Calendar No. 496

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1849

[Report No. 106–266]

A BILL

To designate segments and tributaries of White

Clay Creek, Delaware and Pennsylvania, as acomponent of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

APRIL 12, 2000

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 496

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1849

[Report No. 106–266]

To designate segments and tributaries of White Clay Creek, Delaware and

Pennsylvania, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 3, 1999

Mr. BIDEN (for himself and Mr. ROTH) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

APRIL 12, 2000

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To designate segments and tributaries of White Clay Creek,

Delaware and Pennsylvania, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

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 ‘‘White Clay Creek Wild

5 and Scenic Rivers System Act’’.
2

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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) Public Law 102–215 (105 Stat. 1664) di4 rected the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation

5 and consultation with appropriate State and local

6 governments and affected landowners, to conduct a

7 study of the eligibility and suitability of White Clay

8 Creek, Delaware and Pennsylvania, and the tribu9 taries of the creek for inclusion in the National Wild

10 and Scenic Rivers System;

11 (2) as a part of the study described in para12 graph (1), the White Clay Creek Study Wild and

13 Scenic Study Task Force and the National Park

14 Service prepared a watershed management plan for

15 the study area entitled ‘‘White Clay Creek and Its

16 Tributaries Watershed Management Plan’’, dated

17 May 1998, that establishes goals and actions to en18 sure the long-term protection of the outstanding val19 ues of, and compatible management of land and

20 water resources associated with, the watershed; and

21 (3) after completion of the study described in

22 paragraph (1), Chester County, Pennsylvania, New

23 Castle County, Delaware, Newark, Delaware, and 12

24 Pennsylvania municipalities located within the wa25 tershed boundaries passed resolutions that—
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1 (A) expressed support for the White Clay

2 Creek Watershed Management Plan;

3 (B) expressed agreement to take action to

4 implement the goals of the Plan; and

5 (C) endorsed the designation of the White

6 Clay Creek and the tributaries of the creek for

7 inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Riv8 ers System.

9 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF WHITE CLAY CREEK.

10 Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16

11 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing:

13 ‘‘(161) WHITE CLAY CREEK, DELAWARE AND PENN14 SYLVANIA.—

15 ‘‘(A) SEGMENTS.—The 191 miles of river seg16 ments of White Clay Creek (including tributaries of

17 the Creek and all second order tributaries of the

18 designated segments) in the States of Delaware and

19 Pennsylvania (referred to in this paragraph as the

20 ‘Creek’), as depicted on the recommended designa21 tion and classification maps, as follows:

22 ‘‘(i) 30.8 miles of the east branch, includ23 ing Trout Run, beginning at the headwaters

24 within West Marlborough township downstream

25 to a point that is 500 feet north of the Borough
4

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1 of Avondale wastewater treatment facility, as a

2 recreational river.

3 ‘‘(ii) 15.0 miles of the east branch begin4 ning at the southern boundary line of the Bor5 ough of Avondale to a point where the East

6 Branch enters New Garden Township at the

7 Franklin Township boundary line, including

8 Walnut Run and Broad Run outside the bound9 aries of the White Clay Creek Preserve, as a

10 recreational river.

11 ‘‘(iii) 4.0 miles of the east branch that flow

12 through the boundaries of the White Clay Creek

13 Preserve, Pennsylvania, beginning at the north14 ern boundary line of London Britain township

15 and downstream to the confluence of the middle

16 and east branches, as a scenic river.

17 ‘‘(iv) 20.9 miles of the middle branch, be18 ginning at the headwaters within Londonderry

19 township downstream to the boundary of the

20 White Clay Creek Preserve in London Britain

21 township, as a recreational river.

22 ‘‘(v) 2.1 miles of the west branch that flow

23 within the boundaries of the White Clay Creek

24 Preserve in London Britain township, as a sce25 nic river.
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1 ‘‘(vi) 17.2 miles of the west branch, begin2 ning at the headwaters within Penn township

3 downstream to the confluence with the middle

4 branch, as a recreational river.

