I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5279 

To establish the Baltimore National Heritage Area in the State of Maryland, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2008 

Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. 

WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Baltimore National Heritage Area in the 

State of Maryland, 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 ‘‘Baltimore National 

5 Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The City of Baltimore contains 24 National 

9 Historic Landmarks, 53,000 buildings listed in 52 

10 National Register Historic Districts, 8,000 buildings 


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1 in 30 local historic districts, and 12 Chesapeake Bay 

2 Gateways, nestled in an unparalleled system of parks 

3 and waterways, and connected by 5 Maryland Scenic 

4 Byways and an All-American Road. 

5 (2) The Battle of Baltimore represented the de6 finitive end of the American Revolution, secured 

7 United States sovereignty, and gave the country 2 

8 enduring symbols: the United States flag and the 

9 poem by Francis Scott Key that became our national 

10 anthem, ‘‘The Star-Spangled Banner’’. 

11 (3) The proposed Baltimore National Heritage 

12 Area will tell 2 of the most significant national herit13 age stories at the locus of black history and the 

14 transformative effects of education, which are the 

15 following: 

16 (A) Frederick Douglass, who while as a 

17 slave learned to read in Baltimore and credited 

18 his time in the city as the foundation for his ac19 complishments; and 

20 (B) Thurgood Marshall, whose public 

21 school education in Baltimore led directly to his 

22 unparalleled contributions to civil rights as an 

23 attorney in Baltimore and as a United States 

24 Supreme Court Justice. 


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1 (4) Between the early 1800s and the mid 

2 1900s, about 2,000,000 immigrants landed in Balti3 more, second only to New York, as a major port of 

4 entry into the United States. 

5 (5) In 1811, the Nation’s first federally funded 

6 interstate transportation route, the National Road, 

7 begun its journey from Baltimore to the west. 

8 (6) Baltimore is the farthest inland east coast 

9 port, closest to the Nation’s interior. The Chesa10 peake Bay, the continent’s largest estuary, is a mag11 nificent, fertile, natural resource. This special mix 

12 gave rise to the largest city in the 6 States of the 

13 Chesapeake region, with a cultural landscape unique 

14 among world port cities. 

15 (7) Although Baltimore is a largely urban envi16 ronment, a number of important natural and rec17 reational resources can be found within the proposed 

18 National Heritage Area boundaries. Beginning with 

19 the first city park in 1827, Patterson Park, the 

20 city’s natural and recreational resources enjoy a 

21 noteworthy history. Most remarkable is the city’s ac22 quisition, beginning in 1860, of 7 large estates that 

23 created the base for the current park system, includ24 ing Leakin Park that is one of the largest urban wil25 derness parks remaining on the East Coast. 


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1 (8) The Baltimore City Heritage Area is a 

2 State heritage area designated by the State of Mary3 land in 2001. 

4 (9) The ‘‘Feasibility Study for a Baltimore Na5 tional Heritage Area’’, dated December 2006, found 

6 that the proposed area met the National Park Serv7 ice’s interim criteria for national heritage area des8 ignation. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

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

12 Area’’ means the Baltimore National Heritage Area, 

13 established in section 4. 

14 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

15 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi16 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 

17 section 4(d). 

18 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage19 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

20 Heritage Area specified in section 6. 

21 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map ti22 tled ‘‘Baltimore National Heritage Area’’, numbered 

23 T10/80,000, and dated October 2007. 

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

25 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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

2 of Maryland. 

3 SEC. 4. BALTIMORE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Bal5 timore National Heritage Area in the State. 

6 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall be com7 prised of the following, as depicted on the map: 

8 (1) The area encompassing the Baltimore City 

9 Heritage Area certified by the Maryland Heritage 

10 Areas Authority in October 2001 as part of the Bal11 timore City Heritage Area Management Action Plan. 

12 (2) The Mount Auburn Cemetery. 

13 (3) The Cylburn Arboretum. 

14 (4) The Middle Branch of the Patapsco River 

15 and surrounding shoreline, including— 

16 (A) the Cruise Maryland Terminal; 

17 (B) new marina construction; 

18 (C) the National Aquarium Aquatic Life 

19 Center; 

20 (D) the Westport Redevelopment; 

21 (E) the Gwynns Falls Trail; 

22 (F) the Baltimore Rowing Club; and 

23 (G) the Masonville Cove Environmental 

24 Center. 


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1 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be on file 

2 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of3 fices of the National Park Service, Department of the In4 terior, and the Baltimore Heritage Area Association. 

