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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 715 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 715

 To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a portion of the 
    Columbia River as a recreational river, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 25, 1999

  Mrs. Murray (for herself, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Baucus) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a portion of the 
    Columbia River as a recreational river, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The 50-mile Hanford Reach--
                    (A) is the last free-flowing nontidal segment of 
                the Columbia River in the United States; and
                    (B) has been preserved in a relatively natural 
                condition because of its location within the Hanford 
                Nuclear Reservation.
            (2) Public Law 100-605 (102 Stat. 3043) required an 
        analysis of protection alternatives for the Hanford Reach and a 
        report to Congress by the Secretary of the Interior, who 
        concluded in the Hanford Reach Final Environmental Impact 
        Statement dated June 1994 that the Hanford Reach should be 
        designated as a recreational river under the Wild and Scenic 
        Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.).
            (3) The Hanford Reach is a vital migration corridor for 
        anadromous fish and contains some of the most productive 
        spawning areas in the Northwest United States, producing an 
        estimated 80 percent of the Columbia Basin's fall chinook 
        salmon and healthy runs of naturally spawning steelhead trout, 
        sturgeon, and other highly valued fish species.
            (4) The Hanford Reach provides important habitat for 
        wintering and migrating wildlife, including waterfowl, bald 
        eagles, deer, elk, and numerous Federal and State-listed 
        threatened and endangered plant and animal species, some of 
        which are found nowhere else.
            (5) The shoreline area known as White Bluffs and the 
        pristine conditions of the Hanford Reach offer scenic beauty 
        and opportunities for solitude and recreation, including 
        hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, swimming, and wildlife 
        observation, in close proximity to the cites of Richland, 
        Pasco, and Kennewick, Washington.
            (6) The Hanford Reach and its salmon runs have been 
        important to mid-Columbia Native Americans for subsistence, 
        cultural, and religious purposes for more than 10,000 years, 
        and there are 150 registered archaeological sites in the area.
            (7) The southern shore of the Hanford Reach chronicles the 
        history of--
                    (A) the Manhattan Project;
                    (B) defense nuclear production during the cold war; 
                and
                    (C) early Euro-American settlement of the area.
            (8) The White Bluffs and adjacent shoreline areas are 
        significant paleontological resources and rich with fossilized 
        remains from the Pliocene period.
            (9) Protection of the Hanford Reach as a component of the 
        national wild and scenic rivers system could enhance local 
        revenues from outdoor recreation and increase economic 
        investment in the cites of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick, 
        Washington, by highlighting the quality of life and natural 
        amenities of the area.
            (10) Economic activities along the river corridor in 
        existence on the date of enactment of this Act, such as 
        agriculture, power production and transmission, and water 
        withdrawal, are compatible with the designation of the Hanford 
        Reach as a recreational river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
        Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.).
            (11) Designation of the Hanford Reach as a recreational 
        river under such Act cannot be changed except by a subsequent 
        Act of Congress.
            (12) Designation of the Hanford Reach as a recreational 
        river under such Act can facilitate, and make less costly, the 
        remediation of contaminated areas of the Hanford Nuclear 
        Reservation by--
                    (A) establishing future land use within the river 
                corridor; and
                    (B) helping to ensure the Federal commitment to the 
                cleanup of the Hanford Site.
            (13) The Hanford Reach has special significance as an 
        outdoor laboratory and classroom and offers a singular 
opportunity for government agencies, Indian tribes, and community 
organizations to develop a partnership around an education and 
interpretation program focused on the area's unique natural and human 
history.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to protect the natural, cultural, scenic, and 
        recreational resources of the Hanford Reach of the Columbia 
        River by designating the Hanford Reach as a recreational river 
        under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.);
            (2) to encourage education and interpretation of the 
        Hanford Reach; and
            (3) to protect the land adjacent to the Hanford Reach.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF THE HANFORD REACH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER AS A 
              RECREATIONAL RIVER UNDER THE WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT.

    (a) Designation.--Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(160) Hanford Reach, Columbia River, Washington.--Subject to 
section 3A, the river segment from river mile 346.5 to river mile 396 
of the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, Washington, as a 
recreational river.''.
    (b) Special Requirements.--The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is 
amended by inserting after section 3 (16 U.S.C. 1274) the following:

``SEC. 3A. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO HANFORD REACH, COLUMBIA 
              RIVER, WASHINGTON.

    ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `Hanford Reach 
recreational river' means the river segment of the Hanford Reach of the 
Columbia River, Washington, designated as a recreational river by 
section 3(a)(160).
    ``(b) Management.--The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the 
Hanford Reach recreational river as a recreational river in accordance 
with this Act, the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act 
of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), and other applicable law.
    ``(c) Prohibition on Alteration of Designation.--Nothing in this 
Act or any other law authorizes the Secretary of the Interior or any 
other governmental officer to alter the designation of the Hanford 
Reach recreational river as a recreational river under this Act.
    ``(d) Management Plan Commission.--
            ``(1) Membership.--There shall be a 15-member management 
        commission for the Hanford Reach recreational river, which 
        shall be comprised of representatives of each of the following:
                    ``(A) The Department of the Interior, the 
                Department of Commerce, and the Department of Energy.
                    ``(B) The Department of Fish and Wildlife, the 
                Department of Ecology, and the Department of Community, 
                Trade, and Economic Development of the State of 
                Washington.
                    ``(C) The Washington counties of Benton, Franklin, 
                and Grant.
                    ``(D) Certain Indian tribes in the State of 
                Washington, including the Umatilla Indian tribe, the 
                Nez Perce Indian tribe, and the Yakama Nation.
                    ``(E) Members of the public interested in 
                conservation, recreation, and business.
            ``(2) Appointment.--Members of the management commission 
        described in paragraph (1)(E) shall be--
                    ``(A) nominated by persons residing in the vicinity 
                of the Hanford Reach recreational river; and
                    ``(B) appointed by the Governor of Washington.
            ``(3) Supermajority requirement.--All Commission decisions 
        shall be adopted with a vote of at least 10 of the members of 
        the Commission.
    ``(e) Development of Management Plan.--The management commission 
shall be responsible for developing the management plan for the Hanford 
Reach recreational river. In developing and periodically revising the 
plan, the management commission shall--
            ``(1) provide opportunity for public participation;
            ``(2) recognize recreation as an outstandingly remarkable 
        value of the Hanford Reach recreational river and give 
        recreation a high management priority, along with protection of 
        natural, cultural, and scenic resources;
            ``(3) coordinate and cooperate with State, local, and 
        tribal governments, public school districts, and other entities 
        in the development and implementation of educational and 
        interpretive programs related to the Hanford Reach recreational 
        river;
            ``(4) determine how an educational and interpretive center 
        for the Hanford Reach recreational river, with appropriate 
        exhibit, conference, and support facilities, can be constructed 
        or incorporated into a compatible community facility; and
            ``(5) determine how recreational tourism efforts associated 
        with the Hanford Reach recreational river can be coordinated 
        through a community-based visitor and convention bureau.
    ``(f) Prohibition on Inclusion of Privately Owned Land.--
            ``(1) Prohibition.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        only public land adjacent to the Hanford Reach recreational 
        river, and no privately owned land, may be included in the 
        Hanford Reach recreational river.
            ``(2) Limited acquisition authority.--As part of the 
        management plan for the Hanford Reach recreational river, the 
        management commission shall develop a strategy for acquiring 
        private land, by purchase, conservation easement, lease, or 
        donation, from persons willing to convey private land in the 
        area defined by the applicable environmental impact statement.
    ``(g) Relationship to Access Corridors.--Access corridors for the 
Hanford Reach recreational river in existence on the date of enactment 
of this section shall be retained.
    ``(h) Relationship to Other Laws and Authorities.--The designation 
of the Hanford Reach recreational river shall not--
            ``(1) prohibit or approve relicensing of any hydroelectric 
        facility by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
            ``(2) affect any law, agreement, plan, or policy in effect 
        on the date of enactment of this section regarding water rights 
        or instream flows on the designated river segment;
            ``(3) prohibit the operation or maintenance of any energy, 
        transmission, water intake, or water outfall facility in 
        existence on the date of enactment of this section;
            ``(4) prohibit the modification, repair, or replacement of 
        any energy, transmission, water intake, or water outfall 
        facility so long as there is no substantial impact on the 
        natural, cultural, or scenic resources of the Hanford Reach 
        recreational river and adjacent land area;
            ``(5) establish or impose remediation requirements more 
        restrictive than those that would apply but for the 
        designation;
            ``(6) prohibit construction of temporary facilities 
        necessary for the remediation and restoration of contaminated 
        areas within the view shed of the Hanford Reach recreational 
        river; or
            ``(7) relieve the Secretary of Energy from any obligation 
        or other liability at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation under the 
        Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
        Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the Solid Waste 
        Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), and other applicable law 
        imposing any similar obligation or other liability on the 
        Secretary of the Interior.
    ``(i) Rivershore Restoration and Enhancement.--The Secretary of the 
Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of 
Engineers, in cooperation and coordination with the heads of other 
relevant Federal agencies and State and local governments, shall 
develop a comprehensive plan of improvement for the levees and other 
rivershore areas downstream of the Hanford Reach recreational river in 
the vicinity of the cites of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick, 
Washington, including--
            ``(1) restoration and enhancement of fish and wildlife 
        habitat;
            ``(2) recreation;
            ``(3) river access; and
            ``(4) overall aesthetics.''.
    (c) Existing Undesignated Paragraphs; Removal of Duplication.--
Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking the first undesignated paragraph after 
        paragraph (156), relating to Elkhorn Creek, Oregon; and
            (2) by designating the three remaining undesignated 
        paragraphs after paragraph (156) as paragraphs (157), (158), 
        and (159), respectively.

SEC. 4. CONSOLIDATION OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS, HANFORD 
              NUCLEAR RESERVATION.

    (a) Study of Exchange Options.--The Secretary of the Interior and 
the Secretary of Energy shall--
            (1) study the consolidation of parcels of land administered 
        by the Bureau of Land Management on the Hanford Nuclear 
        Reservation; and
            (2) prepare to exchange lands on completion of documents 
        required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
        (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
    (b) Objectives.--The objectives of the land exchange under 
subsection (a) shall be--
            (1) to clear title to parcels of land along the railroad in 
        the southeast corner of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and in 
        the area known as the ``200 Area'' for industrial development;
            (2) to protect wildlife and native plants; and
            (3) to preserve cultural sites important to Native 
        Americans.
                                 <all>
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