II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3154

To establish the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor in the State

of New York, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 3 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. MOYNIHAN (for himself and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

in the State of New York, 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; DEFINITIONS.

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

5 ‘‘Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Act of 2000’’.

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this Act, the

7 following definitions shall apply:

8 (1) ERIE CANALWAY.—The term ‘‘Erie

9 Canalway’’ shall mean the 524 miles of navigable

10 canal that comprise the New York State Canal Sys-
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1 tem, including the Erie, Cayuga and Seneca, Oswego

2 and Champlain canals, as well as, the historic align3 ments of these canals including the cities of Albany

4 and Buffalo.

5 (2) CANALWAY PLAN.—The term ‘‘Canalway

6 Plan’’ shall mean the comprehensive preservation

7 and management plan for the Corridor required

8 under section 6.

9 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

10 shall mean the Erie Canalway National Heritage

11 Corridor Commission established under section 4.

12 (4) CORRIDOR.—The term ‘‘Corridor’’ shall

13 mean the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

14 established under section 3.

15 (5) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ shall

16 mean the Governor of the State of New York.

17 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ shall

18 mean the Secretary of the Interior.

19 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

20 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

21 (1) the year 2000 marks the 175th Anniversary

22 of New York State’s creation and stewardship of the

23 Erie Canalway for commerce, transportation and

24 recreational purposes, establishing the network
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1 which made New York the ‘‘Empire State’’ and the

2 Nation’s premier commercial and financial center;

3 (2) the canals and adjacent areas that comprise

4 the Erie Canalway are a nationally significant re5 source of historic and recreational value, which merit

6 Federal recognition and assistance;

7 (3) the Erie Canalway was instrumental in the

8 establishment of strong political and cultural ties be9 tween New England, upstate New York and the old

10 Northwest and facilitated the movement of ideas and

11 people ensuring that social reforms like the abolition

12 of slavery and the women’s rights movement spread

13 across upstate New York to the rest of the country;

14 (4) the construction of the Erie Canalway was

15 considered a supreme engineering feat, and most

16 American canals were modeled after New York

17 State’s canal;

18 (5) at the time of construction, the Erie

19 Canalway was the largest public works project ever

20 undertaken by a state, resulting in the creation of

21 critical transportation and commercial routes to

22 transport passengers and goods;

23 (6) the Erie Canalway played a key role in

24 turning New York City into a major port and New

25 York State into the preeminent center for commerce,
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1 industry, and finance in North America and pro2 vided a permanent commercial link between the Port

3 of New York and the cities of eastern Canada, a cor4 nerstone of the peaceful relationship between the two

5 countries;

6 (7) the Erie Canalway proved the depth and

7 force of American ingenuity, solidified a national

8 identity, and found an enduring place in American

9 legend, song, and art;

10 (8) there is national interest in the preservation

11 and interpretation of the Erie Canalway’s important

12 historical, natural, cultural, and scenic resources;

13 and

14 (9) partnerships among Federal, State, and

15 local governments and their regional entities, non16 profit organizations, and the private sector offer the

17 most effective opportunities for the preservation and

18 interpretation of the Erie Canalway.

19 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

20 (1) to designate the Erie Canalway National

21 Heritage Corridor;

22 (2) to provide for and assist in the identifica23 tion, preservation, promotion, maintenance and in24 terpretation of the historical, natural, cultural, sce25 nic, and recreational resources of the Erie Canalway
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1 in ways that reflect its national significance for the

2 benefit of current and future generations;

3 (3) to promote and provide access to the Erie

4 Canalway’s historical, natural, cultural, scenic and

5 recreational resources;

6 (4) to provide a framework to assist the State

7 of New York, its units of local government, and the

8 communities within the Erie Canalway in the devel9 opment of integrated cultural, historical, rec10 reational, economic, and community development

11 programs in order to enhance and interpret the

12 unique and nationally significant resources of the

13 Erie Canalway; and

14 (5) to authorize Federal financial and technical

15 assistance to the Commission to serve these pur16 poses for the benefit of the people of the State of

17 New York and the nation.

18 SEC. 3. THE ERIE CANALWAY NATIONAL HERITAGE COR19 RIDOR.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To carry out the purposes of

21 this act there is established the Erie Canalway National

22 Heritage Corridor in the State of New York.

23 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Corridor

24 shall include those lands generally depicted on a map enti25 tled ‘‘Boundaries of Canalway Communities’’ numbered
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1 ERCA llll and dated llll. This map shall be

2 on file and available for public inspection in the appro3 priate office of the National Park Service, the office of

4 the Commission, and the office of the New York State

5 Canal Corporation in Albany, New York.

6 (c) BOUNDARY REVISIONS.—The boundaries of the

7 Corridor may be revised by an amendment to this Act pur8 suant to the request of the Secretary upon approval of

9 the Commission.