5 (d) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Baltimore 

6 Heritage Area Association shall be the local coordinating 

7 entity for the Heritage Area. 

8 SEC. 5. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE LOCAL COORDI9 NATING ENTITY. 

10 (a) DUTIES OF THE LOCAL COORDINATING ENTI11 TY.—To further the purposes of the Heritage Area, the 

12 local coordinating entity shall— 

13 (1) prepare and submit a management plan for 

14 the Heritage Area to the Secretary in accordance 

15 with section 6; 

16 (2) assist units of local government, regional 

17 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 

18 in implementing the approved management plan 

19 by— 

20 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

21 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 

22 resource values within the Heritage Area; 

23 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre24 tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage 

25 Area; 


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1 (C) developing recreational and educational 

2 opportunities in the Heritage Area; 

3 (D) increasing public awareness of and ap4 preciation for natural, historical, scenic, and 

5 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

6 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

7 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

8 consistent with heritage area themes; 

9 (F) ensuring that signs identifying points 

10 of public access and sites of interest are posted 

11 throughout the Heritage Area; and 

12 (G) promoting a wide range of partner13 ships among governments, organizations, and 

14 individuals to further the purposes of the Herit15 age Area; 

16 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

17 government, businesses, organizations, and individ18 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im19 plementation of the management plan; 

20 (4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 

21 semi-annually regarding the development and imple22 mentation of the management plan; 

23 (5) submit an annual report to the Secretary 

24 for any fiscal year in which the local coordinating 

25 entity receives Federal funds under this Act, setting 


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1 forth its accomplishments, expenses, and income, 

2 amounts and sources of matching funds, amounts le3 veraged with Federal funds and sources of such 

4 leveraging, and grants made to any other entities 

5 during the year for which the report is made; 

6 (6) make available for audit for any fiscal year 

7 in which it receives Federal funds under this Act, all 

8 information pertaining to the expenditure of such 

9 funds and any matching funds, and require in all 

10 agreements authorizing expenditures of Federal 

11 funds by other organizations, that the receiving or12 ganizations make available for such audit all records 

13 and other information pertaining to the expenditure 

14 of such funds; and 

15 (7) encourage, by appropriate means, economic 

16 development that is consistent with the purposes of 

17 the Heritage Area. 

18 (b) AUTHORITIES.—The local coordinating entity 

19 may, subject to the prior approval of the Secretary, for 

20 the purposes of preparing and implementing the manage21 ment plan for the Heritage Area, use Federal funds made 

22 available through this Act to— 

23 (1) make grants to the State, its political sub24 divisions, nonprofit organizations, and other persons; 


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1 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with or 

2 provide technical assistance to the State, its subdivi3 sions, nonprofit organizations, Federal agencies, and 

4 other interested parties; 

5 (3) hire and compensate staff; 

6 (4) obtain money or services from any source 

7 including any that are provided under any other 

8 Federal law or program; 

9 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

10 (6) support activities of partners and any other 

11 activities that further the purposes of the Heritage 

12 Area and are consistent with the approved manage13 ment plan. 

14 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

15 PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity may not use 

16 Federal funds received under this Act to acquire real prop17 erty. 

18 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The management plan for the 

20 Heritage Area shall— 

21 (1) describe comprehensive policies, goals, strat22 egies, and recommendations for telling the story of 

23 the region’s heritage and encouraging long-term re24 source protection, enhancement, interpretation, 


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1 funding, management, and development of the Her2 itage Area; 

3 (2) take into consideration existing State, coun4 ty, and local plans in the development of the man5 agement plan and its implementation; 

6 (3) include a description of actions and commit7 ments that governments, private organizations, and 

8 citizens plan to take to protect, enhance, and inter9 pret the natural, historic, scenic, and cultural re10 sources of the Heritage Area; 

11 (4) specify existing and potential sources of 

12 funding or economic development strategies to pro13 tect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, and develop 

14 the Heritage Area; 

15 (5) include an inventory of the natural, histor16 ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

17 resources of the Heritage Area related to the stories 

18 and themes of the region that should be protected, 

19 enhanced, managed, or developed; 

