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105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1998

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 18, 1998

Referred to the Committee on Resources

AN ACT

To authorize an interpretive center and related visitor facilities within the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park,

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 ‘‘Four Corners Interpre5 tive Center Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 (1) the Four Corners Monument is nationally

4 significant as the only geographic location in the

5 United States where 4 State boundaries meet;

6 (2) the States with boundaries that meet at the

7 Four Corners area are Arizona, Colorado, New Mex8 ico, and Utah;

9 (3) between 1868 and 1875 the boundary lines

10 that created the Four Corners were drawn, and in

11 1899 a monument was erected at the site;

12 (4) a United States postal stamp will be issued

13 in 1999 to commemorate the centennial of the origi14 nal boundary marker;

15 (5) the Four Corners area is distinct in char16 acter and possesses important historical, cultural,

17 and prehistoric values and resources within the sur18 rounding cultural landscape;

19 (6) although there are no permanent facilities

20 or utilities at the Four Corners Monument Tribal

21 Park, each year the park attracts approximately

22 250,000 visitors;

23 (7) the area of the Four Corners Monument

24 Tribal Park falls entirely within the Navajo Nation

25 or Ute Mountain Ute Tribe reservations;
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1 (8) the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain

2 Ute Tribe have entered into a Memorandum of Un3 derstanding governing the planning and future de4 velopment of the Four Corners Monument Tribal

5 Park;

6 (9) in 1992, through agreements executed by

7 the governors of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico,

8 and Utah, the Four Corners Heritage Council was

9 established as a coalition of Federal, State, tribal,

10 and private interests;

11 (10) the State of Arizona has obligated $45,000

12 for planning efforts and $250,000 for construction

13 of an interpretive center at the Four Corners Monu14 ment Tribal Park;

15 (11) numerous studies and extensive consulta16 tion with American Indians have demonstrated that

17 development at the Four Corners Monument Tribal

18 Park would greatly benefit the people of the Navajo

19 Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe;

20 (12) the Arizona Department of Transportation

21 has completed preliminary cost estimates that are

22 based on field experience with rest-area development

23 for the construction for a Four Corners Monument

24 Interpretive Center and surrounding infrastructure,
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1 including restrooms, roadways, parking, water, elec2 trical, telephone, and sewage facilities;

3 (13) an interpretive center would provide im4 portant educational and enrichment opportunities

5 for all Americans; and

6 (14) Federal financial assistance and technical

7 expertise are needed for the construction of an inter8 pretive center.

9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

10 (1) to recognize the importance of the Four

11 Corners Monument and surrounding landscape as a

12 distinct area in the heritage of the United States

13 that is worthy of interpretation and preservation;

14 (2) to assist the Navajo Nation and the Ute

15 Mountain Ute Tribe in establishing the Four Cor16 ners Interpretive Center and related facilities to

17 meet the needs of the general public;

18 (3) to highlight and showcase the collaborative

19 resource stewardship of private individuals, Indian

20 tribes, universities, Federal agencies, and the gov21 ernments of States and political subdivisions thereof

22 (including counties); and

23 (4) to promote knowledge of the life, art, cul24 ture, politics, and history of the culturally diverse

25 groups of the Four Corners region.
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 As used in this Act:

3 (1) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the

4 Four Corners Interpretive Center established under

5 section 4, including restrooms, parking areas, vendor

6 facilities, sidewalks, utilities, exhibits, and other visi7 tor facilities.

8 (2) FOUR CORNERS HERITAGE COUNCIL.—The

9 term ‘‘Four Corners Heritage Council’’ means the

10 nonprofit coalition of Federal, State, and tribal enti11 ties established in 1992 by agreements of the Gov12 ernors of the States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mex13 ico, and Utah.

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

15 the Secretary of the Interior.

16 (4) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘recipient’’ means

17 the State of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, or

18 Utah, or any consortium of 2 or more of these

19 States.

20 (5) FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT.—The term

21 ‘‘Four Corners Monument’’ means the physical

22 monument where the boundaries of the States of Ar23 izona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet.

24 (6) FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT TRIBAL

25 PARK.—The term ‘‘Four Corners Monument Tribal
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1 Park’’ means lands within the legally defined bound2 ary of the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park.

3 SEC. 4. FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT INTERPRETIVE CEN4 TER.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to the availability of

6 appropriations, the Secretary is authorized to establish

7 within the boundaries of the Four Corners Monument

8 Tribal Park a center for the interpretation and commemo9 ration of the Four Corners Monument, to be known as

10 the ‘‘Four Corners Interpretive Center’’.