10 (d) OWNERSHIP AND OPERATION OF THE NEW YORK

11 STATE CANAL SYSTEM.—Nothing in this Act shall be con12 strued to alter the ownership, operation, or management

13 of the New York State Canal System.

14 SEC. 4. THE ERIE CANALWAY NATIONAL HERITAGE COR15 RIDOR COMMISSION.

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Erie

17 Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission. The

18 purpose of the Commission shall be—

19 (1) to work with Federal, State and local au20 thorities to develop and implement the Canalway

21 Plan; and

22 (2) to foster the integration of canal-related his23 torical, cultural, recreational, scenic, economic and

24 community development initiatives within the Cor25 ridor.
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com2 posed of 27 members as follows:

3 (1) The Secretary of the Interior, ex-officio or

4 his/her designee.

5 (2) Seven members, each of whom represents 1

6 of the following agencies or those agencies’ succes7 sors: The New York State Secretary of State, the

8 Commissioners of the New York State Department

9 of Environmental Conservation, the New York State

10 Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preserva11 tion, the New York State Department of Agriculture

12 and Markets, the New York State Department of

13 Transportation, and the Chairpersons of the New

14 York State Canal Corporation, and the Empire

15 State Development Corporation; or their respective

16 designees.

17 (3) The remaining 19 members who reside

18 within the Corridor and are geographically dispersed

19 throughout the Corridor shall be from local govern20 ments and the private sector with knowledge of tour21 ism, economic and community development, regional

22 planning, historic preservation, cultural or natural

23 resource management, conservation, recreation, and

24 education or museum services. These members will

25 be appointed by the Governor no later than 6
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1 months after the date of enactment of this Act as

2 follows:

3 (A) Ten members based on a recommenda4 tion from each member of the United States

5 House of Representatives whose district shall

6 encompass the Corridor. Each shall be a resi7 dent of the district from which they shall be

8 recommended.

9 (B) Two members based on a rec10 ommendation from each United States Senator

11 from New York State.

12 (C) Seven members who shall be residents

13 of any county constituting the Corridor. One

14 such member shall be a member of the Canal

15 Recreationway Commission other than an ex16 officio member.

17 (c) APPOINTMENTS AND VACANCIES.—Members of

18 the Commission other than ex-officio members shall be ap19 pointed for terms of 3 years. Of the original appointments,

20 six shall be for a term of one year, six shall be for a term

21 of two years and seven shall be for a term of three years.

22 Any member of the Commission appointed for a definite

23 term may serve after expiration of the term until the suc24 cessor of the member is appointed. Any member appointed

25 to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remainder of the term
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1 for which the predecessor was appointed. Any vacancy on

2 the Commission shall be filled in the same manner in

3 which the original appointment was made.

4 (d) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission

5 shall receive no compensation for their service on the Com6 mission. Members of the Commission, other than employ7 ees of the State and Canal Corporation, while away from

8 their homes or regular places of business to perform serv9 ices for the Commission, shall be allowed travel expenses,

10 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same man11 ner as persons employed intermittently in government

12 service are allowed under section 5703 of title 5, United

13 States Code.

14 (e) ELECTION OF OFFICES.—The Commission shall

15 elect the chairperson and the vice chairperson on an an16 nual basis. The vice chairperson shall serve as the chair17 person in the absence of the chairperson.

18 (f) QUORUM AND VOTING.—Fourteen members of the

19 Commission shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number

20 may hold hearings. Any member of the Commission may

21 vote by means of a signed proxy exercised by another

22 member of the Commission, however, any member voting

23 by proxy shall not be considered present for purposes of

24 establishing a quorum. For the transaction of any business

25 or the exercise of any power of the Commission, the Com-
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1 mission shall have the power to act by a majority vote

2 of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum

3 is in attendance.

