I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 526 

To establish the Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor in the State of Georgia, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 14, 2009 

Mr. MARSHALL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor in 

the State of Georgia, 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 ‘‘Ocmulgee National 

5 Heritage Corridor Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Ocmulgee Heritage Corridor is centered 

9 on the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, a crossroads 

10 of history and geography, which divides two geoVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:07 Jan 16, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.IH H526

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1 graphic regions and creates two distinct ecosystems, 

2 the Piedmont Plateau and the Eastern Coastal 

3 Plain. The intersection of land and water transpor4 tation routes has fostered a continuum of human 

5 settlement that has endured more than 12,000 

6 years. 

7 (2) Macon, Georgia, has more acreage listed in 

8 the National Register than any other city in Geor9 gia, including fifty-four individual properties, ten 

10 National Register historic districts with more than 

11 5,500 contributing properties, and two National His12 toric Landmarks. 

13 (3) The Ocmulgee National Monument protects 

14 the remains of Native American settlements over a 

15 12,000-year period and has features and artifacts 

16 representing a long cultural continuum from early 

17 hunter-gatherers through the Civil War. 

18 (4) The Ocmulgee Old Fields, which consist of 

19 the Ocmulgee National Monument, Bond Swamp 

20 National Wildlife Refuge, Central City Park, and 

21 other private lands in the Ocmulgee floodplain have 

22 been determined eligible for listing in the National 

23 Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural 

24 Property. The Traditional Cultural Property deter25 mination is based on the area’s cultural and historVerDate Nov 24 2008 06:07 Jan 16, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.IH H526

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1 ical significance in Native American heritage and its 

2 potential for yielding important information about 

3 the history of the Macon Plateau and Ocmulgee 

4 River. 

5 (5) The Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor 

6 has been proposed in order to heighten appreciation 

7 of the region, preserve its natural and historical re8 sources, and improve the quality of life and economy 

9 of the area. 

10 (6) Macon, Georgia has been designated as one 

11 of Georgia’s Preserve America Communities and one 

12 of the National Trust’s Dozen Distinctive Destina13 tions of 2004. 

14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol15 lows: 

16 (1) To establish the Ocmulgee National Herit17 age Corridor in the State of Georgia. 

18 (2) To implement the national heritage corridor 

19 alternative as described in the document entitled 

20 ‘‘Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor Feasibility 

21 Study, September 2004’’. 

22 (3) To provide a management framework to 

23 foster a close working relationship among all levels 

24 of government, the private sector, and the local com25 munities in the Ocmulgee Heritage Corridor and to 


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1 conserve the region’s heritage while continuing to 

2 pursue compatible economic opportunities. 

3 (4) To assist communities, organizations, and 

4 citizens in the State of Georgia in identifying, pre5 serving, interpreting, and developing the historical, 

6 cultural, scenic, and natural resources of the region 

7 for the educational and inspirational benefit of cur8 rent and future generations. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) HERITAGE CORRIDOR.—The term ‘‘Herit12 age Corridor’’ means the Ocmulgee National Herit13 age Corridor, established in section 4. 

14 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

15 ‘‘Local Coordinating Entity’’ means the local coordi16 nating entity for the Heritage Corridor designated 

17 by section 4(d). 

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

20 Heritage Corridor specified in section 6. 

21 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map ti22 tled ‘‘Boundary Map Ocmulgee National Heritage 

23 Corridor—Alternative B’’ and dated September 

24 2004. 


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

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

4 of Georgia. 

5 SEC. 4. OCMULGEE NATIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

7 Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor. 

8 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Corridor shall be 

9 comprised of the land and water within the boundaries of 

10 the Heritage Corridor, as depicted on the map, includ11 ing— 

12 (1) the City of Macon, Georgia; 

13 (2) Ocmulgee National Monument; and 

14 (3) the Ocmulgee River Corridor from Water 

15 Works to the Bond Swamp. 

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

17 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of18 fices of the National Park Service, Department of the In19 terior. 

20 (d) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Ocmulgee 

21 Heritage L.L.C. shall be the local coordinating entity for 

22 the Heritage Corridor. 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE LOCAL COORDI2 NATING ENTITY. 

