I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2925 

To establish the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2015 

Mr. GRIJALVA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Designation of Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area. 

Sec. 5. Management plan. 

Sec. 6. Evaluation; report. 

Sec. 7. Local coordinating entity. 


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Sec. 8. Relationship to other Federal agencies. 

Sec. 9. Private property and regulatory protections. 

Sec. 10. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 11. Use of Federal funds from other sources. 

Sec. 12. Sunset for grants and other assistance. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act include— 

3 (1) to establish the Santa Cruz Valley National 

4 Heritage Area in the State of Arizona; 

5 (2) to implement the recommendations of the 

6 ‘‘Alternative Concepts for Commemorating Spanish 

7 Colonization’’ study completed by the National Park 

8 Service in 1991, and the ‘‘Feasibility Study for the 

9 Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area’’ pre10 pared by the Center for Desert Archaeology in July 

11 2005; 

12 (3) to provide a management framework to fos13 ter a close working relationship with all levels of 

14 government, the private sector, and the local com15 munities in the region and to conserve the region’s 

16 heritage while continuing to pursue compatible eco17 nomic opportunities; 

18 (4) to assist communities, organizations, and 

19 citizens in the State of Arizona in identifying, pre20 serving, interpreting, and developing the historical, 

21 cultural, scenic, and natural resources of the region 

22 for the educational and inspirational benefit of cur23 rent and future generations; and 


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1 (5) to provide appropriate linkages between 

2 units of the National Park System and communities, 

3 governments, and organizations within the National 

4 Heritage Area. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 

8 ‘‘National Heritage Area’’ means the Santa Cruz 

9 Valley National Heritage Area established in this 

10 Act. 

11 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

12 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the Santa Cruz 

13 Valley Heritage Alliance, Inc., which is hereby des14 ignated by Congress— 

15 (A) to develop, in partnership with others, 

16 the management plan for the National Heritage 

17 Area; and 

18 (B) to act as a catalyst for the implemen19 tation of projects and programs among diverse 

20 partners in the National Heritage Area. 

21 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage22 ment plan’’ means the plan prepared by the local co23 ordinating entity for the National Heritage Area 

24 that specifies actions, policies, strategies, perform25 ance goals, and recommendations to meet the goals 


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1 of the National Heritage Area, in accordance with 

2 this Act. 

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

4 the Secretary of the Interior. 

5 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF SANTA CRUZ VALLEY NATIONAL 

6 HERITAGE AREA. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

8 the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area. 

9 (b) BOUNDARIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Heritage Area 

11 shall consist of portions of the counties of Santa 

12 Cruz and Pima. 

13 (2) MAP.—The boundaries of the National Her14 itage Area shall be as generally depicted on the map 

15 titled ‘‘Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area’’, 

16 and numbered T09/80,000, and dated November 13, 

17 2007. The map shall be on file and available to the 

18 public in the appropriate offices of the National 

19 Park Service and the local coordinating entity. 

20 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

21 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan for the 

22 National Heritage Area shall— 

23 (1) describe comprehensive policies, goals, strat24 egies, and recommendations for telling the story of 

25 the heritage of the area covered by the National 


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1 Heritage Area and encouraging long-term resource 

2 protection, enhancement, interpretation, funding, 

3 management, and development of the National Her4 itage Area; 

5 (2) include a description of actions and commit6 ments that Federal, State, Tribal, and local govern7 ments, private organizations, and citizens will take 

8 to protect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, and de9 velop the natural, historical, cultural, educational, 

10 scenic, and recreational resources of the National 

11 Heritage Area; 

12 (3) specify existing and potential sources of 

13 funding or economic development strategies to pro14 tect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, and develop 

15 the National Heritage Area; 

16 (4) include an inventory of the natural, histor17 ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

18 resources of the National Heritage Area related to 

19 the national importance and themes of the National 

20 Heritage Area that should be protected, enhanced, 

21 interpreted, managed, funded, and developed; 

22 (5) recommend policies and strategies for re23 source management, including the development of 

24 intergovernmental and interagency agreements to 

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1 velop the natural, historical, cultural, educational, 

2 scenic, and recreational resources of the National 

3 Heritage Area; 

4 (6) describe a program for implementation for 

5 the management plan, including— 

6 (A) performance goals; 

7 (B) plans for resource protection, enhance8 ment, interpretation, funding, management, and 

9 development; and 

10 (C) specific commitments for implementa11 tion that have been made by the local coordi12 nating entity or any Federal, State, Tribal, or 

13 local government agency, organization, busi14 ness, or individual; 

15 (7) include an analysis of, and recommenda16 tions for, means by which Federal, State, Tribal, 

17 and local programs may best be coordinated (includ18 ing the role of the National Park Service and other 

19 Federal agencies associated with the National Herit20 age Area) to further the purposes of this Act; and 

21 (8) include a business plan that— 

22 (A) describes the role, operation, financing, 

23 and functions of the local coordinating entity 

24 and of each of the major activities contained in 

25 the management plan; and 


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1 (B) provides adequate assurances that the 

2 local coordinating entity has the partnerships 

3 and financial and other resources necessary to 

4 implement the management plan for the Na5 tional Heritage Area. 