4 (g) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at least

5 quarterly at the call of the chairperson or 14 of its mem6 bers. Notice of Commission meetings and agendas for the

7 meetings shall be published in local newspapers through8 out the Corridor. Meetings of the Commission shall be

9 subject to section 552b of title 5, United States Code (re10 lating to open meetings).

11 (h) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.—To the extent

12 that Federal funds are appropriated, the Commission is

13 authorized—

14 (1) to procure temporary and intermittent serv15 ices and administrative facilities at rates determined

16 to be reasonable by the Commission to carry out the

17 responsibilities of the Commission;

18 (2) to request and accept the services of per19 sonnel detailed from the State of New York or any

20 political subdivision, and to reimburse the State or

21 political subdivision for such services;

22 (3) to request and accept the services of any

23 Federal agency personnel, and to reimburse the Fed24 eral agency for such services;
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1 (4) to appoint and fix the compensation of staff

2 to carry out its duties;

3 (5) to enter into cooperative agreements with

4 the State of New York, with any political subdivision

5 of the State, or any person for the purposes of car6 rying out the duties of the Commission;

7 (6) to make grants to assist in the preparation

8 and implementation of the Canalway Plan;

9 (7) to seek, accept, and dispose of gifts, be10 quests, grants, or donations of money, personal

11 property, or services, received from any source;

12 (8) to assist others in developing educational,

13 informational, and interpretive programs and facili14 ties, and other such activities that may promote the

15 implementation of the Canalway Plan;

16 (9) to hold hearings, sit and act at such times

17 and places, take such testimony, and receive such

18 evidence, as the Commission may consider appro19 priate;

20 (10) to use the United States mails in the same

21 manner as other departments or agencies of the

22 United States;

23 (11) to request and receive from the Adminis24 trator of General Services, on a reimbursable basis,
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1 such administrative support services as the Commis2 sion may request; and

3 (12) to establish such advisory groups as the

4 Commission deems necessary.

5 (i) ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.—Except as provided

6 for leasing administrative facilities under subsection

7 (h)(1), the Commission may not acquire any real property

8 or interest in real property.

9 (j) TERMINATION.—The Commission and this Act

10 shall terminate on the day occurring 10 years after the

11 date of the enactment of this Act.

12 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

13 (a) PREPARATION OF CANALWAY PLAN.—Not later

14 than 3 years after the Commission receives Federal fund15 ing for this purpose, the Commission shall prepare and

16 submit a comprehensive preservation and management

17 Canalway Plan for the Corridor to the Secretary and the

18 Governor for review and approval. In addition to the re19 quirements outlined for the Canalway Plan in section 6,

20 the Canalway Plan shall incorporate and integrate existing

21 Federal, State, and local plans to the extent appropriate

22 regarding historic preservation, conservation, education

23 and interpretation, community development, and tourism24 related economic development for the Corridor that are

25 consistent with the purposes of this Act. The Commission
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1 shall solicit public comment on the development of the

2 Canalway Plan.

3 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF CANALWAY PLAN.—After

4 the Commission receives Federal funding for this purpose,

5 and after review and upon approval of the Canalway Plan

6 by the Secretary and the Governor, the Commission

7 shall—

8 (1) undertake actions to implement the

9 Canalway Plan so as to assist the people of the

10 State of New York in enhancing and interpreting

11 the historical, cultural, educational, natural, scenic,

12 and recreational potential of the Corridor identified

13 in the Canalway Plan; and

14 (2) support public and private efforts in con15 servation and preservation of the Canalway’s cul16 tural and natural resources and economic revitaliza17 tion consistent with the goals of the Canalway Plan.

18 (c) PRIORITY ACTIONS.—Priority actions which may

19 be carried out by the Commission under subsection (b)

20 may include—

21 (1) assisting in the appropriate preservation

22 treatment of the remaining elements of the original

23 Erie Canal;

24 (2) assisting the National Park Service, the

25 State, and local governments, and nonprofit organi-
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1 zations in designing, establishing and maintaining

2 visitor centers, museums, and other interpretive ex3 hibits in the Corridor;

4 (3) assisting in the public awareness and appre5 ciation for the historic, cultural, natural, scenic, and

6 recreational resources and sites in the Corridor;

7 (4) assisting the State of New York, local gov8 ernments, and nonprofit organizations in the preser9 vation and restoration of any historic building, site,

10 or district in the Corridor;

11 (5) encouraging, by appropriate means, en12 hanced economic development in the Corridor con13 sistent with the goals of the Canalway Plan and the

14 purposes of this Act; and

15 (6) ensuring that clear, consistent signs identi16 fying access points and sites of interest are put in

17 place in the Corridor.