11 (b) LAND.—Land for the Center shall be designated

12 and made available by the Navajo Nation or the Ute

13 Mountain Ute Tribe within the boundary of the Four Cor14 ners Monument Tribal Park in consultation with the Four

15 Corners Heritage Council and in accordance with—

16 (1) the memorandum of understanding between

17 the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

18 that was entered into on October 22, 1996; and

19 (2) applicable supplemental agreements with

20 the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park

21 Service, the United States Forest Service.

22 (c) CONCURRENCE.—Notwithstanding any other pro23 vision of this Act, no such center shall be established with24 out the consent of the Navajo Nation and the Ute Moun25 tain Ute Tribe.
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1 (d) COMPONENTS OF CENTER.—The Center shall in2 clude—

3 (1) a location for permanent and temporary ex4 hibits depicting the archaeological, cultural, and nat5 ural heritage of the Four Corners region;

6 (2) a venue for public education programs;

7 (3) a location to highlight the importance of ef8 forts to preserve southwestern archaeological sites

9 and museum collections;

10 (4) a location to provide information to the gen11 eral public about cultural and natural resources,

12 parks, museums, and travel in the Four Corners re13 gion; and

14 (5) visitor amenities including restrooms, public

15 telephones, and other basic facilities.

16 SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION GRANT.

17 (a) GRANT.—The Secretary is authorized to award

18 a Federal grant to the recipient described in section 3(4)

19 for up to 50 percent of the cost to construct the Center.

20 To be eligible for the grant, the recipient shall provide as21 surances that—

22 (1) the non-Federal share of the costs of con23 struction is paid from non-Federal sources. The non24 Federal sources may include contributions made by

25 States, private sources, the Navajo Nation and the
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1 Ute Mountain Ute Tribe for planning, design, con2 struction, furnishing, startup, and operational ex3 penses;

4 (2) the aggregate amount of non-Federal funds

5 contributed by the States used to carry out the ac6 tivities specified in subparagraph (A) will not be less

7 than $2,000,000, of which each of the States that

8 is party to the grant will contribute equally in cash

9 or in kind;

10 (3) States may use private funds to meet the

11 requirements of paragraph (2); and

12 (4) the State of Arizona may apply $45,000 au13 thorized by the State of Arizona during fiscal year

14 1998 for planning and $250,000 that is held in re15 serve by that State for construction toward the Ari16 zona share.

17 (b) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—In order to receive a

18 grant under this Act, the recipient shall—

19 (1) submit to the Secretary a proposal that

20 meets all applicable—

21 (A) laws, including building codes and reg22 ulations;

23 (B) requirements under the Memorandum

24 of Understanding described in paragraph (2) of

25 this subsection; and
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1 (C) provides such information and assur2 ances as the Secretary may require; and

3 (2) the recipient shall enter into a Memoran4 dum of Understanding (MOU) with the Secretary

5 providing—

6 (A) a timetable for completion of construc7 tion and opening of the Center;

8 (B) assurances that design, architectural

9 and construction contracts will be competitively

10 awarded;

11 (C) specifications meeting all applicable

12 Federal, State, and local building codes and

13 laws;

14 (D) arrangements for operations and

15 maintenance upon completion of construction;

16 (E) a description of center collections and

17 educational programing;

18 (F) a plan for design of exhibits including,

19 but not limited to, collections to be exhibited,

20 security, preservation, protection, environmental

21 controls, and presentations in accordance with

22 professional museum standards;

23 (G) an agreement with the Navajo Nation

24 and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe relative to site

25 selection and public access to the facilities; and
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1 (H) a financing plan developed jointly by

2 the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute

3 Tribe outlining the long-term management of

4 the Center, including but not limited to—

5 (i) the acceptance and use of funds

6 derived from public and private sources to

7 minimize the use of appropriated or bor8 rowed funds;

9 (ii) the payment of the operating costs

10 of the Center through the assessment of

11 fees or other income generated by the Cen12 ter;

13 (iii) a strategy for achieving financial

14 self-sufficiency with respect to the Center

15 by not later than 5 years after the date of

16 enactment of this Act; and

17 (iv) defining appropriate vendor

18 standards and business activities at the

19 Four Corners Monument Tribal Park.

20 SEC. 6. SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENT.

21 The Secretary is authorized to award a grant in ac22 cordance with the provisions of this Act. The Four Cor23 ners Heritage Council may make recommendations to the

24 Secretary on grant proposals regarding the design of fa25 cilities at the Four Corners Monument Tribal Park.
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 IN GENERAL.—

3 (1) AUTHORIZATIONS.—There are authorized to

4 be appropriated to carry out this Act—

5 (A) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1999; and

6 (B) $50,000 for each of fiscal years 2000

7 through 2004 for maintenance and operation of

8 the center, program development, or staffing in

9 a manner consistent with the requirements of

10 section 5(b).

11 (2) CARRYOVER.—Any funds made available

12 under this section that are unexpended at the end

13 of the fiscal year for which those funds are appro14 priated may be used by the Secretary through fiscal

15 year 2001 for the purposes for which those funds

16 were made available.

17 (3) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary

18 may reserve funds appropriated pursuant to this Act

19 until a proposal meeting the requirements of this

20 Act is submitted, but no later than September 30,

21 2000.

22 SEC. 8. DONATIONS.

23 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for pur24 poses of the planning, construction, and operation of the

25 Center, the Secretary may accept, retain, and expand do-
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1 nations of funds, and use property or services donated

2 from private persons and entities or from public entities.

3 SEC. 9. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

4 Nothing in this Act is intended to abrogate, modify,

5 or impair any right or claim of the Navajo Nation or the

6 Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, that is based on any law (includ7 ing any treaty, Executive order, agreement, or Act of Con8 gress).

Passed the Senate September 17, 1998.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.