3 (a) DUTIES OF THE LOCAL COORDINATING ENTI4 TY.—To further the purposes of the Heritage Corridor, 

5 the local coordinating entity shall— 

6 (1) prepare and submit a management plan for 

7 the Heritage Corridor to the Secretary in accordance 

8 with section 6; 

9 (2) assist units of local government, regional 

10 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 

11 in implementing the approved management plan 

12 by— 

13 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

14 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 

15 resource values within the Heritage Corridor; 

16 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre17 tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage 

18 Corridor; 

19 (C) developing recreational and educational 

20 opportunities in the Heritage Corridor; 

21 (D) increasing public awareness of and ap22 preciation for natural, historical, scenic, and 

23 cultural resources of the Heritage Corridor; 

24 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

25 and buildings in the Heritage Corridor that are 

26 consistent with Heritage Corridor themes; 


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1 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap2 propriate signs identifying points of public ac3 cess and sites of interest are posted throughout 

4 the Heritage Corridor; and 

5 (G) promoting a wide range of partner6 ships among governments, organizations, and 

7 individuals to further the purposes of the Herit8 age Corridor; 

9 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

10 government, businesses, organizations, and individ11 uals in the Heritage Corridor in the preparation and 

12 implementation of the management plan; 

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

14 semiannually regarding the development and imple15 mentation of the management plan; 

16 (5) submit an annual report to the Secretary 

17 for any fiscal year in which the local coordinating 

18 entity receives Federal funds under this Act speci19 fying— 

20 (A) the specific performance goals and ac21 complishments of the local coordinating entity; 

22 (B) the expenses and income of the local 

23 coordinating entity; 

24 (C) the amounts and sources of matching 

25 funds; 


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1 (D) the amounts leveraged with Federal 

2 funds and sources of the leveraging; and 

3 (E) grants made to any other entities dur4 ing the fiscal year; 

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

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

7 information pertaining to the expenditure of such 

8 funds and any matching funds, and require in all 

9 agreements authorizing expenditures of Federal 

10 funds by other organizations, that the receiving or11 ganizations make available for such audit all records 

12 and other information pertaining to the expenditure 

13 of such funds; and 

14 (7) encourage by appropriate means economic 

15 viability that is consistent with the purposes of the 

16 Heritage Corridor. 

17 (b) AUTHORITIES.—The local coordinating entity 

18 may, for the purposes of preparing and implementing the 

19 management plan for the Heritage Corridor, use Federal 

20 funds made available through this Act to— 

21 (1) make grants to the State of Georgia, its po22 litical subdivisions, nonprofit organizations, and 

23 other persons; 

24 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with or 

25 provide technical assistance to the State of Georgia, 


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1 its political jurisdictions, nonprofit organizations, 

2 Federal agencies, and other interested parties; 

3 (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in4 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 

5 and historical resources protection, economic and 

6 community development, and heritage planning; 

7 (4) obtain funds or services from any source in8 cluding any that are provided under any other Fed9 eral law or program; 

10 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

11 (6) support activities of partners and any other 

12 activities that further the purposes of the Heritage 

13 Corridor and is consistent with the approved man14 agement plan. 

15 (c) PROHIBITIONS ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

16 PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity may not use 

17 Federal funds received under this Act to acquire real prop18 erty, but may use any other source of funding, including 

19 other Federal funding outside this authority, intended for 

20 the acquisition of real property. 

21 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

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

23 Heritage Corridor shall— 

24 (1) include comprehensive policies, strategies, 

25 and recommendations for conservation, funding, 


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1 management, and development of the Heritage Cor2 ridor; 

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 that govern7 ments, private organizations, and individuals have 

8 agreed to take to protect the natural, historical, and 

9 cultural resources of the Heritage Corridor; 

10 (4) specify the existing and potential sources of 

11 funding or economic development strategies to pro12 tect, manage, and develop the Heritage Corridor; 

13 (5) include an inventory of the natural, histor14 ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

15 resources of the Heritage Corridor related to the 

16 themes of the Heritage Corridor that should be pre17 served, restored, managed, developed, or maintained; 

18 (6) recommend policies and strategies for re19 source management that consider and detail the ap20 plication of appropriate land and water management 

21 techniques including, but not limited to, the develop22 ment of intergovernmental and interagency coopera23 tive agreements to protect the Heritage Corridor’s 

24 natural, historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and 

25 recreational resources; 


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1 (7) describe a program of implementation for 

2 the management plan including performance goals, 

3 plans for resource protection, restoration, interpreta4 tion, enhancement, management, and development, 

5 and specific commitments for implementation that 

6 have been made by the local coordinating entity or 

7 any government, organization, or individual; 

8 (8) include an analysis and recommendations 

9 for ways in which local, State, and Federal pro10 grams, including the role of the National Park Serv11 ice in the Heritage Corridor, may best be coordi12 nated to further the purposes of this Act; 

13 (9) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

14 Corridor; and 

15 (10) include a business plan that— 

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

17 and functions of the local coordinating entity 

18 and of each of the major activities contained in 

19 the management plan; and 

20 (B) provides adequate assurances that the 

21 local coordinating entity has the partnerships 

22 and financial and other resources necessary to 

23 implement the management plan for the Herit24 age Corridor. 

