I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 262 

To establish the Susquehanna National Heritage Area in the State of 

Pennsylvania, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2019 

Mr. SMUCKER (for himself and Mr. PERRY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Susquehanna National Heritage Area in 

the State of Pennsylvania, 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 ‘‘Susquehanna National 

5 Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

9 Area’’ means the Susquehanna National Heritage 

10 Area established by section 3(a). 


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1 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi3 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 

4 section 4(a). 

5 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage6 ment plan’’ means the plan developed by the local 

7 coordinating entity under section 5(a). 

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

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

11 of Pennsylvania. 

12 SEC. 3. SUSQUEHANNA NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Sus14 quehanna National Heritage Area in the State. 

15 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall include 

16 Lancaster and York Counties, Pennsylvania. 

17 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY. 

18 (a) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Susque19 hanna Heritage Corporation, a nonprofit organization es20 tablished under the laws of the State, shall be the local 

21 coordinating entity for the Heritage Area. 

22 (b) AUTHORITIES OF LOCAL COORDINATING ENTI23 TY.—The local coordinating entity may, for purposes of 

24 preparing and implementing the management plan— 


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1 (1) prepare reports, studies, interpretive exhib2 its and programs, historic preservation projects, and 

3 other activities recommended in the management 

4 plan for the Heritage Area; 

5 (2) make grants to the State, political subdivi6 sions of the State, nonprofit organizations, and 

7 other persons; 

8 (3) enter into cooperative agreements with the 

9 State, political subdivisions of the State, nonprofit 

10 organizations, and other organizations; 

11 (4) hire and compensate staff; 

12 (5) obtain funds or services from any source, 

13 including funds and services provided under any 

14 Federal program or law, in which case the Federal 

15 share of the cost of any activity assisted using Fed16 eral funds provided for National Heritage Areas 

17 shall not be more than 50 percent; and 

18 (6) contract for goods and services. 

19 (c) DUTIES OF LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—To 

20 further the purposes of the Heritage Area, the local co21 ordinating entity shall— 

22 (1) prepare a management plan for the Herit23 age Area in accordance with section 5; 

24 (2) give priority to the implementation of ac25 tions, goals, and strategies set forth in the manageVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262

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1 ment plan, including assisting units of government 

2 and other persons in— 

3 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

4 that recognize and protect important resource 

5 values in the Heritage Area; 

6 (B) encouraging economic viability in the 

7 Heritage Area in accordance with the goals of 

8 the management plan; 

9 (C) establishing and maintaining interpre10 tive exhibits in the Heritage Area; 

11 (D) developing heritage-based recreational 

12 and educational opportunities for residents and 

13 visitors in the Heritage Area; 

14 (E) increasing public awareness of and ap15 preciation for the natural, historic, and cultural 

16 resources of the Heritage Area; 

17 (F) restoring historic buildings that are— 

18 (i) located in the Heritage Area; and 

19 (ii) related to the themes of the Herit20 age Area; and 

21 (G) installing throughout the Heritage 

22 Area clear, consistent, and appropriate signs 

23 identifying public access points and sites of in24 terest; 


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1 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

2 government, businesses, tourism officials, private 

3 property owners, and nonprofit groups within the 

4 Heritage Area in developing and implementing the 

5 management plan; 

6 (4) conduct public meetings at least semiannu7 ally regarding the development and implementation 

8 of the management plan; and 

9 (5) for any fiscal year for which Federal funds 

10 provided for National Heritage Areas are expended 

11 for the Heritage Area— 

12 (A) submit to the Secretary an annual re13 port that describes— 

14 (i) the accomplishments of the local 

15 coordinating entity; 

16 (ii) the expenses and income of the 

17 local coordinating entity; and 

18 (iii) the entities to which the local co19 ordinating entity made any grants; 

20 (B) make available for audit all records re21 lating to the expenditure of the Federal funds 

22 and any matching funds; and 

23 (C) require, with respect to all agreements 

24 authorizing the expenditure of Federal funds by 

25 other organizations, that the receiving organizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262

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1 tions make available for audit all records relat2 ing to the expenditure of the Federal funds. 

3 (d) PROHIBITION ON ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP4 ERTY.— 

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

6 shall not use Federal funds provided for National 

7 Heritage Areas to acquire real property or any inter8 est in real property. 

9 (2) OTHER SOURCES.—Nothing in this Act pre10 cludes the local coordinating entity from using funds 

11 from other sources for authorized purposes, includ12 ing the acquisition of real property or any interest 

13 in real property. 

14 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

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

16 date on which funds are first made available to carry out 

17 this Act, the local coordinating entity shall prepare and 

18 submit to the Secretary a management plan for the Herit19 age Area. 

20 (b) CONTENTS.—The management plan for the Her21 itage Area shall— 

22 (1) include comprehensive policies, strategies, 

23 and recommendations for the conservation, funding, 

24 management, and development of the Heritage Area; 


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1 (2) include a description of actions and commit2 ments that governments, private organizations, and 

3 citizens will take to protect, enhance, and interpret 

4 the natural, historic, scenic, and cultural resources 

5 of the Heritage Area; 

6 (3) describe a program of implementation for 

7 the management plan that includes— 

8 (A) performance goals and ongoing per9 formance evaluation; 

10 (B) plans for resource protection, enhance11 ment and interpretation; and 

12 (C) specific commitments for implementa13 tion that have been made by the local coordi14 nating entity or any government, organization, 

15 business or individual; 

16 (4) include an interpretative plan for the Herit17 age Area; 

18 (5) take into consideration existing State, coun19 ty, and local plans; 

20 (6) specify the existing and potential sources of 

21 funding to protect, manage, and develop the Herit22 age Area; 

23 (7) include an inventory of the natural, historic, 

24 cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational re25 sources of the Heritage Area relating to the themes 


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1 of the Heritage Area that should be preserved, re2 stored, managed, developed, or maintained; and 

3 (8) include an analysis of, and recommenda4 tions for, ways in which Federal, State, and local 

5 programs, may best be coordinated to further the 

6 purposes of this Act, including recommendations for 

7 the role of the National Park Service in the Heritage 

8 Area. 

9 (c) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

10 PLAN.— 

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

12 after the date on which the local coordinating entity 

13 submits the management plan to the Secretary, the 

14 Secretary shall approve or disapprove the proposed 

15 management plan. 

16 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining whether 

17 to approve or disapprove the management plan, the 

18 Secretary shall consider whether— 

19 (A) the local coordinating entity is rep20 resentative of the diverse interests of the Herit21 age Area, including governments, natural and 

22 historic resource protection organizations, edu23 cational institutions, businesses, and rec24 reational organizations; 


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1 (B) the local coordinating entity has pro2 vided adequate opportunities (including public 

3 meetings) for public and governmental involve4 ment in the preparation of the management 

5 plan; 

6 (C) the resource protection and interpreta7 tion strategies contained in the management 

8 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

9 the natural, historic, and cultural resources of 

10 the Heritage Area; and 

11 (D) the management plan is supported by 

12 the appropriate State and local officials, the co13 operation of which is needed to ensure the ef14 fective implementation of the State and local 

15 aspects of the management plan. 

16 (3) DISAPPROVAL AND REVISIONS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary dis18 approves a proposed management plan, the Sec19 retary shall— 

20 (i) advise the local coordinating entity, 

21 in writing, of the reasons for the dis22 approval; and 

23 (ii) make recommendations for revi24 sion of the proposed management plan. 


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1 (B) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—The 

2 Secretary shall approve or disapprove a revised 

3 management plan not later than 180 days after 

4 the date on which the revised management plan 

5 is submitted. 

6 (d) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary 

7 shall review and approve or disapprove substantial amend8 ments to the management plan in accordance with sub9 section (c). 

10 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au12 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan13 cial assistance under any other law. 

14 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

15 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

16 may have an impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged 

17 to consult and coordinate the activities with the Secretary 

18 and the local coordinating entity to the extent practicable. 

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

20 Act— 

21 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu22 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed23 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen24 cy; 


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1 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man2 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

3 the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or 

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

5 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed6 eral agency. 

7 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC8 TIONS. 

9 Nothing in this Act— 

10 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 

11 (whether public or private), including the right to re12 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro13 gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage 

14 Area; 

15 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub16 lic access (including access by Federal, State, or 

17 local agencies) to the property of the property 

18 owner, or to modify public access or use of property 

19 of the property owner under any other Federal, 

20 State, or local law; 

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

22 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author23 ity of any Federal, State, or local agency, or conveys 

24 any land use or other regulatory authority to the 

25 local coordinating entity; 


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1 (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap2 propriation of water or water rights; 

3 (5) affects the licensing or relicensing of facili4 ties by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

5 within the proposed Heritage Area or upstream or 

6 downstream from the proposed Heritage Area on the 

7 Susquehanna River, including FERC Project No. 

8 405–104; 

9 (6) diminishes the authority of the State to 

10 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

11 fishing and hunting within the Heritage Area; or 

12 (7) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

13 under any other law, of any private property owner 

14 with respect to any person injured on the private 

15 property. 

16 SEC. 8. EVALUATION; REPORT. 

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

18 date specified under section 9, the Secretary shall— 

19 (1) conduct an evaluation of the accomplish20 ments of the Heritage Area; and 

21 (2) prepare a report in accordance with sub22 section (c). 

23 (b) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted under 

24 subsection (a)(1) shall— 


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1 (1) assess the progress of the local coordinating 

2 entity with respect to— 

3 (A) accomplishing the purposes of this Act 

4 for the Heritage Area; and 

5 (B) achieving the goals and objectives of 

6 the approved management plan for the Heritage 

7 Area; 

8 (2) analyze the Federal, State, local, and pri9 vate investments in the Heritage Area to determine 

10 the leverage and impact of the investments; and 

11 (3) review the management structure, partner12 ship relationships, and funding of the Heritage Area 

13 for purposes of identifying the critical components 

14 for sustainability of the Heritage Area. 

15 (c) REPORT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the evaluation con17 ducted under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall 

18 prepare a report that includes recommendations for 

19 the future role of the National Park Service, if any, 

20 with respect to the Heritage Area. 

21 (2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On completion 

22 of the report, the Secretary shall submit the report 

23 to— 

24 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

25 Resources of the Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

2 of the House of Representatives. 

3 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

4 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

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

6 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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