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106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3272

To establish the Great Basin National Heritage Area, Nevada and Utah.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

DECEMBER 5 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. REID introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Great Basin National Heritage Area,

Nevada and Utah.

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 ‘‘Great Basin National

5 Heritage Area Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) the natural, cultural, and historic heritage

9 of the North American Great Basin is nationally sig10 nificant;
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1 (2) communities in the Great Basin (including

2 the towns of Delta, Utah, and Baker, Ely, Eureka,

3 and Austin, Nevada) are located in a classic western

4 landscape that contains long natural vistas, isolated

5 high desert valleys, mountain ranges, ranches,

6 mines, historic railroads, archaeological sites, and

7 tribal communities;

8 (3) the Native American, pioneer, ranching,

9 mining, timber, and railroad heritages in the Great

10 Basin include the social history and living cultural

11 traditions of a rich diversity of nationalities;

12 (4) the pioneer, Mormon settlement, ranching,

13 timber, and mining activities of the region played a

14 significant role in the development of the United

15 States, shaped by—

16 (A) the unique geography of the Great

17 Basin;

18 (B) an influx of people of Greek, Chinese,

19 Basque, Serb, Croat, Italian, and Hispanic de20 scent; and

21 (C) a Native American presence (Western

22 Shoshone, Northern Paiute, and Goshute) that

23 continues in the Great Basin today;

24 (5) the Great Basin housed internment camps

25 for Japanese-American citizens during World War
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1 II, 1 of which, Topaz, was located within the Herit2 age Area;

3 (6) the pioneer heritage of the Heritage Area

4 includes the Pony Express route and stations, the

5 Overland Stage, and many examples of 19th-century

6 exploration of the western United States;

7 (7) the Native American heritage of the Herit8 age Area dates back thousands of years and

9 includes—

10 (A) archaeological sites;

11 (B) petroglyphs and pictographs;

12 (C) the westernmost village of the Fremont

13 culture; and

14 (D) communities of Western Shoshone and

15 Goshute tribes;

16 (8) the Heritage Area contains multiple bio17 logically diverse ecological communities that are

18 home to exceptional species such as—

19 (A) bristlecone pines, the oldest living trees

20 in the world;

21 (B) wildlife adapted to harsh desert condi22 tions;

23 (C) unique plant communities, lakes, and

24 streams; and

25 (D) native Bonneville cutthroat trout;
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1 (9) the air and water quality of the Heritage

2 Area is among the best in the United States, and

3 the clear air permits outstanding viewing of night

4 skies;

5 (10) the Heritage Area includes unique and

6 outstanding geologic features such as numerous

7 limestone caves, classic basin and range topography

8 with playa lakes, alluvial fans, volcanics, cold and

9 hot springs, and recognizable features of ancient

10 Lake Bonneville;

11 (11) the Heritage Area includes an unusual va12 riety of open space and recreational and educational

13 opportunities because of the great quantity of ranch14 ing activity and public land (including city, county,

15 and State parks, national forests, Bureau of Land

16 Management land, and national parks);

17 (12) there are significant archaeological, histor18 ical, cultural, natural, scenic, and recreational re19 sources in the Great Basin to merit the involvement

20 of the Federal Government in the development, in

21 cooperation with the Great Basin Heritage Area

22 Partnership and other local and governmental enti23 ties, of programs and projects to—
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1 (A) adequately conserve, protect, and in2 terpret the heritage of the Great Basin for fu3 ture generations; and

4 (B) provide opportunities in the Great

5 Basin for education; and

6 (13) the Great Basin Heritage Area Partner7 ship should serve as the management entity for a

8 Heritage Area established in the Great Basin.

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

10 (1) to foster a close working relationship with

11 all levels of government, the private sector, and the

12 local communities along the United States Highway

13 50 corridor from Austin, Nevada, to Delta, Utah;

14 (2) to enable communities referred to in para15 graph (1) to conserve their heritage while continuing

16 to pursue economic opportunities; and

17 (3) to conserve, interpret, and develop the ar18 chaeological, historical, cultural, natural, scenic, and

19 recreational resources related to the unique ranch20 ing, industrial, and cultural heritage of the Great

21 Basin, in a manner that does not exclude multiple

22 uses permitted as of the date of enactment of this

23 Act.

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

25 In this Act:
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1 (1) GREAT BASIN.—The term ‘‘Great Basin’’

2 means the North American Great Basin, comprised

3 of the towns, and areas along the United States

4 Highway 50 corridor between the towns, of Delta,

5 Utah, and Baker, Ely, Eureka and Austin, Nevada.

6 (2) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage

7 Area’’ means the Great Basin National Heritage

8 Area established by section 4(a).

9 (3) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘man10 agement entity’’ means the management entity for

11 the Heritage Area designated by section 4(c).

12 (4) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage13 ment plan’’ means the plan developed by the man14 agement entity under section 6(a).

15 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

16 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di17 rector of the National Park Service.

