I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1424 

To establish the St. Croix National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2021 

Ms. PLASKETT (for herself, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. 

SABLAN, and Mr. SAN NICOLAS) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the St. Croix National Heritage Area, 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 ‘‘St. Croix National 

5 Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 

9 ‘‘National Heritage Area’’ means the St. Croix Na10 tional Heritage Area established by section 3(a). 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1424 IH

1 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi3 nating entity for the National Heritage Area des4 ignated by section 3(d). 

5 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage6 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the Na7 tional Heritage Area required under section 5. 

8 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (5) ST. CROIX.—The term ‘‘St. Croix’’ means 

11 St. Croix, Virgin Islands of the United States. 

12 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the Vir13 gin Islands of the United States. 

14 SEC. 3. ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

16 State the St. Croix National Heritage Area. 

17 (b) CONCEPTUAL BOUNDARIES.—The National Her18 itage Area shall consist of the entire island of St. Croix. 

19 (c) MAP.—A map of the National Heritage Area shall 

20 be— 

21 (1) included in the management plan; and 

22 (2) on file and available for public inspection in 

23 the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 

24 (d) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1424 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The local coordinating entity 

2 for the National Heritage Area shall be the Virgin 

3 Islands State Historic Preservation Office. 

4 (2) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—The Vir5 gin Islands State Historic Preservation Office shall 

6 consult with a broad cross section of businesses, in7 dividuals, agencies, and organizations within the 

8 conceptual boundaries of the National Heritage Area 

9 described in subsection (b) that were involved in the 

10 planning and development of the National Heritage 

11 Area before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 

13 (a) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying out the 

14 management plan, the Secretary, acting through the local 

15 coordinating entity, may use amounts made available 

16 under this section to— 

17 (1) make grants to the State or a political sub18 division of the State, Indian Tribes, nonprofit orga19 nizations, and other persons; 

20 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with, or 

21 provide technical assistance to, the State or a polit22 ical subdivision of the State, Indian Tribes, non23 profit organizations, and other interested parties; 

24 (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in25 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1424 IH

1 and historical resources protection, and heritage pro2 gramming; 

3 (4) obtain money or services from any source 

4 including any money or services that are provided 

5 under any other Federal law or program; 

6 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

7 (6) undertake to be a catalyst for any other ac8 tivity that furthers the National Heritage Area and 

9 is consistent with the approved management plan. 

10 (b) DUTIES.—The local coordinating entity shall— 

11 (1) in accordance with section 5, prepare and 

12 submit a management plan for the National Herit13 age Area to the Secretary; 

14 (2) assist Federal agencies, the State or a polit15 ical subdivision of the State, Indian Tribes, regional 

16 planning organizations, nonprofit organizations, and 

17 other interested parties in carrying out the approved 

18 management plan by— 

19 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

20 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 

21 resource values in the National Heritage Area; 

22 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre23 tive exhibits and programs in the National Her24 itage Area; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1424 IH

1 (C) developing recreational and educational 

2 opportunities in the National Heritage Area; 

3 (D) increasing public awareness of, and 

4 appreciation for, natural, historical, scenic, and 

5 cultural resources of the National Heritage 

6 Area; 

7 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

8 and buildings in the National Heritage Area 

9 that are consistent with National Heritage Area 

10 themes; 

11 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap12 propriate signs identifying points of public ac13 cess, and sites of interest are posted throughout 

14 the National Heritage Area; and 

15 (G) promoting a wide range of partner16 ships among governments, organizations, and 

17 individuals to further the National Heritage 

18 Area; 

19 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

20 government, businesses, organizations, and individ21 uals in the National Heritage Area in the prepara22 tion and implementation of the management plan; 

23 (4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 

24 semiannually regarding the development and imple25 mentation of the management plan; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1424 IH

1 (5) for any year that Federal funds have been 

2 received under this Act— 

3 (A) submit an annual report to the Sec4 retary that describes the activities, expenses, 

5 and income of the local coordinating entity (in6 cluding grants to any other entities during the 

7 year that the report is made); 

8 (B) make available to the Secretary for 

9 audit all records relating to the expenditure of 

10 the funds and any matching funds; and 

11 (C) require, with respect to all agreements 

12 authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by 

13 other organizations, that the organizations re14 ceiving the funds make available to the Sec15 retary for audit all records concerning the ex16 penditure of the funds; and 

17 (6) encourage by appropriate means economic 

18 viability that is consistent with the National Herit19 age Area. 