20 (6) recommend policies and strategies for re21 source management including, the development of 

22 intergovernmental and interagency agreements to 

23 protect the Heritage Area’s natural, historical, cul24 tural, educational, scenic, and recreational resources; 


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1 (7) describe a program of implementation for 

2 the management plan, including— 

3 (A) performance goals; 

4 (B) plans for resource protection, enhance5 ment, interpretation; and 

6 (C) specific commitments for implementa7 tion that have been made by the local coordi8 nating entity or any government, organization, 

9 business, or individual; 

10 (8) include an analysis and recommendations 

11 for ways in which local, State, Tribal, and Federal 

12 programs may best be coordinated, including the 

13 role of the National Park Service and other Federal 

14 agencies associated with the Heritage Area, to fur15 ther the purposes of this Act; 

16 (9) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

17 Area; and 

18 (10) include a business plan that— 

19 (A) describes the role, operation, financing, 

20 and functions of the local coordinating entity 

21 and of each of the major activities contained in 

22 the management plan; and 

23 (B) provides adequate assurances that the 

24 local coordinating entity has the partnerships 

25 and financial and other resources necessary to 


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1 implement the management plan for the Herit2 age Area. 

3 (b) DEADLINE AND TERMINATION OF FUNDING.— 

4 (1) DEADLINE.—The local coordinating entity 

5 shall submit the management plan to the Secretary 

6 for approval not later than 3 years after the date on 

7 which any funds are made available for this purpose 

8 after designation as a Heritage Area. 

9 (2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the man10 agement plan is not submitted to the Secretary in 

11 accordance with this subsection, the local coordi12 nating entity shall not qualify for additional finan13 cial assistance under this Act until the management 

14 plan is submitted to and approved by the Secretary. 

15 SEC. 7. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

16 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, upon 

18 the request of the local coordinating entity, provide 

19 technical and financial assistance on a reimbursable 

20 or non-reimbursable basis (as determined by the 

21 Secretary) to the Heritage Area to develop and im22 plement the management plan. 

23 (2) PRIORITY ACTIONS.—In assisting the Herit24 age Area, the Secretary shall give priority to actions 

25 that in general assist in— 


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1 (A) conserving the significant natural, his2 torical, cultural, and scenic resources of the 

3 Heritage Area; and 

4 (B) providing educational, interpretive, and 

5 recreational opportunities consistent with the 

6 purposes of the Heritage Area. 

7 (3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec8 retary is authorized to enter into cooperative agree9 ments with the local coordinating entity and other 

10 public or private entities to carrying out this sub11 section. 

12 (b) APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

13 (1) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall approve or 

14 disapprove the management plan not later than 180 

15 days after receiving the management plan. 

16 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con17 sult with the Governor of any State and Tribal gov18 ernment in which the Heritage Area is located prior 

19 to approving any management plan. 

20 (3) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

21 the approval of the management plan, the Secretary 

22 shall consider whether— 

23 (A) the local coordinating entity will be 

24 representative of the diverse interests of the 

25 Heritage Area, including governments, natural 


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1 and historic resource protection organizations, 

2 educational institutions, businesses, community 

3 residents, and recreational organizations; 

4 (B) the local coordinating entity has af5 forded adequate opportunity for public and gov6 ernmental involvement, including workshops 

7 and public meetings, in the preparation of the 

8 management plan; 

9 (C) the resource protection and interpreta10 tion strategies contained in the management 

11 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

12 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 

13 the Heritage Area; 

14 (D) the management plan would not ad15 versely affect any activities authorized on Fed16 eral or Tribal lands under applicable laws or 

17 pursuant to land use plans; 

18 (E) the Secretary has received adequate 

19 assurances from the appropriate State, Tribal, 

20 and local officials whose support is needed to 

21 ensure the effective implementation of the 

22 State, Tribal, and local aspects of the manage23 ment plan; and 


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1 (F) the local coordinating entity has dem2 onstrated the financial capability, in partner3 ship with others, to carry out the plan. 

4 (4) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

5 Secretary disapproves the management plan, the 

6 Secretary shall advise the local coordinating entity in 

7 writing of the reasons and may make recommenda8 tions for revisions to the management plan. The Sec9 retary shall approve or disapprove a proposed revi10 sion not later than 180 days after it is resubmitted. 

