission shall have

13 the power to appoint and fix compensation of such staff

14 as may be necessary to carry out its duties.

15 (2) Staff appointed by the Commission—

16 (A) shall be appointed subject to the provisions

17 of title 5, United States Code, governing appoint18 ments in the competitive service; and

19 (B) shall be paid in accordance with provisions

20 of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of

21 such title relating to classification and General

22 Schedule pay rates.

23 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Subject to such

24 rules as may be adopted by the Commission, the Commis25 sion may procure temporary and intermittent services to
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1 the same extent as is authorized by section 3109(b) of title

2 5, United States Code, but at rates determined by the

3 Commission to be reasonable.

4 (c) STAFF OF OTHER AGENCIES.—(1) Upon request

5 of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency may

6 detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of

7 such agency to the Commission to assist the Commission

8 in carrying out the Commission’s duties.

9 (2) The Commission may accept the service of per10 sonnel detailed from the State, any political subdivision

11 and regional planning organizations, and may reimburse

12 the State, political subdivision, and regional planning or13 ganizations for those services.

14 SEC. 7. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

15 (a) HEARINGS.—(1) The Commission may, for the

16 purposes of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and

17 act at such times and places, take such testimony, and

18 receive such evidence, as the Commission considers appro19 priate.

20 (2) The Commission may not issue subpoenas or ex21 ercise any subpoena authority.

22 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem23 ber or agent of the Commission, if so authorized by the

24 Commission, may take any action which the Commission

25 is authorized to take by this Act.
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1 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Ad2 ministrator of the General Services Administration shall

3 provide to the Commission on a reimbursable basis, such

4 administrative support services as the Commission may re5 quest.

6 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

7 States mails in the same manner and under the same con8 ditions as other departments and other agencies of the

9 United States.

10 (e) USE OF FUNDS TO OBTAIN MONEY.—The Com11 mission may use its funds to obtain money from any

12 source under any program or law requiring the recipient

13 of such money to make a contribution in order to receive

14 such money.

15 (f) GIFTS.—Except as provided in subsection

16 (g)(2)(B), the Commission may, for purposes of carrying

17 out its duties, seek, accept, and dispose of gifts, bequests,

18 or donations of money, personal property, or services, re19 ceived from any source: Provided, That such gifts are used

20 for public purposes.

21 (g) ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY.—(1) Except

22 as provided in paragraph (2) and except with respect to

23 any leasing of facilities under subsection (c), the Commis24 sion may not acquire any real property or interest in real

25 property.
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1 (2) Subject to paragraph (3), the Commission may

2 acquire real property or interest in real property in the

3 Corridor—

4 (A) by gift or devise; or

5 (B) by purchase from a willing seller with

6 money that was given, appropriated, or bequeathed

7 to the Commission on the condition that such money

8 would be used to purchase real property, or interest

9 in real property, in the Corridor.

10 (3) Any real property or interest in real property ac11 quired by the Commission under paragraph (2) shall be

12 conveyed by the Commission to an appropriate public or

13 private land management agency, as determined by the

14 Commission. Any such conveyance shall be made—

15 (A) as soon as practicable after such acquisi16 tion;

17 (B) without consideration; and

18 (C) on the condition that the real property or

19 interest in real property so conveyed is used for pub20 lic purposes.

21 (h) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—For purposes of

22 carrying out the plan, the Commission may enter into co23 operative agreements with the State of Connecticut, with

24 any political subdivision, or with any person or organiza25 tion. Any such cooperative agreement shall, at a minimum,
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1 establish procedures for providing notice to the Commis2 sion of any action proposed by the State, such political

3 subdivision, or such person which may affect implementa4 tion of the plan referred to in section 8.

5 SEC. 8. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

6 (a) PREPARATION OF PLAN.—Within 2 years after

7 the Commission conducts its first meeting, it shall submit

8 to the Secretary of the Interior and the Governor of Con9 necticut for review and approval of Cultural Heritage and

10 Corridor Management Plan. The Plan shall be based on

11 existing Federal, State, and local plans, but shall coordi12 nate those plans and present a unified historic preserva13 tion, interpretation, and recreational plan for the Cor14 ridor. The plan shall—

15 (1) provide an inventory which includes any

16 property in the Corridor which should be preserved,

17 restored, managed, developed, maintained, or ac18 quired because of its national historic or cultural or

19 recreational significance;

20 (2) recommend advisory standards and criteria

21 applicable to the construction, preservation, restora22 tion, alteration, and use of all properties within the

23 Corridor;

24 (3) develop an historic interpretation plan to in25 terpret the history of the Corridor;
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1 (4) develop an inventory which includes existing

2 and potential recreational sites which are developed

3 or which could be developed along the Quinebaug

4 and Shetucket Rivers and their surrounding areas;

5 (5) recommend policies for resource manage6 ment which consider and detail application of appro7 priate land and water management techniques, in8 cluding but not limited to, the development of inter9 governmental cooperative agreements to protect the

10 Corridor’s historical, cultural, recreational, scenic,

11 and natural resources in a manner consistent with

12 supporting appropriate and compatible economic re13 vitalization efforts;

14 (6) detail ways in which local, State, and Fed15 eral programs may best be coordinated to promote

16 the purposes of this Act; and

17 (7) contain a program for implementation of

18 the Plan by the State and its political subdivisions.

