I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 89 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2013 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN (for herself, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, and Ms. 

BORDALLO) 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. ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

6 Area’’ means the St. Croix National Heritage Area 

7 established by subsection (b)(1). 

8 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

9 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordiVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:23 Jan 08, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H89.IH H89

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1 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 

2 subsection (b)(4). 

3 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage4 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

5 Heritage Area required under subsection (d). 

6 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en7 titled ‘‘Proposed St. Croix National Heritage Area’’ 

8 and dated llllllll. 

9 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Interior. 

11 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means St. 

12 Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. 

13 (b) ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

15 the State the St. Croix National Heritage Area. 

16 (2) CONCEPTUAL BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage 

17 Area shall consist of the entire island. 

18 (3) MAP.—A map of the Heritage Area shall 

19 be— 

20 (A) included in the management plan; and 

21 (B) on file and available for public inspec22 tion in the appropriate offices of the National 

23 Park Service. 

24 (4) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The local coordinating 

2 entity for the Heritage Area shall be known as 

3 St. Croix United for Community, Culture, Envi4 ronment, and Economic Development (SUC5 CEED) Inc. 

6 (B) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS.—Mem7 bership in SUCCEED, Inc. shall be open to a 

8 broad cross-section of public, private, and non9 governmental sectors including businesses, indi10 viduals, agencies, and organizations that were 

11 involved in the planning and development of the 

12 Heritage Area prior to the enactment of this 

13 Act. 

14 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

15 (1) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying 

16 out the management plan, the Secretary, acting 

17 through the local coordinating entity, may use 

18 amounts made available under this section to— 

19 (A) make grants to the State or a political 

20 subdivision of the State, nonprofit organiza21 tions, and other persons; 

22 (B) enter into cooperative agreements 

23 with, or provide technical assistance to, the 

24 State or a political subdivision of the State, 


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1 nonprofit organizations, and other interested 

2 parties; 

3 (C) hire and compensate staff, which shall 

4 include individuals with expertise in natural, 

5 cultural, and historical resources protection, 

6 and heritage programming; 

7 (D) obtain money or services from any 

8 source including any that are provided under 

9 any other Federal law or program; 

10 (E) contract for goods or services; and 

11 (F) undertake to be a catalyst for any 

12 other activity that furthers the Heritage Area 

13 and is consistent with the approved manage14 ment plan. 

15 (2) DUTIES.—The local coordinating entity 

16 shall— 

17 (A) in accordance with subsection (d), pre18 pare and submit a management plan for the 

19 Heritage Area to the Secretary; 

20 (B) assist units of local government, re21 gional planning organizations, and nonprofit or22 ganizations in carrying out the approved man23 agement plan by— 

24 (i) carrying out programs and projects 

25 that recognize, protect, and enhance imVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:23 Jan 08, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H89.IH H89

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1 portant resource values in the Heritage 

2 Area; 

3 (ii) establishing and maintaining in4 terpretive exhibits and programs in the 

5 Heritage Area; 

6 (iii) developing recreational and edu7 cational opportunities in the Heritage 

8 Area; 

9 (iv) increasing public awareness of, 

10 and appreciation for, natural, historical, 

11 scenic, and cultural resources of the Herit12 age Area; 

13 (v) protecting and restoring historic 

14 sites and buildings in the Heritage Area 

15 that are consistent with Heritage Area 

16 themes; 

17 (vi) ensuring that clear, consistent, 

18 and appropriate signs identifying points of 

19 public access, and sites of interest are 

20 posted throughout the Heritage Area; and 

21 (vii) promoting a wide range of part22 nerships among governments, organiza23 tions, and individuals to further the Herit24 age Area; 


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1 (C) consider the interests of diverse units 

2 of government, businesses, organizations, and 

3 individuals in the Heritage Area in the prepara4 tion and implementation of the management 

5 plan; 

6 (D) conduct meetings open to the public at 

7 least semiannually regarding the development 

8 and implementation of the management plan; 

9 (E) for any year that Federal funds have 

10 been received under this section— 

11 (i) submit an annual report to the 

12 Secretary that describes the activities, ex13 penses, and income of the local coordi14 nating entity (including grants to any 

15 other entities during the year that the re16 port is made); 

17 (ii) make available to the Secretary 

18 for audit all records relating to the expend19 iture of the funds and any matching funds; 

20 and 

21 (iii) require, with respect to all agree22 ments authorizing expenditure of Federal 

23 funds by other organizations, that the or24 ganizations receiving the funds make avail25 able to the Secretary for audit all records 


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1 concerning the expenditure of the funds; 

2 and 

3 (F) encourage by appropriate means eco4 nomic viability that is consistent with the Herit5 age Area. 

