II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 28

To authorize an interpretive center and related visitor facilities within the

Four Corners Monument Tribal Park, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, and Mr. BENNETT) introduced the

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

A BILL

To authorize an interpretive center and related visitor facilities within the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park,

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 ‘‘Four Corners Interpre5 tive Center Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the Four Corners Monument is nationally

2 significant as the only geographic location in the

3 United States where 4 State boundaries meet;

4 (2) the States with boundaries that meet at the

5 Four Corners are Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico,

6 and Utah;

7 (3) between 1868 and 1875 the boundary lines

8 that created the Four Corners were drawn, and in

9 1899 a monument was erected at the site;

10 (4) a United States postal stamp will be issued

11 in 1999 to commemorate the centennial of the origi12 nal boundary marker;

13 (5) the Four Corners area is distinct in char14 acter and possess important historical, cultural, and

15 prehistoric values and resources within the sur16 rounding cultural landscape;

17 (6) although there are no permanent facilities

18 or utilities at the Four Corners Monument Tribal

19 Park, each year the park attracts approximately

20 250,000 visitors;

21 (7) the area of the Four Corners Monument

22 Tribal Park falls entirely within the Navajo Nation

23 or Ute Mountain Ute Tribe reservations;

24 (8) the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain

25 Ute Tribe have entered into a Memorandum of Un-
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1 derstanding governing the planning and future de2 velopment of the Four Corners Monument Tribal

3 Park;

4 (9) in 1992, through agreements executed by

5 the governors of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico,

6 and Utah, the Four Corners Heritage Council was

7 established as a coalition of State, Federal, tribal,

8 and private interests;

9 (10) the State of Arizona has obligated $45,000

10 for planning efforts and $250,000 for construction

11 of an interpretive center at the Four Corners Monu12 ment Tribal Park;

13 (11) numerous studies and extensive consulta14 tion with American Indians have demonstrated that

15 development at the Four Corners Monument tribal

16 park would greatly benefit the people of the Navajo

17 Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe;

18 (12) the Arizona Department of Transportation

19 has completed preliminary cost estimates that are

20 based on field experience with rest-area development

21 for the construction of a Four Corners Monument

22 Interpretive Center and surrounding infrastructure,

23 including restrooms, roadways, parking, water, elec24 trical, telephone, and sewage facilities;
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1 (13) an interpretive center would provide im2 portant educational and enrichment opportunities

3 for all Americans;

4 (14) Federal financial assistance and technical

5 expertise are needed for the construction of an inter6 pretive center.

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

8 (1) to recognize the importance of the Four

9 Corners Monument and surrounding landscape as a

10 distinct area in the heritage of the United States

11 that is worthy of interpretation and preservation;

12 (2) to assist the Navajo and the Ute Mountain

13 Ute Tribe in establishing the Four Corners Interpre14 tive Center and related facilities to meet the needs

15 of the general public;

16 (3) to highlight and showcase the collaborative

17 resource stewardship of private individuals, Indian

18 tribes, universities, Federal agencies, and the gov19 ernments of States and political subdivisions thereof

20 (including counties);

21 (4) to promote knowledge of the life, art, cul22 ture, politics, and history of the culturally diverse

23 groups of the Four Corners region.

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

25 As used in this Act:
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1 (1) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the

2 Four Corners Interpretive Center established under

3 section 4, including restroom, parking areas, vendor

4 facilities, sidewalks, utilities, exhibits, and other visi5 tor facilities.

6 (2) FOUR CORNERS HERITAGE COUNCIL.—The

7 term ‘‘Four Corners Heritage Council’’ means the

8 nonprofit coalition of Federal, State, and tribal enti9 ties established in 1992 by agreements of the Gov10 ernors of the States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mex11 ico, and Utah.

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

13 the Secretary of the Interior.

14 (4) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘Recipient’’ means

15 the State of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, or

16 Utah, or any consortium of two or more of these

17 states.

18 (5) FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT.—The term

19 ‘‘Four Corners Monument’’ means the physical

20 monument where the boundaries of the States of Ar21 izona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet.

22 (6) FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT TRIBAL

23 PARK.—The term ‘‘Four Corners Monument Tribal

24 Park’’ means lands within the legally defined bound25 ary of the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park.
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1 SEC. 4. FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT INTERPRETIVE CEN2 TER.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to the availability of

4 appropriations, the Secretary is authorized to establish

5 within the boundaries of the Four Corners Monument

6 Tribal Park a center for the interpretation and commemo7 ration of the Four Corners Monument, to be known as

8 the ‘‘Four Corners Interpretive Center.’’

