II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1899

To establish the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area in the State of

Georgia, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 8 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1994

Mr. COVERDELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area in

the State of Georgia, 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. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds that—

5 (1) the Augusta Canal National Landmark in

6 the State of Georgia, listed on the National Historic

7 Register of Historic Places, and designated by the

8 Governor of Georgia as one of four regionally impor9 tant resources in the State, is one of the last un10 spoiled areas in the State of Georgia;
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1 (2) the Augusta Canal National Historic Land2 mark possesses excellent water quality, beautiful

3 rural and historic cultural landscapes, architecturally

4 significant mill structures and mill villages, and

5 large acreages of parks and permanent open space;

6 (3) three national historic districts, the Harris7 burg, Laney Walker, and Greene Street districts,

8 and 2 national historic landmarks, Stallings Island,

9 located in the Savannah River, and Meadow Garden,

10 are connected by the Augusta Canal Area;

11 (4) the beautiful rural landscapes and historic

12 cultural landscapes, scenic vistas and excellent water

13 quality of the Augusta Canal contain significant un14 developed recreational opportunities for people

15 throughout the United States;

16 (5) the Augusta Canal and related mill sites,

17 structures, and associated neighborhoods are rep18 resentative of the development of the cotton textile

19 industry and associated agriculture and trade in the

20 South;

21 (6) the transformation of the agrarian economy

22 of the area into an early industrial economy was

23 precipitated by the development and use of the Au24 gusta Canal;
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1 (7) several significant sites associated with the

2 American Revolution, the Civil War, Native Ameri3 cans, Colonial Americans, African Americans, Chi4 nese Americans, and Irish Americans are located

5 within the Augusta Canal area;

6 (8) despite the efforts by the State of Georgia,

7 political subdivisions of the State, volunteer organi8 zations, and private businesses, the cultural, histori9 cal, natural, and recreational resources of the area

10 have not realized full potential and may be lost with11 out assistance from the Federal Government;

12 (9) the Secretary of the Interior considers this

13 landmark threatened and has designated it a priority

14 for protection; and

15 (10) many local, regional, and State agencies,

16 businesses, and private citizens have expressed an

17 overwhelming desire to combine forces to work coop18 eratively to preserve and enhance the resources of

19 the Augusta Canal National Historic Landmark and

20 better plan for its future.

21 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

22 It is the purpose of this Act to provide a cooperative

23 management framework to assist the State of Georgia, its

24 units of local government, and area citizens in retaining,

25 enhancing, and interpreting the significant features of the
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1 lands, water, and structures of the Augusta Canal, in a

2 manner consistent with positive economic impact and de3 velopment for the benefit and inspiration of present and

4 future generations in the State of Georgia and the United

5 States.

6 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND BOUNDARIES OF AUGUSTA

7 CANAL NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

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

9 State of Georgia the Augusta Canal National Heritage

10 Area (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Heritage Area’’).

11 (b) BOUNDARIES.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Heritage Area shall in13 clude those lands in the States of Georgia and South

14 Carolina commonly known as the Augusta Canal, as

15 generally depicted in the ‘‘Augusta Canal Master

16 Plan’’, dated December 31, 1993. The Augusta

17 Canal Master Plan shall be on file and available for

18 public inspection in the Office of the Director of the

19 National Park Service, Washington, D.C.

20 (2) MAP.—As soon as practicable after the date

21 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte22 rior (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall

23 publish in the Federal Register a detailed descrip24 tion and map of the boundaries established under

25 this subsection.
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1 SEC. 4. AUGUSTA CANAL COMMISSION.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Au3 gusta Canal Commission. Not later than 6 months after

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall ap5 point the members of the Commission as follows:

6 (1) Five members shall be appointed from

7 among persons serving on the Augusta Canal Au8 thority as established in the Augusta Canal Charter,

9 by Georgia Public Law.

10 (2) One member shall be appointed from rec11 ommendations submitted by the mayor of the city of

12 Augusta, Georgia.

13 (3) One member shall be appointed from rec14 ommendations submitted by a consensus of the

15 Georgia congressional delegation, representing Au16 gusta, Georgia.

17 (4) One member shall be appointed from rec18 ommendations submitted by the Governor of the

19 State of Georgia.

20 (5) One member shall be appointed from rec21 ommendations submitted by the Governor of the

22 State of South Carolina.

23 (b) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall elect a

24 chairman from among its members.
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1 (c) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the commission shall

2 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment

3 was made.