6 (b) DEADLINE.— 

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

8 the date on which funds are first made available to 

9 develop the management plan after designation as a 

10 National Heritage Area, the local coordinating entity 

11 shall submit the management plan to the Secretary 

12 for approval. 

13 (2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the man14 agement plan is not submitted to the Secretary in 

15 accordance with paragraph (1), the local coordi16 nating entity shall not qualify for any additional fi17 nancial assistance under this Act until such time as 

18 the management plan is submitted to and approved 

19 by the Secretary. 

20 (c) APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

21 (1) REVIEW.—Not later than 180 days after re22 ceiving the plan, the Secretary shall review and ap23 prove or disapprove the management plan for a Na24 tional Heritage Area on the basis of the criteria es25 tablished under paragraph (3). 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con2 sult with the Governor of each State in which the 

3 National Heritage Area is located before approving 

4 a management plan for the National Heritage Area. 

5 (3) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

6 whether to approve a management plan for a Na7 tional Heritage Area, the Secretary shall consider 

8 whether— 

9 (A) the local coordinating entity represents 

10 the diverse interests of the National Heritage 

11 Area, including Federal, State, Tribal, and local 

12 governments, natural and historic resource pro13 tection organizations, educational institutions, 

14 businesses, recreational organizations, commu15 nity residents, and private property owners; 

16 (B) the local coordinating entity— 

17 (i) has afforded adequate opportunity 

18 for public and Federal, State, Tribal, and 

19 local governmental involvement (including 

20 through workshops and hearings) in the 

21 preparation of the management plan; and 

22 (ii) provides for at least semiannual 

23 public meetings to ensure adequate imple24 mentation of the management plan; 


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1 (C) the resource protection, enhancement, 

2 interpretation, funding, management, and de3 velopment strategies described in the manage4 ment plan, if implemented, would adequately 

5 protect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, and 

6 develop the natural, historic, cultural, edu7 cational, scenic, and recreational resources of 

8 the National Heritage Area; 

9 (D) the management plan would not ad10 versely affect any activities authorized on Fed11 eral land under public land laws or land use 

12 plans; 

13 (E) the local coordinating entity has dem14 onstrated the financial capability, in partner15 ship with others, to carry out the plan; 

16 (F) the Secretary has received adequate 

17 assurances from the appropriate State, Tribal, 

18 and local officials whose support is needed to 

19 ensure the effective implementation of the 

20 State, Tribal, and local elements of the manage21 ment plan; and 

22 (G) the management plan demonstrates 

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1 profit organizations, or private sector parties 

2 for implementation of the management plan. 

3 (4) DISAPPROVAL.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary dis5 approves the management plan, the Secretary— 

6 (i) shall advise the local coordinating 

7 entity in writing of the reasons for the dis8 approval; and 

9 (ii) may make recommendations to the 

10 local coordinating entity for revisions to 

11 the management plan. 

12 (B) DEADLINE.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after receiving a revised management plan, the 

14 Secretary shall approve or disapprove the re15 vised management plan. 

16 (5) AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—An amendment to the 

18 management plan that substantially alters the 

19 purposes of the National Heritage Area shall be 

20 reviewed by the Secretary and approved or dis21 approved in the same manner as the original 

22 management plan. 

23 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—The local coordi24 nating entity shall not use Federal funds au25 thorized by this Act to implement an amendVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Jul 01, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2925.IH H2925

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1 ment to the management plan until the Sec2 retary approves the amendment. 

3 (6) AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary may— 

4 (A) provide technical assistance under the 

5 authority of this Act for the development and 

6 implementation of the management plan; and 

7 (B) enter into cooperative agreements with 

8 interested parties to carry out this Act. 

9 SEC. 6. EVALUATION; REPORT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years before the 

11 date on which authority for Federal funding terminates 

12 for the National Heritage Area under this Act, the Sec13 retary shall— 

14 (1) conduct an evaluation of the accomplish15 ments of the National Heritage Area; and 

16 (2) prepare a report in accordance with sub17 section (c). 

18 (b) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted under 

19 subsection (a)(1) shall— 

20 (1) assess the progress of the local coordinating 

21 entity with respect to— 

22 (A) accomplishing the purposes of the au23 thorizing legislation for the National Heritage 

24 Area; and 


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1 (B) achieving the goals and objectives of 

2 the approved management plan for the National 

3 Heritage Area; 

4 (2) analyze the Federal, State, Tribal, and 

5 local, and private investments in the National Herit6 age Area to determine the impact of the invest7 ments; and 

8 (3) review the management structure, partner9 ship relationships, and funding of the National Her10 itage Area for purposes of identifying the critical 

11 components for sustainability of the National Herit12 age Area. 