18 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS AND AUDITS.—For any year

19 in which Federal funds have been received under this Act,

20 the Commission shall submit an annual report and shall

21 make available an audit of all relevant records to the Gov22 ernor and the Secretary identifying its expenses and any

23 income, the entities to which any grants or technical as24 sistance were made during the year for which the report
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1 was made, and contributions by other parties toward

2 achieving Corridor purposes.

3 SEC. 6. CANALWAY PLAN.

4 (a) CANALWAY PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The

5 Canalway Plan shall—

6 (1) include a review of existing plans for the

7 Corridor, including the Canal Recreationway Plan

8 and Canal Revitalization Program, and incorporate

9 them to the extent feasible to ensure consistency

10 with local, regional and state planning efforts;

11 (2) provide a strategy for the thematic inven12 tory, survey, and evaluation of historic properties

13 that should be conserved, restored, developed, or

14 maintained because of their natural, cultural, or his15 toric significance within the Corridor in accordance

16 with the regulations for the National Register of

17 Historic Places;

18 (3) identify public and private-sector preserva19 tion goals and strategies for the Corridor;

20 (4) include a comprehensive interpretive plan

21 that identifies, develops, supports, and enhances in22 terpretation and education programs within the Cor23 ridor that may include—

24 (A) research related to the construction

25 and history of the canals and the cultural herit-
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1 age of the canal workers, their families, those

2 that traveled along the canals, the associated

3 farming activities, the landscape, and the com4 munities;

5 (B) documentation of and methods to sup6 port the perpetuation of music, art, poetry, lit7 erature and folkways associated with the canals;

8 and

9 (C) educational and interpretative pro10 grams related to the Erie Canalway developed

11 in cooperation with State and local govern12 ments, educational institutions, and non-profit

13 institutions;

14 (5) include a strategy to further the rec15 reational development of the Corridor that will en16 able users to uniquely experience the canal system;

17 (6) propose programs to protect, interpret and

18 promote the Corridor’s historical, cultural, rec19 reational, educational, scenic and natural resources;

20 (7) include a plan to inventory canal related

21 natural, cultural and historic sites and resources lo22 cated in the Area;

23 (8) recommend Federal, State, and local strate24 gies and policies to support economic development,
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1 especially tourism-related development and recre2 ation, consistent with the purposes of the Corridor;

3 (9) develop criteria and priorities for financial

4 preservation assistance;

5 (10) identify and foster strong cooperative rela6 tionships between the National Park Service, the

7 New York State Canal Corporation, other Federal

8 and State agencies, and non-governmental organiza9 tions;

10 (11) recommend specific areas to the National

11 Park Service for development of interpretive, edu12 cational, and technical assistance centers associated

13 with the Corridor; and

14 (12) contain a program for implementation of

15 the Canalway Plan by all necessary parties.

16 (b) APPROVAL OF THE CANALWAY PLAN.—The Sec17 retary and the Governor shall approve or disapprove the

18 Canalway Plan not later than 90 days after receiving the

19 Canalway Plan.

20 (c) DISAPPROVAL OF CANALWAY PLAN.—If the Sec21 retary or the Governor do not approve the Canalway Plan,

22 the Secretary or the Governor shall advise the Commission

23 in writing within 90 days the reasons therefor and shall

24 indicate any recommendations for revisions. Following

25 completion of any necessary revisions of the Canalway
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1 Plan, the Secretary and the Governor shall have 90 days

2 to either approve or disapprove of the revised Canalway

3 Plan.

4 (d) AMENDMENTS TO CANALWAY PLAN.—The Sec5 retary and the Governor shall review substantial amend6 ments to the Canalway Plan. Funds appropriated pursu7 ant to this Act may not be expended to implement the

8 changes made by such amendments until the Secretary

9 and the Governor approves the amendments.

10 SEC. 7. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to as12 sist the Commission in the preparation of the Canalway

13 Plan with a focus on the comprehensive interpretive plan

14 as required under section 6(a)(4).