11 (5) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—Substantial 

12 amendments to the management plan shall be re13 viewed by the Secretary and approved in the same 

14 manner as provided for the original management 

15 plan. The local coordinating entity may not use Fed16 eral funds authorized by this Act to implement any 

17 amendments until the Secretary has approved the 

18 amendments. 

19 (c) EVALUATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years be21 fore the date on which authority for Federal funding 

22 terminates for the Heritage Area, the Secretary shall 

23 conduct an evaluation of the accomplishments of the 

24 Heritage Area and prepare a report with recVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:15 Feb 09, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5279.IH H5279

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1 ommendations for the National Park Service’s fu2 ture role, if any, with respect to the Heritage Area. 

3 (2) EVALUATION COMPONENTS.—An evaluation 

4 prepared under paragraph (1) shall— 

5 (A) assess the progress of the local coordi6 nating entity with respect to— 

7 (i) accomplishing the purposes of the 

8 authorizing legislation for the Heritage 

9 Area; and 

10 (ii) achieving the goals and objectives 

11 of the approved management plan for the 

12 Heritage Area; 

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

14 private investments in the Heritage Area to de15 termine the leverage and impact of the invest16 ments; and 

17 (C) review the management structure, 

18 partnership relationships, and funding of the 

19 Heritage Area for purposes of identifying the 

20 critical components for sustainability of the 

21 Heritage Area. 

22 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based upon the eval23 uation under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pre24 pare a report with recommendations for the National 

25 Park Service’s future role, if any, with respect to the 


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1 Heritage Area. If the report recommends that Fed2 eral funding for the Heritage Area be reauthorized, 

3 the report shall include an analysis of— 

4 (A) ways in which Federal funding for the 

5 Heritage Area may be reduced or eliminated; 

6 and 

7 (B) the appropriate time period necessary 

8 to achieve the recommended reduction or elimi9 nation. 

10 (4) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On completion 

11 of a report under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall 

12 submit the report to— 

13 (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

14 Resources of the Senate; and 

15 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

16 of the House of Representatives. 

17 SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall not affect the au19 thority of any Federal official to provide technical or fi20 nancial assistance under any other law. 

21 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

22 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

23 may have an impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged 

24 to consult and coordinate the activities with the Secretary 

25 and the local coordinating entity to the extent practicable. 


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

2 Act— 

3 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu4 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed5 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen6 cy; 

7 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man8 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

9 the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or 

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

11 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed12 eral agency. 

13 SEC. 9. PROPERTY OWNERS AND REGULATORY PROTEC14 TIONS. 

15 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to— 

16 (1) abridge the rights of any property owner, 

17 public or private, including the right to refrain from 

18 participating in any plan, project, program, or activ19 ity conducted within the Heritage Area; 

20 (2) require any property owner to permit public 

21 access (including Federal, Tribal, State, or local gov22 ernment access) to such property or to modify any 

23 provisions of Federal, Tribal, State, or local law with 

24 regard to public access or use of private lands; 


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1 (3) alter any duly adopted land use regulations 

2 or approved land use plan or any other regulatory 

3 authority of any Federal, State, or local agency, or 

4 Tribal government or to convey any land use or 

5 other regulatory authority to any local coordinating 

6 entity; 

7 (4) authorize or imply the reservation or appro8 priation of water or water rights; 

9 (5) diminish the authority of the State to man10 age fish and wildlife, including the regulation of fish11 ing and hunting within the Heritage Area; or 

12 (6) create any liability, or affect any liability 

13 under any other law, of any private property owner 

14 with respect to any persons injured on such private 

15 property. 

16 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro18 priated for the purposes of this Act $10,000,000, of which 

19 not more than $1,000,000 shall be made available for any 

20 fiscal year. 

21 (b) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided 

22 under this Act may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost 

23 of any assistance or grant provided or authorized under 

24 this Act. Recipient matching funds— 

25 (1) must be from non-Federal sources; and 


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1 (2) may be made in the form of in-kind con2 tributions of goods and services fairly valued. 

3 SEC. 11. SUNSET. 

4 The authority of the Secretary to provide financial 

5 assistance under this Act shall terminate 15 years after 

6 the date of enactment of the Act. 

Æ 


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