13 (c) REPORT.—Based on the evaluation conducted 

14 under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall submit a re15 port to the Committee on Natural Resources of the United 

16 States House of Representatives and the Committee on 

17 Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Sen18 ate. The report shall include recommendations for the fu19 ture role of the National Park Service, if any, with respect 

20 to the National Heritage Area. 

21 SEC. 7. LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY. 

22 (a) DUTIES.—To further the purposes of the Na23 tional Heritage Area, the Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alli24 ance, Inc., as the local coordinating entity, shall— 


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1 (1) prepare a management plan for the Na2 tional Heritage Area, and submit the management 

3 plan to the Secretary, in accordance with this Act; 

4 (2) submit an annual report to the Secretary 

5 for each fiscal year for which the local coordinating 

6 entity receives Federal funds under this Act, speci7 fying— 

8 (A) the specific performance goals and ac9 complishments of the local coordinating entity; 

10 (B) the expenses and income of the local 

11 coordinating entity; 

12 (C) the amounts and sources of matching 

13 funds; 

14 (D) the amounts leveraged with Federal 

15 funds and sources of the leveraging; and 

16 (E) grants made to any other entities dur17 ing the fiscal year; 

18 (3) make available for audit for each fiscal year 

19 for which the local coordinating entity receives Fed20 eral funds under this Act, all information pertaining 

21 to the expenditure of the funds and any matching 

22 funds; and 

23 (4) encourage economic viability and sustain24 ability that is consistent with the purposes of the 

25 National Heritage Area. 


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1 (b) AUTHORITIES.—For the purposes of preparing 

2 and implementing the approved management plan for the 

3 National Heritage Area, the local coordinating entity may 

4 use Federal funds made available under this Act to— 

5 (1) make grants to political jurisdictions, non6 profit organizations, and other parties within the 

7 National Heritage Area; 

8 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with or 

9 provide technical assistance to political jurisdictions, 

10 nonprofit organizations, Federal agencies, and other 

11 interested parties; 

12 (3) hire and compensate staff, including individ13 uals with expertise in— 

14 (A) natural, historical, cultural, edu15 cational, scenic, and recreational resource con16 servation; 

17 (B) economic and community development; 

18 and 

19 (C) heritage planning; 

20 (4) obtain funds or services from any source, 

21 including other Federal programs; 

22 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

23 (6) support activities of partners and any other 

24 activities that further the purposes of the National 


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1 Heritage Area and are consistent with the approved 

2 management plan. 

3 (c) PROHIBITION ON ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP4 ERTY.—The local coordinating entity may not use Federal 

5 funds authorized under this Act to acquire any interest 

6 in real property. 

7 SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au9 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan10 cial assistance under any other law. 

11 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

12 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

13 may have an impact on a National Heritage Area is en14 couraged to consult and coordinate the activities with the 

15 Secretary and the local coordinating entity to the max16 imum extent practicable. 

17 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 

18 Act— 

19 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu20 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed21 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen22 cy; 

23 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man24 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

25 the boundaries of a National Heritage Area; or 


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1 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 

2 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed3 eral agency. 

4 SEC. 9. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC5 TIONS. 

6 Nothing in this Act— 

7 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 

8 (whether public or private), including the right to re9 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro10 gram, or activity conducted within the National Her11 itage Area; 

12 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub13 lic access (including access by Federal, State, Tribal, 

14 or local agencies) to the property of the property 

15 owner, or to modify public access or use of property 

16 of the property owner under any other Federal, 

17 State, Tribal, or local law; 

18 (3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 

19 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author20 ity of any Federal, State, Tribal, or local agency, or 

21 conveys any land use or other regulatory authority 

22 to any local coordinating entity, including but not 

23 necessarily limited to development and management 

24 of energy, water, or water-related infrastructure; 


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1 (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap2 propriation of water or water rights; 

3 (5) diminishes the authority of the State to 

4 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

5 fishing and hunting within the National Heritage 

6 Area; or 

7 (6) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

8 under any other law, of any private property owner 

9 with respect to any person injured on the private 

10 property. 

11 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subject 

13 to subsection (b), there are authorized to be appropriated 

14 to carry out this Act not more than $1,000,000 for any 

15 fiscal year. Funds so appropriated shall remain available 

16 until expended. 

17 (b) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNTS APPRO18 PRIATED.—Not more than $15,000,000 may be appro19 priated to carry out this Act. 

20 (c) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Federal 

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

22 be not more than 50 percent; the non-Federal contribution 

23 may be in the form of in-kind contributions of goods or 

24 services fairly valued. 


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1 SEC. 11. USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FROM OTHER SOURCES. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall preclude the local coordi3 nating entity from using Federal funds available under 

4 other laws for the purposes for which those funds were 

5 authorized. 

6 SEC. 12. SUNSET FOR GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE. 

7 The authority of the Secretary to provide financial 

8 assistance under this Act terminates on the date that is 

9 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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