5 ‘‘(vii) 12.7 miles of the main stem, exclud6 ing Lamborn Run, that flow through the

7 boundaries of the White Clay Creek Preserve,

8 Pennsylvania and Delaware, and White Clay

9 Creek State Park, Delaware, beginning at the

10 confluence of the east and middle branches in

11 London Britain township, Pennsylvania, down12 stream to the northern boundary line of the city

13 of Newark, Delaware, as a scenic river.

14 ‘‘(viii) 27.5 miles of the main stem (includ15 ing all second order tributaries outside the

16 boundaries of the White Clay Creek Preserve

17 and White Clay Creek State Park), beginning

18 at the confluence of the east and middle

19 branches in London Britain township, Pennsyl20 vania, downstream to the confluence of the

21 White Clay Creek with the Christina River, as

22 a recreational river.

23 ‘‘(ix) 1.3 miles of Middle Run outside the

24 boundaries of the Middle Run Natural Area, as

25 a recreational river.
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1 ‘‘(x) 5.2 miles of Middle Run that flow

2 within the boundaries of the Middle Run Nat3 ural Area, as a scenic river.

4 ‘‘(xi) 15.6 miles of Pike Creek, as a rec5 reational river.

6 ‘‘(xii) 38.7 miles of Mill Creek, as a rec7 reational river.

8 ‘‘(B) BOUNDARIES.—

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

10 clause (ii), action required to be taken under

11 subsection (b) shall be taken not later than 1

12 year after the date of enactment of this para13 graph, except that, with respect to the segments

14 designated by subparagraph (A), in lieu of the

15 boundaries provided for in subsection (b), the

16 boundaries of the segments shall be the greater

17 of—

18 ‘‘(I) the 500-year floodplain; or

19 ‘‘(II) 250 feet as measured from the

20 ordinary high water mark on both sides of

21 the segment.

22 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The boundary limita23 tions described in clause (i) are inapplicable

24 to—
7

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1 ‘‘(I) the areas described in subpara2 graph (D)(i); and

3 ‘‘(II) the properties, as generally de4 picted on the map entitled ‘‘White Clay

5 Creek Wild and Scenic River Study Area

6 Recommended Designated Area’’, dated

7 June 1999, on which are located the sur8 face water intakes and water treatment

9 and wastewater treatment facilities of—

10 ‘‘(aa) the City of Newark, Dela11 ware;

12 ‘‘(bb) the corporation known as

13 United Water Delaware; and

14 ‘‘(cc) the Borough of West

15 Grove, Pennsylvania.

16 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.—

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The segments des18 ignated by subparagraph (A) shall be adminis19 tered by the Secretary of the Interior (referred

20 to in this paragraph as the ‘Secretary’), in co21 operation with the White Clay Creek Watershed

22 Management Committee as provided for in the

23 plan prepared by the White Clay Creek Wild

24 and Scenic Study Task Force and the National

25 Park Service, entitled ‘‘White Clay and Its
8

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1 Tributaries Watershed Management Plan’’ and

2 dated May 1998 (referred to in this paragraph

3 as the ‘Management Plan’).

4 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT FOR COMPREHENSIVE

5 MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Management Plan

6 shall be considered to satisfy the requirements

7 for a comprehensive management plan under

8 subsection (d).

9 ‘‘(D) CHURCHMAN’S MARSH, LAMBORN RUN,

10 AND OTHER PROPERTIES.—

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Churchman’s Marsh,

12 Lamborn Run, and the properties on which the

13 intake structures and pipelines for the proposed

14 Thompson’s Station Reservoir shall be located

15 shall be considered suitable for designation as

16 components of the National Wild and Scenic

17 Rivers System only at such time as those areas

18 are removed from consideration as locations for

19 the reservoir under the comprehensive plan of

20 the Delaware River Basin Commission.