4 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

5 (a) PREPARATION OF PLAN.—Not later than 1 year

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Augusta Canal

7 Commission shall prepare and submit to the Secretary for

8 review and approval a plan for the management and ad9 ministration of the Heritage Area.

10 (b) CONTENT.—The plan shall be based on Federal,

11 State, and local plans in existence on the date of enact12 ment of this Act, including the Augusta Canal Master

13 Plan. The Augusta Canal Commission shall coordinate

14 and combine such plans and present an integrated and

15 cooperative approach for the protection, enhancement, and

16 interpretation of the cultural, natural, scenic, and rec17 reational resources of the Heritage Area.

18 (c) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary is authorized to

19 provide technical and financial assistance in the prepara20 tion of the management plan.

21 (d) APPROVAL.—

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

23 after receipt of the plan submitted pursuant to sub24 section (a), the Secretary shall approve or dis25 approve the plan.
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1 (2) CRITERIA.—In determining whether to ap2 prove a plan, the Secretary shall consider—

3 (A) whether the planning area has strong

4 local support for the study from a diversity of

5 landowners, business interests, nonprofit orga6 nizations, and governments within the proposed

7 study area;

8 (B) whether the proposal is consistent with

9 and complements continued economic activity in

10 the area;

11 (C) whether the planning area has a high

12 potential for effective partnership mechanisms;

13 (D) whether the plan improperly infringes

14 on private property rights; and

15 (E) whether the plan will take appropriate

16 action to ensure private property rights are ob17 served.

18 (3) DISAPPROVAL.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary dis20 approves the management plan, the Secretary

21 shall notify the Augusta Canal Commission of

22 the disapproval in writing. The notice shall in23 clude—

24 (i) the reasons for the disapproval;

25 and
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1 (ii) recommendations for revision.

2 (B) REVISED PLAN.—The Augusta Canal

3 Commission shall revise and resubmit the man4 agement plan to the Secretary for approval. Not

5 later than 180 days after receipt of the revised

6 plan, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove

7 the plan as provided in paragraph (2). The Au8 gusta Canal Commission shall revise and sub9 mit the management plan until the manage10 ment plan is approved by the Secretary.

11 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon approval of the man13 agement plan as provided in subsection (d), the Sec14 retary, in conjunction with the Augusta Canal Com15 mission, shall take appropriate steps to implement

16 the management plan.

17 (2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec18 retary is authorized to enter into cooperative agree19 ments with the State of Georgia, political subdivi20 sions of the State, the Augusta Canal Commission,

21 or any organization or individual to implement the

22 management plan.

23 (f) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—The Augusta Com24 mission, the State of Georgia, the city of Augusta, or any

25 political subdivision of the State shall encourage, by ap-
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1 propriate means, enhanced economic and industrial devel2 opment in the area consistent with the goals of the Au3 gusta Canal Master Plan.

4 SEC. 6. ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS.

5 (a) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act is intended

6 to impose any occupational, safety, conservation, or envi7 ronmental regulation on the Heritage Area that is more

8 stringent than the regulations that would be applicable to

9 such area but for the establishment of the Heritage Area

10 pursuant to section 3.

11 (b) RESTRICTIONS.—No Federal agency may promul12 gate an occupational, safety, conservation, or environ13 mental regulation for the Heritage Area that is more

14 stringent than the regulations applicable to the Heritage

15 Area in existence on the date of enactment of this Act,

16 solely as a result of the establishment of the Heritage Area

17 pursuant to section 3.

18 SEC. 7. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES.

19 Any Federal entity conducting or supporting activi20 ties directly affecting the Heritage Area shall—

21 (1) consult with the Secretary and the Augusta

22 Canal Commission with respect to such activities;

23 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the Au24 gusta Canal Authority with respect to such activi25 ties;
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1 (3) coordinate such activities with the Secretary

2 and the Augusta Canal Commission; and

3 (4) conduct or support such activities in a man4 ner that the Secretary and the Augusta Canal Com5 mission determine will not have an adverse effect on

6 the Heritage Area.

7 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

9 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

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