18 SEC. 4. GREAT BASIN NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

20 Great Basin National Heritage Area.

21 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Heritage Area shall be a

22 corridor in Lander County, Eureka County, and White

23 Pine County, Nevada, and Millard County, Utah, delin24 eated under section 5(b)(1).
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1 (c) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—As a condition for the

2 receipt of Federal funds under this Act, the Great Basin

3 Heritage Area Partnership shall serve as the management

4 entity for the Heritage Area.

5 SEC. 5. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this Act, the Sec7 retary, in consultation with the Governors of the States

8 of Nevada and Utah, shall enter into a memorandum of

9 understanding with the management entity.

10 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The memorandum of under11 standing shall include information relating to the objec12 tives and management of the Heritage Area, including—

13 (1) a delineation of the boundaries of the Herit14 age Area (including the boundaries of the counties

15 referred to in section 4(b));

16 (2) a discussion of the goals and objectives of

17 the Heritage Area, including—

18 (A) an explanation of the proposed ap19 proach to conservation and interpretation; and

20 (B) a general outline of the anticipated

21 protection measures;

22 (3) a description of the management entity;

23 (4) a list and statement of the financial com24 mitment of the initial partners to be involved in de-
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1 veloping and implementing the management plan;

2 and

3 (5) a description of the role of the States of Ne4 vada and Utah in the management of the Heritage

5 Area.

6 (c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the

7 terms of the memorandum of understanding, the Sec8 retary and the management entity shall—

9 (1) provide opportunities for public participa10 tion; and

11 (2) include terms that ensure, to the maximum

12 extent practicable, timely implementation of all as13 pects of the memorandum of understanding.

14 (d) AMENDMENTS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review

16 any amendments of the memorandum of under17 standing proposed by the management entity or the

18 Governor of the State of Nevada or Utah.

19 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available

20 under this Act shall not be expended to implement

21 a change made by a proposed amendment described

22 in paragraph (1) until the Secretary approves the

23 amendment.
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1 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the

3 date of enactment of this Act, the management entity may

4 develop and submit to the Secretary for approval a man5 agement plan for the Heritage Area that presents clear

6 and comprehensive recommendations for the conservation,

7 funding, management, and development of the Heritage

8 Area.

9 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the manage10 ment plan, the management entity shall—

11 (1) provide for the participation of residents,

12 public agencies, and private organizations in the pro13 tection of resources of the Heritage Area, taking

14 into consideration State, county, and local land use

15 plans in existence on the date of enactment of this

16 Act;

17 (2) identify sources of funding; and

18 (3) include—

19 (A) an inventory of the archaeological, his20 torical, cultural, natural, scenic, and rec21 reational resources contained in the Heritage

22 Area, including a list of property that—

23 (i) is related to the themes of the

24 Heritage Area; and

25 (ii) should be preserved, restored,

26 managed, developed, or maintained because
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1 of the archaeological, historical, cultural,

2 natural, scenic, and recreational signifi3 cance of the property;

4 (B) a program for implementation of the

5 management plan by the management entity,

6 including—

7 (i) plans for restoration and construc8 tion; and

9 (ii) specific commitments by the iden10 tified partners referred to in section

11 5(b)(4) for the first 5 years of operation;

12 and

13 (C) an interpretation plan for the Heritage

14 Area.

15 (c) FAILURE TO SUBMIT.—If the management entity

16 fails to submit a management plan to the Secretary in ac17 cordance with subsection (a), the Heritage Area shall no

18 longer qualify for Federal funding.

19 (d) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

20 PLAN.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after

22 receipt of a management plan under subsection (a),

23 the Secretary, in consultation with the Governors of

24 the States of Nevada and Utah, shall approve or dis25 approve the management plan.
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1 (2) CRITERIA.—In determining whether to ap2 prove a management plan, the Secretary shall con3 sider whether the management plan—

4 (A) has strong local support from a diver5 sity of landowners, business interests, nonprofit

6 organizations, and governments within the Her7 itage Area;

8 (B) is consistent with and complements

9 continued economic activity in the Heritage

10 Area;

11 (C) has a high potential for effective part12 nership mechanisms;

13 (D) may cause improper infringement on

14 private property rights; and

15 (E) provides methods to take appropriate

16 action to ensure that private property rights are

17 observed.

18 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the

19 Secretary disapproves a management plan under

20 subsection (d)(1), the Secretary shall—

21 (A) advise the management entity in writ22 ing of the reasons for the disapproval;

23 (B) make recommendations for revisions to

24 the management plan; and
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1 (C) not later than 90 days after the receipt

2 of any proposed revision of the management

3 plan from the management entity, approve or

4 disapprove the proposed revision.

5 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—On approval of the manage6 ment plan as provided in section 6(d)(1), the Secretary,

7 in conjunction with the management entity, shall take ap8 propriate steps to implement the management plan.

9 (f) AMENDMENTS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review

11 each amendment to the management plan that the

12 Secretary determines may make a substantial

13 change to the management plan.