21 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT DESIGNATIONS.—Noth22 ing in this paragraph prohibits the designation

23 of an area described in clause (i) as a compo24 nent of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers

25 System if, on a date after the date of enact-
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1 ment of this paragraph, the additional segment

2 is determined to be suitable for such designa3 tion.

4 ‘‘(iii) ASSISTANCE FOR SUBSEQUENT DES5 IGNATIONS.—The Secretary shall offer assist6 ance to the State of Delaware and New Castle

7 County, Delaware, if an area described in

8 clause (i) is designated a component of the Na9 tional Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

10 ‘‘(E) MANAGEMENT.—

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The segments des12 ignated by subparagraph (A) shall be managed

13 in accordance with the Management Plan.

14 ‘‘(ii) FEDERAL ROLE.—

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Director of

16 the National Park Service (or a designee)

17 shall represent the Secretary in the imple18 mentation of the Management Plan and

19 this paragraph (including the review, re20 quired under section 7(a), of proposed fed21 erally-assisted water resources projects

22 that could have a direct and adverse effect

23 on the values for which the segments were

24 designated and authorized).
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1 ‘‘(II) ASSISTANCE.—To assist in the

2 implementation of the Management Plan

3 and to carry out this paragraph, the Sec4 retary may provide technical assistance,

5 staff support, and funding at a cost to the

6 Federal Government in an amount, in the

7 aggregate, of not to exceed $150,000 for

8 each fiscal year.

9 ‘‘(iii) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Any

10 cooperative agreement entered into under sec11 tion 10(e) relating to any of the segments des12 ignated by subparagraph (A)—

13 ‘‘(I) shall be consistent with the Man14 agement Plan; and

15 ‘‘(II) may include provisions for finan16 cial or other assistance from the United

17 States to facilitate the long-term protec18 tion, conservation, and enhancement of the

19 segments.

20 ‘‘(iv) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—State and

21 local zoning laws and ordinances, as in effect on

22 the date of enactment of this paragraph, shall

23 be considered to satisfy the standards and re24 quirements under section 6(c).
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1 ‘‘(v) NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.—Notwith2 standing section 10(c), any portion of a seg3 ment designated by subparagraph (A) that is

4 not in the National Park System as of the date

5 of enactment of this paragraph shall not, under

6 this paragraph—

7 ‘‘(I) be considered a part of the Na8 tional Park System;

9 ‘‘(II) be managed by the National

10 Park Service; or

11 ‘‘(III) be subject to laws (including

12 regulations) that govern the National Park

13 System.

14 ‘‘(vi) NO LAND ACQUISITION.—The Fed15 eral Government shall not acquire, by any

16 means, any right or title in or to land, any

17 easement, or any other interest for the purpose

18 of carrying out this paragraph.’’.

19 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

20 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘White Clay Creek Wild

21 and Scenic Rivers System Act’’.

22 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

23 Congress finds that—

24 (1) Public Law 102–215 (105 Stat. 1664) di25 rected the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation
12

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1 and consultation with appropriate State and local

2 governments and affected landowners, to conduct a

3 study of the eligibility and suitability of White Clay

4 Creek, Delaware and Pennsylvania, and the tribu5 taries of the creek for inclusion in the National Wild

6 and Scenic Rivers System;

7 (2) as a part of the study described in paragraph

8 (1), the White Clay Creek Study Wild and Scenic

9 Study Task Force and the National Park Service pre10 pared a watershed management plan for the study

11 area entitled ‘‘White Clay Creek and Its Tributaries

12 Watershed Management Plan’’, dated May 1998, that

13 establishes goals and actions to ensure the long-term

14 protection of the outstanding values of, and compat15 ible management of land and water resources associ16 ated with, the watershed; and

17 (3) after completion of the study described in

18 paragraph (1), Chester County, Pennsylvania, New

19 Castle County, Delaware, Newark, Delaware, and 12

20 Pennsylvania municipalities located within the wa21 tershed boundaries passed resolutions that—

22 (A) expressed support for the White Clay

23 Creek Watershed Management Plan;

24 (B) expressed agreement to take action to

25 implement the goals of the Plan; and
13

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1 (C) endorsed the designation of the White

2 Clay Creek and the tributaries of the creek for

3 inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Riv4 ers System.

