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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1584 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1584

     To provide for the further conservation of certain unique and 
  nationally significant river segments in the State of West Virginia.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 1993

  Mr. Rahall introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
     To provide for the further conservation of certain unique and 
  nationally significant river segments in the State of West Virginia.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``West Virginia 
Rivers Conservation Act of 1993''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
                    TITLE I--BOUNDARY MODIFICATIONS

Sec. 101. New River Gorge National River.
Sec. 102. Gauley River National Recreation Area.
Sec. 103. Bluestone National Scenic River.
           TITLE II--UPPER NEW NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC RIVER

Sec. 201. Designation of upper New River, West Virginia.
                          TITLE III--ELK RIVER

Sec. 301. Designation of Elk River as a study river.
                      TITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Consolidated management.
Sec. 402. Miscellaneous amendments.
Sec. 403. Gauley access.
Sec. 404. Visitor center.
Sec. 405. Extension.

                    TITLE I--BOUNDARY MODIFICATIONS

SEC. 101. NEW RIVER GORGE NATIONAL RIVER.

    Section 1101 of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (16 
U.S.C. 460m-15) is amended by striking out ``NERI-80,023, dated January 
1987'' and inserting ``NERI-80,028, dated January 1993''.

SEC. 102. GAULEY RIVER NATIONAL RECREATION AREA.

    Section 201(b) of the West Virginia National Interest River 
Conservation Act of 1987 (16 U.S.C. 460ww(b)) is amended by striking 
out ``NRA-GR/20,000A and dated July 1987'' and inserting ``GARI-80,001 
and dated January 1993''.

SEC. 103. BLUESTONE NATIONAL SCENIC RIVER.

    Section 3(a)(65) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 
1274(a)(65)) is amended by striking out ``WSR-BLU/20,000, and dated 
January 1987'' and inserting ``BLUE-80,004, and dated January 1993''.

           TITLE II--UPPER NEW NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC RIVER

SEC. 201. DESIGNATION OF UPPER NEW RIVER, WEST VIRGINIA.

    Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) 
is amended by adding the following new paragraph at the end:
    ``( ) Upper New River, West Virginia.--(A) The segment in Summers 
County, West Virginia, from the West Virginia-Virginia State line 
downstream for approximately 14.5 miles as depicted on the boundary map 
entitled `Upper New Wild and Scenic River', numbered UPNE 80,000 and 
dated January 1993; to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior 
as a wild and scenic river.
    ``(B) The acreage limitation set forth in subsection (b) shall not 
apply to the segment designated under this paragraph. Nothing in this 
Act shall preclude the improvement of any existing road or right-of-way 
within the boundaries of the segment designated under this paragraph.
    ``(C) Jurisdiction over all lands and improvements on such lands 
owned by the United States within the boundaries of the segment 
designated under this paragraph is hereby transferred without 
reimbursement to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of 
the Interior, subject to leases in effect on the date of enactment of 
this paragraph (or renewed thereafter) between the United States and 
the State of West Virginia with respect to the Bluestone Wildlife 
Management Area.
    ``(D) Nothing in this Act shall affect the management by the State 
of West Virginia of hunting and fishing within the segment designated 
under this paragraph. Nothing in this Act shall affect or impair the 
management by the State of West Virginia of other wildlife activities 
in the Bluestone Wildlife Management Area to the extent permitted in 
the lease agreement as in effect on the date of enactment of this 
paragraph, and such management may be continued pursuant to renewal of 
such lease agreement. If requested to do so by the State of West 
Virginia, the Secretary may terminate or modify such leases and assume 
administrative authority over all or part of the areas concerned.
    ``(E) Nothing in the designation of the segment referred to in this 
paragraph shall affect or impair the management of the Bluestone 
project or the authority of any department, agency, or instrumentality 
of the United States to carry out the project purposes of that 
project.''.

                          TITLE III--ELK RIVER

SEC. 301. DESIGNATION OF ELK RIVER AS A STUDY RIVER.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a study of the segment 
of the Elk River, West Virginia, from Slatyfork in Pocahontas County, 
to Centralia in Braxton County, to determine its eligibility and 
suitability as either--
            (1) a component of the national wild and scenic rivers 
        system,
            (2) a unit of the National Park System as a national river, 
        or
            (3) a unit of the National Park System as a national 
        recreation area.
The Secretary shall submit a report containing the results of such 
study to the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House 
of Representatives and to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
of the United States Senate within 3 years after the enactment of this 
Act. Nothing in this section shall affect or impair the management of 
the Sutton project or the authority of any department, agency, or 
instrumentality of the United States to carry out the project purposes 
of that project as of the date of enactment of this section.

