II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 323 

To establish the First State National Historical Park in the State of 

Delaware, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2011 

Mr. CARPER (for himself and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the First State National Historical Park in 

the State of Delaware, 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 ‘‘First State National 

5 Historical Park Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) HISTORICAL PARK.—The term ‘‘historical 

9 park’’ means the First State National Historical 

10 Park established by section 3(a)(1). 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 323 IS

1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

4 of Delaware. 

5 SEC. 3. FIRST STATE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

8 there is established in the State the First State Na9 tional Historical Park, to be administered as a unit 

10 of the National Park System. 

11 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the historical 

12 park are to preserve, protect, and interpret the na13 tionally significant cultural and historic resources in 

14 the State that are associated with— 

15 (A) early Dutch, Swedish, and English set16 tlement of the Colony of Delaware; and 

17 (B) the role of Delaware as the first State 

18 to ratify the Constitution. 

19 (3) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The historical park 

21 shall not be established until the date on which 

22 the Secretary determines that sufficient land or 

23 interests in land have been acquired from 

24 among the sites described in subsection (b) to 

25 constitute a manageable park unit. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 323 IS

1 (B) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after making a determination under subpara3 graph (A), the Secretary shall publish a notice 

4 in the Federal Register of the establishment of 

5 the historical park, including an official bound6 ary map for the historical park. 

7 (C) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map 

8 published under subparagraph (B) shall be on 

9 file and available for public inspection in the 

10 appropriate offices of the National Park Serv11 ice. 

12 (b) HISTORIC SITES.—The Secretary may include the 

13 following sites in the State within the boundary of the his14 torical park: 

15 (1) The Old Sherriff’s House in New Castle 

16 County, Delaware. 

17 (2) Fort Christina National Historic Landmark 

18 in New Castle County, Delaware. 

19 (3) Old Swedes Church National Historic Land20 mark in New Castle County, Delaware. 

21 (4) Old New Castle Courthouse in New Castle, 

22 Delaware. 

23 (5) John Dickinson Plantation National His24 toric Landmark in Kent County, Delaware. 

25 (6) Dover Green in Kent County, Delaware. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 323 IS

1 (7) Ryves Holt House in Sussex County, Dela2 ware. 

3 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer 

5 the historical park in accordance with— 

6 (1) this Act; and 

7 (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the 

8 National Park System, including— 

9 (A) the National Park System Organic Act 

10 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and 

11 (B) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 

12 461 et seq.). 

13 (b) LAND ACQUISITION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may acquire 

15 all or a portion of any of the sites described in sec16 tion 3(b), including easements or other interests in 

17 land, by purchase from a willing seller, donation, or 

18 exchange. 

19 (2) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—On acquisition 

20 of land or an interest in land under paragraph (1), 

21 the boundary of the historical park shall be adjusted 

22 to reflect the acquisition. 

23 (c) INTERPRETIVE TOURS.—The Secretary may pro24 vide interpretive tours to sites and resources in the State 

25 that are located outside the boundary of the historical 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 323 IS

1 park and associated with the purposes for which the his2 torical park is established, including— 

3 (1) Fort Casimir; 

4 (2) DeVries Monument; 

5 (3) Amstel House; 

6 (4) Dutch House; and 

7 (5) Zwaanendael Museum. 

8 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

10 into a cooperative agreement with the State, political 

11 subdivisions of the State, institutions of higher edu12 cation, nonprofit organizations, and individuals to 

13 mark, interpret, and restore nationally significant 

14 historic or cultural resources within the boundaries 

15 of the historical park, if the cooperative agreement 

16 provides for reasonable public access to the re17 sources. 

18 (2) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

19 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share 

20 of the total cost of any activity carried out 

21 under a cooperative agreement entered into 

22 under paragraph (1) shall be not more than 50 

23 percent. 

24 (B) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The 

25 non-Federal share may be in the form of inVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Feb 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S323.IS S323

jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 323 IS

1 kind contributions or goods or services fairly 

2 valued. 

3 (e) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 fiscal years 

5 after the date on which funds are made available to 

6 carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall com7 plete a management plan for the historical park. 

8 (2) APPLICABLE LAW.—The management plan 

9 shall be prepared in accordance with section 12(b) of 

10 Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–7(b)) and other 

11 applicable laws. 

12 SEC. 5. NATIONAL LANDMARK STUDY. 

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

14 date on which funds are made available to carry out this 

15 section, the Secretary shall complete a study assessing the 

16 historical significance of additional properties in the State 

17 that are associated with the purposes of historical park. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study prepared under 

19 subsection (a) shall include an assessment of the potential 

20 for designating the additional properties as National His21 toric Landmarks. 

22 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

24 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with BILLS