5 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF WHITE CLAY CREEK.

6 Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16

7 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(161) WHITE CLAY CREEK, DELAWARE AND PENNSYL10 VANIA.—

11 ‘‘(A) SEGMENTS.—The 191 miles of river seg12 ments of White Clay Creek (including tributaries of

13 the Creek and all second order tributaries of the des14 ignated segments) in the States of Delaware and

15 Pennsylvania (referred to in this paragraph as the

16 ‘Creek’), as depicted on the recommended designation

17 and classification maps, as follows:

18 ‘‘(i) 30.8 miles of the east branch, including

19 Trout Run, beginning at the headwaters within

20 West Marlborough township downstream to a

21 point that is 500 feet north of the Borough of

22 Avondale wastewater treatment facility, as a rec23 reational river.

24 ‘‘(ii) 15.0 miles of the east branch beginning

25 at the southern boundary line of the Borough of
14

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1 Avondale to a point where the East Branch en2 ters New Garden Township at the Franklin

3 Township boundary line, including Walnut Run

4 and Broad Run outside the boundaries of the

5 White Clay Creek Preserve, as a recreational

6 river.

7 ‘‘(iii) 4.0 miles of the east branch that flow

8 through the boundaries of the White Clay Creek

9 Preserve, Pennsylvania, beginning at the north10 ern boundary line of London Britain township

11 and downstream to the confluence of the middle

12 and east branches, as a scenic river.

13 ‘‘(iv) 20.9 miles of the middle branch, begin14 ning at the headwaters within Londonderry

15 township downstream to the boundary of the

16 White Clay Creek Preserve in London Britain

17 township, as a recreational river.

18 ‘‘(v) 2.1 miles of the west branch that flow

19 within the boundaries of the White Clay Creek

20 Preserve in London Britain township, as a sce21 nic river.

22 ‘‘(vi) 17.2 miles of the west branch, begin23 ning at the headwaters within Penn township

24 downstream to the confluence with the middle

25 branch, as a recreational river.
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1 ‘‘(vii) 12.7 miles of the main stem, exclud2 ing Lamborn Run, that flow through the bound3 aries of the White Clay Creek Preserve, Pennsyl4 vania and Delaware, and White Clay Creek

5 State Park, Delaware, beginning at the con6 fluence of the east and middle branches in Lon7 don Britain township, Pennsylvania, down8 stream to the northern boundary line of the city

9 of Newark, Delaware, as a scenic river.

10 ‘‘(viii) 27.5 miles of the main stem (includ11 ing all second order tributaries outside the

12 boundaries of the White Clay Creek Preserve and

13 White Clay Creek State Park), beginning at the

14 confluence of the east and middle branches in

15 London Britain township, Pennsylvania, down16 stream to the confluence of the White Clay Creek

17 with the Christina River, as a recreational river.

18 ‘‘(ix) 1.3 miles of Middle Run outside the

19 boundaries of the Middle Run Natural Area, as

20 a recreational river.

21 ‘‘(x) 5.2 miles of Middle Run that flow

22 within the boundaries of the Middle Run Nat23 ural Area, as a scenic river.

24 ‘‘(xi) 15.6 miles of Pike Creek, as a rec25 reational river.
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1 ‘‘(xii) 38.7 miles of Mill Creek, as a rec2 reational river.

3 ‘‘(B) BOUNDARIES.—

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

5 clause (ii), in lieu of the boundaries provided for

6 in subsection (b), the boundaries of the segments

7 shall be the greater of—

8 ‘‘(I) the 500-year floodplain; or

9 ‘‘(II) 250 feet as measured from the or10 dinary high water mark on both sides of the

11 segment.