6 (3) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF

7 REAL PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity 

8 shall not use Federal funds made available under 

9 this section to acquire real property or any interest 

10 in real property. 

11 (4) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

12 (A) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA13 TIONS.—Subject to subsection (b), there are au14 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this 

15 Act not more than $1,000,000 for any fiscal 

16 year. Funds so appropriated shall remain avail17 able until expended. 

18 (B) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The 

19 Federal share of the total cost of any activity 

20 under this Act shall be not more than 50 per21 cent; the non-Federal contribution may be in 

22 the form of in-kind contributions of goods or 

23 services fairly valued. 

24 (d) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 


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

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the local coordi3 nating entity shall submit to the Secretary for ap4 proval a proposed management plan for the Heritage 

5 Area. 

6 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan 

7 shall— 

8 (A) incorporate an integrated and coopera9 tive approach for the protection, enhancement, 

10 and interpretation of the natural, cultural, his11 toric, scenic, and recreational resources of the 

12 Heritage Area; 

13 (B) take into consideration State and local 

14 plans; 

15 (C) include— 

16 (i) an inventory of— 

17 (I) the resources located in the 

18 core area described in subsection 

19 (b)(2); and 

20 (II) any other property in the 

21 core area that— 

22 (aa) is related to the themes 

23 of the Heritage Area; and 

24 (bb) should be preserved, re25 stored, managed, or maintained 


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1 because of the significance of the 

2 property; 

3 (ii) describe comprehensive policies, 

4 goals, strategies and recommendations for 

5 telling the story of the heritage of the area 

6 covered by the designation and encour7 aging long-term resource protection, en8 hancement, interpretation, funding, man9 agement, and development; 

10 (iii) a description of actions that gov11 ernments, private organizations, and indi12 viduals have agreed to take to protect the 

13 natural, historical and cultural resources of 

14 the Heritage Area; 

15 (iv) a program of implementation for 

16 the management plan by the local coordi17 nating entity that includes a description 

18 of— 

19 (I) actions to facilitate ongoing 

20 collaboration among partners to pro21 mote plans for resource protection, 

22 restoration, and construction; and 

23 (II) specific commitments for im24 plementation that have been made by 

25 the local coordinating entity or any 


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1 government, organization, or indi2 vidual for the first 5 years of oper3 ation; 

4 (v) the identification of sources of 

5 funding for carrying out the management 

6 plan; 

7 (vi) analysis and recommendations for 

8 means by which local, State, and Federal 

9 programs, may best be coordinated to 

10 carry out this section; and 

11 (vii) a business plan that describes the 

12 role, operation, financing, and functions of 

13 the local coordinating entity and of each of 

14 the major activities contained in the man15 agement plan and provides adequate assur16 ances that the local coordinating entity has 

17 the partnerships and financial and other 

18 resources necessary to implement the man19 agement plan for the National Heritage 

20 Area; and 

21 (D) recommend policies and strategies for 

22 resource management that consider and detail 

23 the application of appropriate land and water 

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1 operative agreements to protect the natural, 

2 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec3 reational resources of the Heritage Area. 

4 (3) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management 

5 plan is not submitted to the Secretary by the date 

6 that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act, the local coordinating entity shall be ineligible 

8 to receive additional funding under this section until 

9 the date that the Secretary receives and approves 

10 the management plan. 

11 (4) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGE12 MENT PLAN.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

14 days after the date of receipt of the manage15 ment plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary, 

16 in consultation with the State, shall approve or 

17 disapprove the management plan. 

18 (B) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In deter19 mining whether to approve the management 

20 plan, the Secretary shall consider whether— 

21 (i) the local coordinating entity is rep22 resentative of the diverse interests of the 

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1 nizations, educational institutions, busi2 nesses, and recreational organizations; 

3 (ii) the local coordinating entity has 

4 afforded adequate opportunity, including 

5 public hearings, for public and govern6 mental involvement in the preparation of 

7 the management plan; and 

8 (iii) the resource protection and inter9 pretation strategies contained in the man10 agement plan, if implemented, would ade11 quately protect the natural, historical, and 

12 cultural resources of the Heritage Area. 