14 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available

15 under this Act shall not be expended to implement

16 an amendment described in paragraph (1) until the

17 Secretary approves the amendment.

18 SEC. 7. AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT ENTITY.

19 (a) AUTHORITIES.—The management entity may, for

20 purposes of preparing and implementing the management

21 plan, use funds made available under this Act to—

22 (1) make loans and grants to, and enter into

23 cooperative agreements with, a State (including a

24 political subdivision), a private organization, or any

25 person; and
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1 (2) hire and compensate staff.

2 (b) DUTIES.—In addition to developing the manage3 ment plan, the management entity shall—

4 (1) give priority to implementing the memo5 randum of understanding and the management plan,

6 including taking steps to—

7 (A) assist units of government, regional

8 planning organizations, and nonprofit organiza9 tions in—

10 (i) preserving the Heritage Area;

11 (ii) establishing and maintaining in12 terpretive exhibits in the Heritage Area;

13 (iii) developing recreational resources

14 in the Heritage Area;

15 (iv) increasing public awareness of

16 and appreciation for the archaeological,

17 historical, cultural, natural, scenic, and

18 recreational resources and sites in the Her19 itage Area; and

20 (v) restoring any historical building

21 relating to the themes of the Heritage

22 Area;

23 (B) encourage economic viability in the

24 Heritage Area in accordance with the objectives

25 of the management plan;
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1 (C) encourage local governments to adopt

2 land use policies consistent with the manage3 ment of the Heritage Area and the objectives of

4 the management plan; and

5 (D) ensure that clear, consistent, and envi6 ronmentally appropriate signage identifying ac7 cess points and sites of interest are installed

8 throughout the Heritage Area;

9 (2) consider the interests of diverse govern10 mental, business, and nonprofit groups within the

11 Heritage Area;

12 (3) conduct public meetings at least quarterly

13 regarding the implementation of the management

14 plan;

15 (4) submit substantial amendments (including

16 any increase of more than 20 percent in the cost es17 timates for implementation) to the management plan

18 to the Secretary for approval by the Secretary;

19 (5) for any year for which Federal funds are re20 ceived under this Act—

21 (A) submit to the Secretary a report that

22 describes, for the year—

23 (i) the accomplishments of the man24 agement entity;
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1 (ii) the expenses and income of the

2 management entity; and

3 (iii) each entity to which any loan or

4 grant was made;

5 (B) make available for audit all records

6 pertaining to the expenditure of the funds and

7 any matching funds; and

8 (C) require, for all agreements authorizing

9 the expenditure of Federal funds by any entity,

10 that the receiving entity make available for

11 audit all records pertaining to the expenditure

12 of the funds.

13 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

14 PROPERTY.—The management entity shall not use Fed15 eral funds made available under this Act to acquire real

16 property or any interest in real property.

17 SEC. 8. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

18 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, on re20 quest of the management entity, provide technical

21 and financial assistance to develop and implement

22 the management plan.

23 (2) PRIORITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—In providing

24 assistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall,
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1 on request of the management entity, give priority

2 to actions that assist in—

3 (A) conserving the significant archae4 ological, historical, cultural, natural, scenic, and

5 recreational resources of the Heritage Area; and

6 (B) providing education, interpretive, and

7 recreational opportunities, consistent with those

8 resources.

9 (b) SPENDING FOR NON-FEDERAL PROPERTY.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may spend

11 Federal funds to carry out this Act, especially in as12 sisting units of government in appropriate treatment

13 of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects

14 on non-Federal property that are listed or eligible

15 for listing on the National Register of Historic

16 Places.

17 (2) STUDIES.—The Historic American Building

18 Survey/Historic American Engineering Record shall

19 conduct any study necessary to document the indus20 trial, engineering, building, and architectural history

21 of the Heritage Area.

22 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the

23 costs of any project provided assistance under this Act

24 shall not exceed 50 percent.
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1 (d) APPLICATION OF FEDERAL LAW.—The establish2 ment of the Heritage Area shall have no effect on the ap3 plication of any Federal law to any property within the

4 Heritage Area.

5 SEC. 9. LAND USE REGULATION; APPLICABILITY OF FED6 ERAL LAW.

7 (a) LAND USE REGULATION.—Nothing in this Act—

8 (1) modifies, enlarges, or diminishes any au9 thority of the Federal, State, or local government to

10 regulate by law (including by regulation) any use of

11 land; or

12 (2) grants any power of zoning or land use to

13 the management entity.

14 (b) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL LAW.—Nothing in

15 this Act—

16 (1) imposes on the Heritage Area, as a result

17 of the designation of the Heritage Area, any regula18 tion that is more stringent than a regulation applica19 ble to all heritage areas; or

20 (2) authorizes any agency to promulgate a reg21 ulation that is more stringent than any regulation

22 applicable to the Heritage Area in effect on the date

23 of enactment of this Act solely as a result of the des24 ignation under this Act.
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1 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.

2 The Secretary shall not provide any assistance under

3 this Act after September 20, 2020.

4 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

6 this Act $10,000,000.

Æ