20 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

21 PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity shall not use 

22 Federal funds made available under this Act to acquire 

23 real property or any interest in real property. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 1424 IH

1 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

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

3 date of enactment of this Act, the local coordinating entity 

4 shall submit to the Secretary for approval a proposed 

5 management plan for the National Heritage Area. 

6 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 

7 (1) incorporate an integrated and cooperative 

8 approach for the protection, enhancement, and inter9 pretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, 

10 and recreational resources of the National Heritage 

11 Area; 

12 (2) take into consideration Federal, State, and 

13 Tribal plans and treaty rights; 

14 (3) include— 

15 (A) an inventory of— 

16 (i) the resources located in the Na17 tional Heritage Area; and 

18 (ii) any other property in the National 

19 Heritage Area that— 

20 (I) is related to the themes of the 

21 National Heritage Area; and 

22 (II) should be preserved, re23 stored, managed, or maintained be24 cause of the significance of the prop25 erty; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 1424 IH

1 (B) comprehensive policies, strategies and 

2 recommendations for conservation, funding, 

3 management, and development of the National 

4 Heritage Area; 

5 (C) a description of actions that govern6 ments, private organizations, and individuals 

7 have agreed to take to protect the natural, his8 torical, cultural, scenic, and recreational re9 sources of the National Heritage Area; 

10 (D) a program of implementation for the 

11 management plan by the local coordinating en12 tity that includes a description of— 

13 (i) actions to facilitate ongoing col14 laboration among partners to promote 

15 plans for resource protection, restoration, 

16 and construction; and 

17 (ii) specific commitments for imple18 mentation that have been made by the 

19 local coordinating entity or any govern20 ment, organization, or individual for the 

21 first 5 years of operation; 

22 (E) the identification of sources of funding 

23 for carrying out the management plan; 

24 (F) analysis and recommendations for 

25 means by which Federal, State, and Tribal proVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:26 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1424.IH H1424

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 1424 IH

1 grams, including the role of the National Park 

2 Service in the National Heritage Area, may 

3 best be coordinated to carry out this Act; and 

4 (G) an interpretive plan for the National 

5 Heritage Area; and 

6 (4) recommend policies and strategies for re7 source management that consider and detail the ap8 plication of appropriate land and water management 

9 techniques, including the development of intergov10 ernmental and interagency cooperative agreements 

11 to protect the natural, historical, cultural, edu12 cational, scenic, and recreational resources of the 

13 National Heritage Area. 

14 (c) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management plan is 

15 not submitted to the Secretary by the date that is 3 years 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the local coordi17 nating entity shall be ineligible to receive additional fund18 ing under this Act until the date that the Secretary re19 ceives and approves the management plan. 

20 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

21 PLAN.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

23 after the date of receipt of the management plan 

24 under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 1424 IH

1 with the State, shall approve or disapprove the man2 agement plan. 

3 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

4 whether to approve the management plan, the Sec5 retary shall consider whether— 

6 (A) the local coordinating entity is rep7 resentative of the diverse interests of the Na8 tional Heritage Area; 

9 (B) the local coordinating entity has af10 forded adequate opportunity, including public 

11 hearings, for public and governmental involve12 ment in the preparation of the management 

13 plan; and 

14 (C) the resource protection and interpreta15 tion strategies contained in the management 

16 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

17 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 

18 the National Heritage Area. 

19 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

20 Secretary disapproves the management plan under 

21 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

22 (A) advise the local coordinating entity in 

23 writing of the reasons for the disapproval; 

24 (B) make recommendations for revisions to 

25 the management plan; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 1424 IH

1 (C) not later than 180 days after the re2 ceipt of any proposed revision of the manage3 ment plan from the local coordinating entity, 

4 approve or disapprove the proposed revision. 