                      TITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 401. CONSOLIDATED MANAGEMENT.

    In order to achieve the maximum economy and efficiency of 
operations in the administration of the segment of the New River 
designated pursuant to title II, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
consolidate offices and personnel administering such segment with 
offices and personnel administering the New River Gorge National River, 
the Gauley River National Recreation Area, and the Bluestone National 
Scenic River to the extent practicable, and shall utilize facilities of 
the New River Gorge National River to the extent practicable.

SEC. 402. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

    Title XI of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (16 
U.S.C. 460m-15 and following) is amended by adding the following new 
section at the end thereof:

``SEC. 1117. APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF OTHER LAW.

    ``(a) Cooperative Agreements.--The provisions of section 202(e)(1) 
of the West Virginia National Interest River Conservation Act of 1987 
(16 U.S.C. 460ww-1(e)(1)) shall apply to the New River Gorge National 
River in the same manner and to the same extent as such provisions 
apply to the Gauley River National Recreation Area.
    ``(b) Remnant Lands.--The provisions of the second sentence of 
section 203(a) of the West Virginia National Interest River 
Conservation Act of 1987 (16 U.S.C. 460ww-2(a)) shall apply to tracts 
of land partially within the boundaries of the New River Gorge National 
River in the same manner and to the same extent as such provisions 
apply to tracts of land only partially within the Gauley River National 
Recreation Area.''.

SEC. 403. GAULEY ACCESS.

    Section 202(e) of the West Virginia National Interest River 
Conservation Act of 1987 (16 U.S.C. 460ww-1(e)) is amended by adding 
the following new paragraph at the end thereof:
    ``(4) Access to River.--(A) In order to facilitate public safety, 
use, and enjoyment of the recreation area, and to protect, to the 
maximum extent feasible, the scenic and natural resources of the area, 
the Secretary is authorized and directed to acquire such lands or 
interests in lands and to take such actions as are necessary to provide 
access by noncommercial entities on the north side of the Gauley River 
at the area known as Woods Ferry utilizing existing roads and rights-
of-way. Such actions by the Secretary shall include the construction of 
parking and related facilities in the vicinity of Woods Ferry for 
noncommercial use on lands acquired pursuant to paragraph (3) or on 
lands acquired with the consent of the owner thereof within the 
boundaries of the recreation area.
    ``(B) If necessary, in the discretion of the Secretary, in order to 
minimize environmental impacts, including visual impacts, within 
portions of the recreation area immediately adjacent to the river, the 
Secretary may, by contract or otherwise, provide transportation 
services for noncommercial visitors, at reasonable cost, between such 
parking facilities and the river.
    ``(C) Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall affect the rights of any 
person to continue to utilize, pursuant to a lease in effect on April 
1, 1993, any right of way acquired pursuant to such lease which 
authorizes such person to use an existing road referred to in 
subparagraph (A). Except as provided under paragraph (2) relating to 
access immediately downstream of the Summersville project, until there 
is compliance with this paragraph the Secretary is prohibited from 
acquiring or developing any other river access points within the 
recreation area.''.

SEC. 404. VISITOR CENTER.

    The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to 
construct a visitor center and such other related facilities as may be 
deemed necessary to facilitate visitor understanding and enjoyment of 
the New River Gorge National River and the Gauley River National 
Recreation Area in the vicinity of the confluence of the New and Gauley 
Rivers at Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. Such center and related 
facilities are authorized to be constructed at a site outside of the 
boundary of the New River Gorge National River or the Gauley River 
National Recreation Area unless a suitable site is available within the 
boundaries of either unit.

SEC. 405. EXTENSION.

    For a 5-year period following the date of enactment of this Act, 
the provisions of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act applicable to river 
segments designated for study for potential addition to the wild and 
scenic rivers system under section 5(b) of that Act shall apply to 
those segments of the Bluestone and Meadow Rivers which were found 
eligible in the studies completed by the National Park Service in 
August 1983 but which were not designated by the West Virginia National 
Interest River Conservation Act of 1987 as part of the Bluestone 
National Scenic River or as part of the Gauley River National 
Recreation Area, as the case may be.

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