25 (b) DEADLINE AND TERMINATION OF FUNDING.— 


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1 (1) DEADLINE.—The local coordinating entity 

2 shall submit the management plan to the Secretary 

3 for approval not later than 3 years after funds are 

4 made available for this Act. 

5 (2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the man6 agement plan is not submitted to the Secretary in 

7 accordance with this subsection, the local coordi8 nating entity shall not qualify for Federal funding 

9 under this Act until such time as the management 

10 plan is submitted to and approved by the Secretary. 

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

12 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

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

14 the request of the local coordinating entity, provide 

15 technical and financial assistance on a reimbursable 

16 or nonreimbursable basis (as determined by the Sec17 retary) to the Heritage Corridor to develop and im18 plement the approved management plan. The Sec19 retary is authorized to enter into cooperative agree20 ments with the local coordinating entity and other 

21 public or private entities for this purpose. 

22 (2) PRIORITY ACTIONS.—In assisting the Herit23 age Corridor, the Secretary shall give priority to ac24 tions 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 Corridor; and 

4 (B) providing educational, interpretive, and 

5 recreational opportunities consistent with the 

6 purposes of the Heritage Corridor. 

7 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

8 PLAN.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve 

10 or disapprove the management plan not later than 

11 180 days after receiving the management plan. 

12 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

13 the approval of the management plan, the Secretary 

14 shall consider whether— 

15 (A) the local coordinating entity is rep16 resentative of the diverse interests of the Herit17 age Corridor including governments, natural 

18 and historic resource protection organizations, 

19 educational institutions, businesses, and rec20 reational organizations; 

21 (B) the local coordinating entity has af22 forded adequate opportunity, including public 

23 hearings, for public and governmental involve24 ment in the preparation of the management 

25 plan; 


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1 (C) the resource protection and interpreta2 tion strategies contained in the management 

3 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

4 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 

5 the Heritage Corridor; 

6 (D) the Secretary has received adequate 

7 assurances from the appropriate State and local 

8 officials whose support is needed to ensure the 

9 effective implementation of the State and local 

10 aspects of the management plan; and 

11 (E) the local coordinating entity has dem12 onstrated the financial capability, in partner13 ship with others, to carry out the plan. 

14 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

15 Secretary disapproves the management plan, the 

16 Secretary shall advise the local coordinating entity in 

17 writing of the reasons that the management plan 

18 was disapproved and shall make recommendations 

19 for revisions to the management plan. The Secretary 

20 shall approve or disapprove a proposed revision with21 in 180 days after the date it is submitted. 

22 (4) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—Substantial 

23 amendments to the management plan shall be re24 viewed by the Secretary and approved in the same 

25 manner as provided for the original management 


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1 plan. The local coordinating entity shall not use 

2 Federal funds authorized by this Act to implement 

3 any amendments until the Secretary has approved 

4 the amendments. 

5 SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au7 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan8 cial assistance under any other law. 

9 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

10 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

11 may have an impact on the Heritage Corridor is encour12 aged to consult and coordinate the activities with the Sec13 retary and the local coordinating entity to the maximum 

14 extent practicable. 

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

16 Act— 

17 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu18 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed19 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen20 cy; 

21 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man22 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

23 the boundaries of the Heritage Corridor; or 


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

2 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed3 eral agency. 

4 SEC. 9. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC5 TIONS. 

6 Nothing in this Act— 

7 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 

8 (whether public or private), including the right to re9 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro10 gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage Cor11 ridor; 

12 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub13 lic access (including access by Federal, State, or 

14 local agencies) to the property of the property 

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

16 of the property owner under any other Federal, 

17 State, or local law; 

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

19 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author20 ity of any Federal, State, or local agency, or conveys 

21 any land use or other regulatory authority to any 

22 local coordinating entity; 

23 (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap24 propriation of water or water rights; 


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1 (5) diminishes the authority of the State to 

2 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

3 fishing and hunting within the Heritage Corridor; or 

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

5 under any other law, or any private property owner 

6 with respect to any person injured on the private 

7 property. 

8 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro10 priated for the purposes of this Act not more than 

11 $1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Not more than a total of 

12 $10,000,000 may be appropriated for the Heritage Cor13 ridor under this Act. 

14 (b) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided 

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

16 of any assistance or grant provided or authorized under 

17 this Act. 

18 SEC. 11. SUNSET. 

19 The authority of the Secretary to provide financial 

20 assistance under this Act shall terminate on the day occur21 ring 15 years after the date of the enactment of the Act. 

Æ 


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