5 (4) AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap7 prove or disapprove each amendment to the 

8 management plan that the Secretary determines 

9 make a substantial change to the management 

10 plan. 

11 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—The local coordi12 nating entity shall not use Federal funds au13 thorized by this Act to carry out any amend14 ments to the management plan until the Sec15 retary has approved the amendments. 

16 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au18 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan19 cial assistance under any other law. 

20 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

21 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

22 may have an impact on the National Heritage Area is en23 couraged to consult and coordinate the activities with the 

24 Secretary and the local coordinating entity to the max25 imum extent practicable. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 1424 IH

1 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 

2 Act— 

3 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu4 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed5 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen6 cy; 

7 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man8 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

9 the boundaries of the National Heritage Area; or 

10 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 

11 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed12 eral agency. 

13 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC14 TIONS. 

15 Nothing in this Act— 

16 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 

17 (whether public or private), including the right to re18 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro19 gram, or activity conducted within the National Her20 itage Area; 

21 (2) requires any property owner— 

22 (A) to permit public access (including ac23 cess by Federal or State agencies) to the prop24 erty of the property owner; or 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 1424 IH

1 (B) to modify public access or use of prop2 erty of the property owner under any other 

3 Federal or State law; 

4 (3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 

5 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author6 ity of any Federal or State agency; 

7 (4) conveys any land use or other regulatory 

8 authority to the local coordinating entity; 

9 (5) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap10 propriation of water or water rights; 

11 (6) enlarges or diminishes the treaty rights of 

12 any Indian Tribe within the National Heritage Area; 

13 (7) diminishes— 

14 (A) the authority of the State to manage 

15 fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

16 fishing and hunting within the National Herit17 age Area; or 

18 (B) the authority of Indian Tribes to regu19 late members of Indian Tribes with respect to 

20 fishing, hunting, and gathering in the exercise 

21 of treaty rights; or 

22 (8) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

23 under any other law, of any private property owner 

24 with respect to any person injured on the private 

25 property. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 1424 IH

1 SEC. 8. EVALUATION AND REPORT. 

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

3 date on which authority for Federal funding terminates 

4 for the National Heritage Area, the Secretary shall— 

5 (1) conduct an evaluation of the accomplish6 ments of the National Heritage Area; and 

7 (2) prepare a report in accordance with sub8 section (c). 

9 (b) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted under 

10 subsection (a)(1) shall— 

11 (1) assess the progress of the local coordinating 

12 entity with respect to— 

13 (A) accomplishing the purposes of the au14 thorizing legislation for the National Heritage 

15 Area; and 

16 (B) achieving the goals and objectives of 

17 the approved management plan for the National 

18 Heritage Area; 

19 (2) analyze the Federal, State, and private in20 vestments in the National Heritage Area to deter21 mine the impact of the investments; and 

22 (3) review the management structure, partner23 ship relationships, and funding of the National Her24 itage Area for purposes of identifying the critical 

25 components for sustainability of the National Herit26 age Area. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 1424 IH

1 (c) REPORT.—Based on the evaluation conducted 

2 under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall submit to the 

3 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen4 ate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

5 of Representatives a report that includes recommendations 

6 for the future role of the National Park Service, if any, 

7 with respect to the National Heritage Area. 

8 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro10 priated to carry out this Act $10,000,000, of which not 

11 more than $1,000,000 may be made available for any fis12 cal year. 

13 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available under 

14 subsection (a) shall remain available until expended. 

15 (c) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

17 total cost of any activity under this Act shall be not 

18 more than 50 percent. 

19 (2) FORM.—The non-Federal contribution of 

20 the total cost of any activity under this Act may be 

21 in the form of in-kind contributions of goods or serv22 ices fairly valued. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 1424 IH

1 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

2 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

3 under this Act terminates on the date that is 15 years 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS