I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 706 

To establish the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, to dedicate 

the Park to John H. Chafee, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2013 

Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. NEAL) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Blackstone River Valley National Historical 

Park, to dedicate the Park to John H. Chafee, 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 ‘‘Blackstone River Val5 ley National Historical Park Establishment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to establish the Blackstone 

8 River Valley National Historical Park— 


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1 (1) to help preserve, protect, and interpret the 

2 nationally significant resources that exemplify the 

3 industrial heritage of the Blackstone River Valley 

4 for the benefit and inspiration of future generations; 

5 (2) to support the preservation, protection, and 

6 interpretation of the urban, rural, and agricultural 

7 landscape features (including the Blackstone River 

8 and Canal) of the region that provide an overarching 

9 context for the industrial heritage of the Blackstone 

10 River Valley; 

11 (3) to educate the public about— 

12 (A) the nationally significant sites and dis13 tricts that convey the industrial history of the 

14 Blackstone River Valley; and 

15 (B) the significance of the Blackstone 

16 River Valley to the past and present of the 

17 United States; and 

18 (4) to support and enhance the network of part19 ners in the protection, improvement, management, 

20 and operation of related resources and facilities 

21 throughout the John H. Chafee Blackstone River 

22 Valley National Heritage Corridor. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) NATIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR.—The 

2 term ‘‘National Heritage Corridor’’ means the John 

3 H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Herit4 age Corridor. 

5 (2) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Black6 stone River Valley National Historical Park estab7 lished under section 4. 

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

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (4) STATES.—The term ‘‘States’’ means— 

11 (A) the State of Massachusetts; and 

12 (B) the State of Rhode Island. 

13 SEC. 4. BLACKSTONE RIVER VALLEY NATIONAL HISTOR14 ICAL PARK. 

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

16 States a unit of the National Park System, to be known 

17 as the ‘‘Blackstone River Valley National Historical 

18 Park’’. 

19 (b) HISTORIC SITES AND DISTRICTS.—The Park 

20 shall include— 

21 (1) Blackstone River State Park; and 

22 (2) the following resources, as described in 

23 Management Option 3 of the study entitled ‘‘Black24 stone River Valley Special Resource Study—Study 

25 Report 2011’’: 


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1 (A) Old Slater Mill National Historic 

2 Landmark District. 

3 (B) Slatersville Historic District. 

4 (C) Ashton Historic District. 

5 (D) Whitinsville Historic District. 

6 (E) Hopedale Village Historic District. 

7 (F) Blackstone River and the tributaries of 

8 Blackstone River. 

9 (G) Blackstone Canal. 

10 (c) ACQUISITION OF LAND; PARK BOUNDARY.— 

11 (1) LAND ACQUISITION.—The Secretary may 

12 acquire land or interests in land that are considered 

13 contributing historic resources in the historic sites 

14 and districts described in subsection (b)(2) for inclu15 sion in the Park boundary by donation, purchase 

16 from a willing seller with donated or appropriated 

17 funds, or exchange. 

18 (2) PARK BOUNDARY.—On a determination by 

19 the Secretary that a sufficient quantity of land or 

20 interests in land has been acquired to constitute a 

21 manageable park unit, the Secretary shall establish 

22 a boundary for the Park by publishing a boundary 

23 map in the Federal Register. 

24 (3) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Secretary may 

25 include in the Park boundary any resources that are 


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1 the subject of an agreement with the States or a 

2 subdivision of the States entered into under sub3 section (d)(4). 

4 (4) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—On the acquisi5 tion of additional land or interests in land under 

6 paragraph (1), or on entering an agreement under 

7 paragraph (3), the boundary of the Park shall be ad8 justed to reflect the acquisition or agreement by 

9 publishing a Park boundary map in the Federal 

10 Register. 

11 (5) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The maps referred 

12 to in this subsection shall be available for public in13 spection in the appropriate offices of the National 

14 Park Service. 

15 (6) ADMINISTRATIVE FACILITIES.—The Sec16 retary may acquire not more than 10 acres in 

17 Woonsocket, Rhode Island for the development of 

18 administrative, curatorial, maintenance, or visitor fa19 cilities for the Park. 

20 (7) LIMITATION.—Land owned by the States or 

21 a political subdivision of the States may be acquired 

22 under this subsection only by donation. 

23 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin2 ister land within the boundary of the Park in ac3 cordance with— 

4 (A) this section; and 

5 (B) the laws generally applicable to units 

6 of the National Park System, including— 

7 (i) the National Park Service Organic 

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

9 (ii) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 

10 U.S.C. 461 et seq.). 

11 (2) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

13 after the date on which funds are made avail14 able to carry out this section, the Secretary 

15 shall prepare a general management plan for 

16 the Park— 

17 (i) in consultation with the States and 

18 other interested parties; and 

19 (ii) in accordance with section 12(b) 

20 of the National Park System General Au21 thorities Act (16 U.S.C. 1a–7(b)). 

22 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall con23 sider ways to use preexisting or planned visitor 

24 facilities and recreational opportunities develVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:29 Feb 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H706.IH H706

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1 oped in the National Heritage Corridor, includ2 ing— 

3 (i) the Blackstone Valley Visitor Cen4 ter, Pawtucket, Rhode Island; 

5 (ii) the Captain Wilbur Kelly House, 

6 Blackstone River State Park, Lincoln, 

7 Rhode Island; 

8 (iii) the Museum of Work and Cul9 ture, Woonsocket, Rhode Island; 

10 (iv) the River Bend Farm/Blackstone 

11 River and Canal Heritage State Park, 

12 Uxbridge, Massachusetts; 

13 (v) the Worcester Blackstone Visitor 

14 Center, located at the former Washburn & 

15 Moen wire mill facility, Worcester, Massa16 chusetts; 

17 (vi) the Route 295 Visitor Center ad18 jacent to Blackstone River State Park; and 

19 (vii) the Blackstone River Bikeway. 

20 (3) RELATED SITES.—The Secretary may pro21 vide technical assistance, visitor services, interpretive 

22 tours, and educational programs to sites and re23 sources in the National Heritage Corridor that are 

24 located outside the boundary of the Park and associVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:29 Feb 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H706.IH H706

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1 ated with the purposes for which the Park is estab2 lished. 

3 (4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—To further the pur5 poses of this section and notwithstanding chap6 ter 63 of title 31, United States Code, the Sec7 retary may enter into cooperative agreements 

8 with the States, political subdivisions of the 

9 States, nonprofit organizations (including 

10 Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Cor11 ridor, Inc.), and other interested parties— 

12 (i) to provide technical assistance, in13 terpretation, and educational programs in 

14 the historic sites and districts described in 

15 subsection (b)(2); and 

16 (ii) subject to the availability of ap17 propriations and subparagraphs (B) and 

18 (C), to provide not more than 50 percent 

19 of the cost of any natural, historic, or cul20 tural resource protection project in the 

21 Park that is consistent with the general 

22 management plan prepared under para23 graph (2). 

24 (B) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a con25 dition of the receipt of funds under subparaVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:29 Feb 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H706.IH H706

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1 graph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall require that 

2 any Federal funds made available under a coop3 erative agreement entered into under this para4 graph are to be matched on a 1-to-1 basis by 

5 non-Federal funds. 

6 (C) REIMBURSEMENT.—Any payment 

7 made by the Secretary under subparagraph 

8 (A)(ii) shall be subject to an agreement that the 

9 conversion, use, or disposal of the project for 

10 purposes that are inconsistent with the pur11 poses of this section, as determined by the Sec12 retary, shall result in a right of the United 

13 States to reimbursement of the greater of— 

14 (i) the amount provided by the Sec15 retary to the project under subparagraph 

16 (A)(ii); or 

17 (ii) an amount equal to the increase in 

18 the value of the project that is attributable 

19 to the funds, as determined by the Sec20 retary at the time of the conversion, use, 

21 or disposal. 

22 (D) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Any cooperative 

23 agreement entered into under this paragraph 

24 shall provide for reasonable public access to the 

25 resources covered by the cooperative agreement. 


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1 (e) DEDICATION; MEMORIAL.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Congress dedicates the Park 

3 to John H. Chafee, the former United States Sen4 ator from Rhode Island, in recognition of— 

5 (A) the role of John H. Chafee in the pres6 ervation of the resources of the Blackstone 

7 River Valley and the heritage corridor that 

8 bears the name of John H. Chafee; and 

9 (B) the decades of the service of John H. 

10 Chafee to the people of Rhode Island and the 

11 United States. 

12 (2) MEMORIAL.—The Secretary shall display a 

13 memorial at an appropriate location in the Park that 

14 recognizes the role of John H. Chafee in preserving 

15 the resources of the Blackstone River Valley for the 

16 people of the United States. 

17 SEC. 5. JOHN H. CHAFEE BLACKSTONE RIVER VALLEY NA18 TIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR AMENDMENTS. 

19 Public Law 99–647 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; 100 Stat. 

20 3625) is amended— 

21 (1) in the first sentence of section 2 (110 Stat. 

22 4202), by striking ‘‘the map entitled ‘Blackstone 

23 River Valley National Heritage Corridor Boundary 

24 Map’, numbered BRV–80–80,011, and dated May 2, 

25 1993’’ and inserting ‘‘the map entitled ‘John H. 


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1 Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage 

2 Corridor—Proposed Boundary’, numbered 022/ 

3 111530, and dated November 10, 2011’’; 

4 (2) in section 7 (120 Stat. 1858, 125 Stat. 

5 155)— 

6 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘termination of commission’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘termination of commission; designation of local 

9 coordinating entity’’; 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Blackstone River 

16 Valley National Heritage Corridor, Inc., shall be the 

17 local coordinating entity for the Corridor (referred to 

18 in this section as the ‘local coordinating entity’). 

19 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGEMENT

20 PLAN.—The local coordinating entity shall assume 

21 the duties of the Commission for the implementation 

22 of the Cultural Heritage and Land Management 

23 Plan developed and approved under section 6. 


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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—For the purposes of carrying 

2 out the management plan, the local coordinating entity 

3 may use amounts made available under this Act— 

4 ‘‘(1) to make grants to the States of Massachu5 setts and Rhode Island (referred to in this section 

6 as the ‘States’), political subdivisions of the States, 

7 nonprofit organizations, and other persons; 

8 ‘‘(2) to enter into cooperative agreements with 

9 or provide technical assistance to the States, political 

10 subdivisions of the States, nonprofit organizations, 

11 Federal agencies, and other interested parties; 

12 ‘‘(3) to hire and compensate staff, including in13 dividuals with expertise in— 

14 ‘‘(A) natural, historical, cultural, edu15 cational, scenic, and recreational resource con16 servation; 

17 ‘‘(B) economic and community develop18 ment; or 

19 ‘‘(C) heritage planning; 

20 ‘‘(4) to obtain funds or services from any 

21 source, including funds and services provided under 

22 any other Federal law or program; 

23 ‘‘(5) to contract for goods or services; and 

24 ‘‘(6) to support activities of partners and any 

25 other activities that further the purposes of the CorVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:20 Feb 27, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H706.IH H706

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1 ridor and are consistent with the approved manage2 ment plan.’’; 

3 (3) in section 8 (120 Stat. 1858)— 

4 (A) in subsection (b)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 

6 inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

8 (ii) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Notwith11 standing chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, 

12 the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements 

13 with the local coordinating entity designated by 

14 paragraph (1) and other public or private entities 

15 for the purpose of— 

16 ‘‘(A) providing technical assistance; or 

17 ‘‘(B) implementing the plan under section 

18 6(c).’’; and 

19 (B) by striking subsection (d) and insert20 ing the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) TRANSITION MEMORANDUM OF UNDER22 STANDING.—The Secretary shall enter into a memo23 randum of understanding with the local coordinating enti24 ty to ensure— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the appropriate transition of management 

2 of the Corridor from the Commission to the local co3 ordinating entity; and 

4 ‘‘(2) coordination regarding the implementation 

5 of the Cultural Heritage and Land Management 

6 Plan.’’; 

7 (4) in section 10 (120 Stat. 1858)— 

8 (A) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘for each 

9 year in which the Commission is in existence’’ 

10 and replace with ‘‘until September 30, 2016’’; 

11 and 

12 (B) by striking subsection (c); and 

13 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 11. REFERENCES TO THE CORRIDOR, INC. 

15 ‘‘For purposes of sections 6, 8, 9 and 10 (other than 

16 section 8(d)(1)), a reference to the ‘Commission’ shall be 

17 considered to be a reference to the local coordinating enti18 ty.’’. 

19 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

21 as are necessary to carry out sections 2 through 4. 

Æ 


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