9 (b) Land for the Center shall be designated and made

10 available by the Navajo Nation or the Ute Mountain Ute

11 Tribe within the boundary of the Four Corners Monument

12 Tribal Park in consultation with the Four Corners Herit13 age Council and in accordance with—

14 (1) the memorandum of understanding between

15 the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

16 that was entered into on October 22, 1996;

17 (2) applicable supplemental agreements with

18 the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park

19 Service, and the United States Forest Service.

20 (c) CONCURRENCE.—Nothwithstanding any other

21 provision of this act, no such center shall be established

22 without the consent of the Navajo Nation and the Ute

23 Mountain Ute Tribe.

24 (d) COMPONENTS OF CENTER.—The Center shall

25 include—
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1 (1) a location for permanent and temporary ex2 hibits depicting the archaeological, cultural, and nat3 ural heritage of the Four Corners region;

4 (2) a venue for public education programs;

5 (3) a location to highlight the importance of ef6 forts to preserve southwestern archaeological sites

7 and museum collections;

8 (4) a location to provide information to the gen9 eral public about cultural and natural resources,

10 parks, museums, and travel in the Four Corners re11 gion.

12 SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION GRANT.

13 (a) GRANT.—The Secretary is authorized to award

14 a Federal grant to the recipient described in section 3(4)

15 for up to 50 percent of the cost to construct the Center.

16 To be eligible for the grant, the recipient shall provide as17 surances that:

18 (1) The non-Federal share of the costs of con19 struction is paid from non-Federal sources. The non20 Federal sources may include contributions made by

21 States, private sources, the Navajo Nation and the

22 Ute Mountain Ute Tribe for planning, design, con23 struction, furnishing, startup, and operational ex24 penses.
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1 (2) The aggregate amount of non-Federal funds

2 contributed by the States used to carry out the ac3 tivities specified in subparagraph (A) will not be less

4 than $2,000,000, of which each of the States that

5 is party to the grant will contribute equally in cash

6 or in kind.

7 (3) The State of Arizona may apply $45,000

8 authorized by the State of Arizona during fiscal year

9 1998 for planning and $250,000 that is held in re10 serve by the State for construction toward the Ari11 zona share.

12 (b) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—In order to receive a

13 grant under this act, the recipient shall—

14 (1) submit to the Secretary a proposal that

15 meets all applicable—

16 (A) laws, including building codes and reg17 ulations;

18 (B) requirements under the Memorandum

19 of Understanding described in paragraph (2) of

20 this subsection; and

21 (C) provides such information and assur22 ances as the Secretary may require.

23 (2) The recipient shall enter into a Memoran24 dum of Understanding (MOU) with the Secretary

25 providing—
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1 (A) a timetable for completion of construc2 tion and opening of the Center;

3 (B) assurances that design, architectural

4 and construction contracts will be competively

5 awarded;

6 (C) specifications meeting all applicable

7 Federal, State, and local building codes and

8 laws;

9 (D) arrangements for operations and

10 maintenance upon completion of construction;

11 (E) a description of center collections and

12 educational programming;

13 (F) a plan for design of exhibits including,

14 but not limited to, collections to be exhibited,

15 security, preservation, protection, environmental

16 controls, and presentations in accordance with

17 professional museum standards;

18 (G) an agreement with the Navajo Nation

19 and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe relative to site

20 selection and public access to the facilities;

21 (H) a financing plan developed jointly by

22 the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute

23 Tribe outlining the long-term management of

24 the Center, including but not limited to—
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1 (i) the acceptance and use of funds

2 derived from public and private sources to

3 minimize the use of appropriated or bor4 rowed funds;

5 (ii) the payment of the operating costs

6 of the Center through the assessment of

7 fees or other income generated by the Cen8 ter;

9 (iii) a strategy for achieving financial

10 self-sufficiency with respect to the Center

11 by not later than 5 years after the date of

12 enactment of this Act;

13 (iv) defining appropriate vendor

14 standards and business activities at the

15 Four Corners Monument Tribal Park.

16 SEC. 6. SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENT.

17 The Secretary is authorized to award a grant in ac18 cordance with the provisions of this act. The Four Corners

19 Heritage Council may make recommendations to the Sec20 retary on grant proposals regarding the design of facilities

21 at the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park.

22 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

23 (a) AUTHORIZATIONS.—There are authorized to be

24 appropriated to carry out this act—

25 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; and
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1 (2) $50,000 for each of fiscal years 2001–2005

2 for maintenance and operation of the center, pro3 gram development, or staffing in a manner consist4 ent with the requirements of Section 5(b).

5 (b) CARRYOVER—Any funds made available under

6 this section that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal

7 year for which those funds are appropriated, may be used

8 by the Secretary through fiscal year 2002 for the purposes

9 for which those funds were made available.

10 (c) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may

11 reserve funds appropriated pursuant to this act until a

12 proposal meeting the requirements of this act is submit13 ted, but no later than September 30, 2001.

14 SEC. 8. DONATIONS.

15 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for pur16 poses of the planning, construction, and operation of the

17 Center, the Secretary may accept, retain, and expend do18 nations of funds, and use property or services donated

19 from private persons and entities or from public entities.

20 SEC. 9. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

21 Nothing in this Act is intended to abrogate, modify,

22 or impair any right or claim of the Navajo Nation

23 or the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, that is based on any law
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1 (including any treaty, Executive order, agreement, or Act

2 of Congress).

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