13 (C) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If 

14 the Secretary disapproves the management plan 

15 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

16 (i) advise the local coordinating entity 

17 in writing of the reasons for the dis18 approval; 

19 (ii) make recommendations for revi20 sions to the management plan; and 

21 (iii) not later than 180 days after the 

22 receipt of any proposed revision of the 

23 management plan from the local coordi24 nating entity, approve or disapprove the 

25 proposed revision. 


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1 (D) AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

3 approve or disapprove each amendment to 

4 the management plan that the Secretary 

5 determines make a substantial change to 

6 the management plan. 

7 (ii) USE OF FUNDS.—The local co8 ordinating entity shall not use Federal 

9 funds authorized by this section to carry 

10 out any amendments to the management 

11 plan until the Secretary has approved the 

12 amendments. 

13 (e) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGEN14 CIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section af16 fects the authority of a Federal agency to provide 

17 technical or financial assistance under any other law. 

18 (2) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

19 head of any Federal agency planning to conduct ac20 tivities that may have an impact on the Heritage 

21 Area is encouraged to consult and coordinate the ac22 tivities with the Secretary and the local coordinating 

23 entity to the maximum extent practicable. 

24 (3) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in 

25 this section— 


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1 (A) modifies, alters, or amends any law or 

2 regulation authorizing a Federal agency to 

3 manage Federal land under the jurisdiction of 

4 the Federal agency; 

5 (B) limits the discretion of a Federal land 

6 manager to implement an approved land use 

7 plan within the boundaries of the Heritage 

8 Area; or 

9 (C) modifies, alters, or amends any author10 ized use of Federal land under the jurisdiction 

11 of a Federal agency. 

12 (f) PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC13 TIONS.—Nothing in this section— 

14 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 

15 (whether public or private), including the right to re16 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro17 gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage 

18 Area; 

19 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub20 lic access (including access by Federal, State, or 

21 local agencies) to the property of the property 

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

23 of the property owner under any other Federal, 

24 State, or local law; 


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

2 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author3 ity of any Federal, State, or local agency, or conveys 

4 any land use or other regulatory authority to the 

5 local coordinating entity; 

6 (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap7 propriation of water or water rights; 

8 (5) diminishes the authority of the State to 

9 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

10 fishing and hunting within the Heritage Area; or 

11 (6) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

12 under any other law, of any private property owner 

13 with respect to any person injured on the private 

14 property. 

15 (g) EVALUATION; REPORT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years be17 fore the date on which authority for Federal funding 

18 terminates for the Heritage Area, the Secretary 

19 shall— 

20 (A) conduct an evaluation of the accom21 plishments of the Heritage Area; and 

22 (B) prepare a report in accordance with 

23 paragraph (3). 

24 (2) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted 

25 under paragraph (1)(A) shall— 


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1 (A) assess the progress of the local coordi2 nating entity with respect to— 

3 (i) accomplishing the purposes of this 

4 section for the Heritage Area; and 

5 (ii) achieving the goals and objectives 

6 of the approved management plan for the 

7 Heritage Area; 

8 (B) analyze the Federal, State, local, and 

9 private investments in the Heritage Area to de10 termine the leverage and impact of the invest11 ments; and 

12 (C) review the management structure, 

13 partnership relationships, and funding of the 

14 Heritage Area for purposes of identifying the 

15 critical components for sustainability of the 

16 Heritage Area. 

17 (3) REPORT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Based on the evalua19 tion conducted under paragraph (1)(A), the 

20 Secretary shall prepare a report that includes 

21 recommendations for the future role of the Na22 tional Park Service, if any, with respect to the 

23 Heritage Area. 

24 (B) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—If the report 

25 prepared under subparagraph (A) recommends 


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1 that Federal funding for the Heritage Area be 

2 reauthorized, the report shall include an anal3 ysis of— 

4 (i) ways in which Federal funding for 

5 the Heritage Area may be reduced or 

6 eliminated; and 

7 (ii) the appropriate time period nec8 essary to achieve the recommended reduc9 tion or elimination. 

10 (C) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On com11 pletion of the report, the Secretary shall submit 

12 the report to— 

13 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

14 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

15 (ii) the Committee on Natural Re16 sources of the House of Representatives. 

17 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $10,000,000, of which not more than $1,000,000 may be 

20 made available for any fiscal year. 

21 (i) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of 

22 the Secretary to provide assistance under this section ter23 minates on the date that is 15 years after the date of en24 actment of this Act. 

Æ 


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