II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3212

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in implementing cultural heritage, conservation, and recreational activities in

the Connecticut River watershed of the States of New Hampshire and

Vermont.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 18 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. GREGG, Mr. LEAHY, and Mr.

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

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in implementing cultural heritage, conservation, and

recreational activities in the Connecticut River watershed

of the States of New Hampshire and Vermont.

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 ‘‘Upper Connecticut

5 River Partnership Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the upper Connecticut River watershed in

2 the States of New Hampshire and Vermont is a sce3 nic region of historic villages located in a working

4 landscape of farms, forests, and the mountainous

5 headwaters and broad fertile floodplains of New

6 England’s longest river, the Connecticut River;

7 (2) the River provides outstanding fish and

8 wildlife habitat, recreation, and hydropower genera9 tion for the New England region;

10 (3) the upper Connecticut River watershed has

11 been recognized by Congress as part of the Silvio 0.

12 Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, estab13 lished by the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and

14 Wildlife Refuge Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd note; Public

15 Law 102–212);

16 (4) the demonstrated interest in stewardship of

17 the River by the citizens living in the watershed led

18 to the Presidential designation of the River as 1 of

19 14 American Heritage Rivers on July 30, 1998;

20 (5) the River is home to the bistate Connecticut

21 River Scenic Byway, which will foster heritage tour22 ism in the region;

23 (6) each of the legislatures of the States of

24 Vermont and New Hampshire has established a

25 commission for the Connecticut River watershed,
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1 and the 2 commissions, known collectively as the

2 ‘‘Connecticut River Joint Commissions’’—

3 (A) have worked together since 1989; and

4 (B) serve as the focal point for cooperation

5 between Federal agencies, States, communities,

6 and citizens;

7 (7) in 1997, as directed by the legislatures, the

8 Connecticut River Joint Commissions, with the sub9 stantial involvement of 5 bistate local river sub10 committees appointed to represent riverfront towns,

11 produced the 6-volume Connecticut River Corridor

12 Management Plan, to be used as a blueprint in edu13 cating agencies, communities, and the public in how

14 to be good neighbors to a great river;

15 (8) this year, by Joint Legislative Resolution,

16 the legislatures have requested that Congress pro17 vide for continuation of cooperative partnerships and

18 support for the Connecticut River Joint Commis19 sions from the New England Federal Partners for

20 Natural Resources, a consortium of Federal agen21 cies, in carrying out recommendations of the Con22 necticut River Corridor Management Plan;

23 (9) this Act effectuates certain recommenda24 tions of the Connecticut River Corridor Management

25 Plan that are most appropriately directed by the
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1 States through the Connecticut River Joint Commis2 sions, with assistance from the National Park Serv3 ice and United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and

4 (10) where implementation of those rec5 ommendations involves partnership with local com6 munities and organizations, support for the partner7 ship should be provided by the Secretary.

8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to author9 ize the Secretary to provide to the States of New Hamp10 shire and Vermont (including communities in those

11 States), through the Connecticut River Joint Commis12 sions, technical and financial assistance for management

13 of the River.

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

15 In this Act:

16 (1) RIVER.—The term ‘‘River’’ means the Con17 necticut River.

18 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

19 the Secretary of the Interior.

20 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means—

21 (A) the State of New Hampshire; or

22 (B) the State of Vermont.

23 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FOR STATES.

24 The Secretary of the Interior may provide to the

25 States, through the Connecticut River Joint Commissions,
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1 technical and financial assistance in managing the River,

2 including assistance in—

3 (1) developing a joint policy for water quality,

4 flow management, and recreational boating for the

5 portion of the River that is common to the States;

6 (2) developing protection plans for water qual7 ity in the tributaries that flow into the River;

8 (3) developing a coordinated, collaborative ap9 proach on the part of the States for monitoring the

10 quality of the River for human use and ecological

11 health;

12 (4) restoring and protecting priority riverbanks

13 to improve water quality and aquatic and riparian

14 habitat;

15 (5) encouraging and assisting communities,

16 farmers, and other riverfront landowners in—

17 (A) establishing and protecting riparian

18 buffers; and

19 (B) preventing nonpoint source pollution;

20 (6) encouraging and assisting communities in—

21 (A) protecting shoreland, wetland, and

22 flood plains; and

23 (B) managing and treating stormwater

24 runoff;

25 (7) in cooperation with dam owners—
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1 (A) evaluating the decommissioning of un2 economic dams in the watershed; and

3 (B) restoring natural riverine habitat;

4 (8) protecting and restoring the habitat of na5 tive trout, anadromous fisheries, and other out6 standing fish and wildlife resources;

7 (9) encouraging new and improved markets for

8 local agricultural products;

9 (10) encouraging the protection of farm land

10 and economically sustainable agriculture;

11 (11) developing and promoting locally planned,

12 approved, and managed networks of heritage trails

13 and water trails in the River valley;

14 (12) coordinating and fostering opportunities

15 for heritage tourism and agritourism through the

16 Connecticut River Scenic Byway;

17 (13) demonstrating economic development

18 based on heritage tourism;

19 (14) supporting local stewardship;

20 (15) strengthening nonregulatory protection of

21 heritage resources;

22 (16) encouraging the vitality of historically

23 compact village and town centers;

24 (17) establishing indicators of sustainability;

25 and
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1 (18) monitoring the impact of increased tour2 ism and recreational use on natural and historic re3 sources.

4 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

6 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

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