19 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN.—After review and

20 approval of the Plan by the Secretary and the Governor

21 as provided in subsection (a), the Commission shall imple22 ment the Plan by taking appropriate steps to preserve and

23 interpret the historic resources, develop the recreational

24 resources of the Corridor and its surrounding area, and

25 to support public and private efforts in economic revital-
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1 ization, consistent with the goals of the Plan. These steps

2 may include, but need not be limited to—

3 (1) assisting the State and local governmental

4 entities or regional planning organizations, and non5 profit organizations in preserving the Corridor and

6 ensuring appropriate use of lands and structures

7 throughout the Corridor;

8 (2) assisting the State and local governmental

9 entities or regional planning organizations, and non10 profit organizations in establishing, and maintaining

11 visitor centers and other interpretive exhibits in the

12 Corridor;

13 (3) assisting the State and local governmental

14 entities or regional planning organizations, and non15 profit organizations in developing recreational pro16 grams and resources in the Corridor;

17 (4) assisting the State and local governmental

18 entities or regional planning organizations, and non19 profit organizations in increasing public awareness

20 of and appreciation for the historical and architec21 tural resources and sites in the Corridor;

22 (5) assisting the State and local governmental

23 or regional planning organizations and nonprofit or24 ganizations in the restoration of any historic build25 ing in the Corridor;
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1 (6) encouraging by appropriate means enhanced

2 economic and industrial development in the Corridor

3 consistent with the goals of the Plan;

4 (7) encouraging local governments to adopt

5 land use policies consistent with the management of

6 the Corridor and the goals of the Plan, and to en7 sure appropriate use of lands and structures

8 throughout the Corridor; and

9 (8) assisting the State and local governmental

10 entities or regional planning organizations to ensure

11 that clear, consistent signs identifying access points

12 and sites of interest are put in place throughout the

13 Corridor.

14 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

15 (a) TERMINATION.—Except as provided in subsection

16 (b), the Commission shall terminate on the day occurring

17 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

18 (b) EXTENSION.—The Commission may be extended

19 for a period of not more than 5 years beginning on the

20 day of termination referred to in subsection (a) if, not

21 later than 180 days before such day—

22 (1) the Commission determines such extension

23 is necessary in order to carry out the purposes of

24 this Act;
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1 (2) the Commission submits such proposed ex2 tension to the Committee on Natural Resources of

3 the United States House of Representatives and the

4 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the

5 United States Senate; and

6 (3) the Secretary, in consultation with the Gov7 ernor of Connecticut, approves such extension.

8 SEC. 10. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

9 (a) APPROVAL OF PLAN.—The Secretary of the Inte10 rior, in consultation with the Governor of Connecticut,

11 shall approve or disapprove a Plan submitted under this

12 Act by the Commission not later than 60 days after receiv13 ing such Plan. The Secretary, in consultation with the

14 Governor, shall approve a Plan submitted if—

15 (1) they find the Plan, if implemented, would

16 adequately protect significant historical and cultural

17 resources of the Corridor while providing adequate

18 and appropriate outdoor recreational opportunities

19 and economic activities within the Corridor;

20 (2) they determine that the Commission held

21 public hearings and provided adequate opportunity

22 for public and governmental involvement in the prep23 aration of the Plan; and

24 (3) the Secretary receives adequate assurances

25 from appropriate State officials that the rec-
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1 ommended implementation program identified in the

2 Plan will be initiated within a reasonable time after

3 date of approval of the Plan, and that such imple4 mentation program will ensure effective implementa5 tion of the State and local aspects of the Plan.

6 (b) DISAPPROVAL OF PLAN.—If the Secretary dis7 approves a Plan submitted to him by the Commission, he

8 shall advise the Commission in writing of the reasons

9 therefor and shall make recommendations for revisions in

10 the Plan. The Commission shall within 90 days of receipt

11 of such notice of disapproval revise and resubmit the plan

12 to the Secretary who shall approve or disapprove a pro13 posed revision within 60 days after the date it is submitted

14 to him.

15 (c) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of the Interior shall,

16 upon request of the Commission, assist the Commission

17 in the preparation and implementation of Plan.

18 SEC. 11. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES.

19 Any Federal entity conducting or supporting activi20 ties directly affecting the Corridor shall—

21 (1) consult with the Secretary and the Commis22 sion with respect to such activities;

23 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the Com24 mission with respect to such activities and, to the
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1 maximum extent practicable, coordinate such activi2 ties; and

3 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct

4 or support such activities in a manner which the

5 Commission determines will not have an adverse ef6 fect on the Corridor.

7 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 (a) COMMISSION.—There is authorized to be appro9 priated $200,000 for fiscal year 1994 and $250,000 annu10 ally to the Commission to carry out its duties under this

11 Act except that the Federal contributions to the Commis12 sion shall not exceed 50 percent of the annual costs to

13 the Commission in carrying out those duties.

14 (b) SECRETARY.—There are authorized to be appro15 priated annually to the Secretary such sums as may be

16 necessary to carry out his duties under this Act.

17 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS.

18 For purposes of this Act—

19 (1) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the

20 Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National

21 Heritage Corridor Commission established under

22 section 5.

23 (2) The term ‘‘State’’ means the State of Con24 necticut.
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1 (3) The term ‘‘Corridor’’ means the Quinebaug

2 and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Cor3 ridor established under section 3.

4 (4) The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Cultural Herit5 age and Corridor Management Plan to be prepared

6 by the Commission pursuant to section 8.

7 (5) The term ‘‘Governor’’ means the Governor

8 of the State of Connecticut.

9 (6) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

10 of the Interior.

11 (7) The term ‘‘regional planning organization’’

12 means each of the 3 regional planning organizations

13 established by Connecticut State statute chapter 127

14 and chapter 50 (the Northeast Council of Govern15 ments, the Windham Regional Planning Agency or

16 its successor, and the Southeastern Connecticut Re17 gional Planning Agency or its successor).

Passed the House of Representatives September 13,

1993.

Attest:

Clerk.

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