15 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Pursuant to an ap16 proved Canalway Plan, the Secretary is authorized to

17 enter into cooperative agreements with, provide technical

18 assistance to and award grants to the Commission to pro19 vide for the preservation and interpretation of the natural,

20 cultural, historical, recreational, and scenic resources of

21 the Corridor.

22 (c) EARLY ACTIONS.—After the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, but prior to approval of the Canalway

24 Plan, with the approval of the Commission, the Secretary

25 may provide technical and financial assistance for early
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1 actions that are important to the purposes of this Act and

2 that protect and preserve resources and to undertake an

3 educational and interpretive program of the story and his4 tory of the Erie Canalway.

5 (d) CANALWAY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.—Upon ap6 proval of the Canalway Plan, the Secretary is authorized

7 to implement those activities that the Canalway Plan has

8 identified that are the responsibility of the Secretary or

9 agent of the Secretary to undertake in the implementation

10 of the Canalway Plan.

11 (e) DETAIL.—Each fiscal year during the existence

12 of the Commission and upon the request of the Commis13 sion, the Secretary shall detail to the Commission, on a

14 nonreimbursable basis, 2 employees of the Department of

15 the Interior to enable the Commission to carry out the

16 Commission’s duties with regard to the preparation and

17 approval of the Canalway Plan. Such detail shall be with18 out interruption or loss of civil service status, benefits, or

19 privileges.

20 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the ap21 proval of the Canalway Plan, the Secretary shall submit

22 to Congress a report recommending whether the edu23 cational/interpretive sites identified by the Commission

24 meet the criteria for designation as a unit of the National
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1 Park System as required by Public Law 105–391 (112

2 Stat. 3501; 16 U.S.C.1a–5 note).

3 SEC. 9. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES.

4 Any Federal entity conducting or supporting any ac5 tivity directly affecting the Corridor, and any unit of gov6 ernment acting pursuant to a grant of Federal funds or

7 a Federal permit or agreement conducting or supporting

8 such activities, may—

9 (1) consult with the Secretary and the Commis10 sion with respect to such activities;

11 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the Com12 mission in carrying out their duties under this Act

13 and coordinate such activities with the carrying out

14 of such duties; and

15 (3) conduct or support such activities in a man16 ner consistent with the Canalway Plan unless the

17 Federal entity, after consultation with the Secretary

18 and the Commission, determines there is no prac19 ticable alternative.

20 SEC. 10. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

21 (a) AUTHORITY OF GOVERNMENTS.—Nothing in this

22 Act shall be construed to modify, enlarge, or diminish any

23 authority of the Federal, State, or local governments to

24 regulate any use of land as provided for by law or regula25 tion.
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1 (b) ZONING OR LAND.—Nothing in this Act shall be

2 construed to grant powers of zoning or land use to the

3 Commission.

4 (c) LOCAL AUTHORITY AND PRIVATE PROPERTY.—

5 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect or to au6 thorize the Commission to interfere with—

7 (1) the rights of any person with respect to pri8 vate property;

9 (2) any local zoning ordinance or land use plan

10 of the State of New York or political subdivision

11 thereof; or

12 (3) any State or local canal related development

13 plans including but not limited to the Canal

14 Recreationway Plan and the Canal Revitalization

15 Program.

16 (d) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—The designation of the

17 Corridor shall not diminish the authority of the State of

18 New York to manage fish and wildlife, including the regu19 lation of fishing and hunting within the Corridor.

20 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—

22 (1) CORRIDOR.—There is authorized to be ap23 propriated for the Corridor not more than

24 $1,000,000 for any fiscal year, to remain available

25 until expended. Not more than a total of
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1 $10,000,000 may be appropriated for the Corridor

2 under this Act.

3 (2) COMMISSION.—Additionally, there is au4 thorized to be appropriated to the Commission not

5 more than $250,000 annually to carry out the duties

6 of the Commission.

7 (b) OTHER FUNDING.—In addition to the sums au8 thorized in subsection (a), there are authorized to be ap9 propriated to the Secretary of the Interior such sums as

10 are necessary for the Secretary to undertake interim ac11 tions the Secretary is authorized to undertake and that

12 are necessary for the Secretary of the Interior to imple13 ment the responsibilities of the Department of the Interior

14 outlined in the Canalway Plan.

Æ