12 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The boundary limita13 tions described in clause (i) are inapplicable

14 to—

15 ‘‘(I) the areas described in section 4(a)

16 of the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic

17 Rivers Act; and

18 ‘‘(II) the properties, as generally de19 picted on the map entitled ‘‘White Clay

20 Creek Wild and Scenic River Study Area

21 Recommended Designated Area’’, dated

22 June 1999, on which are located the surface

23 water intakes and water treatment and

24 wastewater treatment facilities of—
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1 ‘‘(aa) the City of Newark, Dela2 ware;

3 ‘‘(bb) the corporation known as

4 United Water Delaware; and

5 ‘‘(cc) the Borough of West Grove,

6 Pennsylvania.

7 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.—

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The segments designated

9 by subparagraph (A) shall be administered by

10 the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with

11 the White Clay Creek Watershed Management

12 Committee as provided for in the plan prepared

13 by the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic Study

14 Task Force and the National Park Service, enti15 tled ‘White Clay and Its Tributaries Watershed

16 Management Plan’ and dated May 1998.’’.

17 SEC. 4. SUBSEQUENT DESIGNATIONS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Churchman’s Marsh, Lamborn

19 Run, and the properties on which the intake structures and

20 pipelines for the proposed Thompson’s Station Reservoir

21 may be located shall be considered suitable for designation

22 as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys23 tem only at such time as those areas are removed from con24 sideration as locations for the reservoir under the com25 prehensive plan of the Delaware River Basin Commission.
18

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1 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR SUBSEQUENT DESIGNATIONS.—

2 The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the

3 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall offer assistance to the State of Delaware

4 and New Castle County, Delaware, if an area described in

5 subsection (a) is designated a component of the National

6 Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

7 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide for the long9 term protection, preservation, and enhancement of White

10 Clay Creek and its tributaries, the Secretary shall offer to

11 enter into cooperative agreements pursuant to section 10(e)

12 and section 11(b)(1) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16

13 U.S.C. 1281(e) and 16 U.S.C. 1282(b)(1)) with the White

14 Clay Creek Watershed Management Committee as provided

15 for in the plan entitled ‘‘White Clay Creek and its Tribu16 taries Watershed Management Plan’’ and dated May, 1998

17 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘management plan’’).

18 (b) FEDERAL ROLE.—(1) The Director of the National

19 Park Service (or a designee) shall represent the Secretary

20 in the implementation of the management plan and this

21 paragraph (including the review, required under section

22 7(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1278(a)),

23 of proposed Federally-assisted water resources projects that

24 could have a direct and adverse effect on the values for

25 which the segments were designated and authorized).
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1 (2) To assist in the implementation of the management

2 plan and to carry out this Act, the Secretary may provide

3 technical assistance, staff support, and funding at a cost

4 to the Federal Government in an amount, in the aggregate,

5 of not to exceed $150,000 for each fiscal year.

6 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Any cooperative

7 agreement entered into under section 10(e) of the Wild and

8 Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1281(e)) relating to any of

9 the segments designed by section 3—

10 (1) shall be consistent with the management

11 plan; and

12 (2) may include provisions for financial or other

13 assistance from the United States to facilitate the

14 long-term protection, conservation, and enhancement

15 of the segments.

16 (d) COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The man17 agement plan shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements

18 for a comprehensive management plan under section 3(d)

19 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(d)).

20 (e) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—State and local zoning

21 laws and ordinances, as in effect on the date of enactment

22 of this Act, shall be considered to satisfy the standards and

23 requirements under section 6(c) of the Wild and Scenic Riv24 ers Act (16 U.S.C. 1277(c)).
20

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1 (f) NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.—Notwithstanding sec2 tion 10(c) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C.

3 1281(c)), any portion of a segment designated by section

4 3 that is not in the National Park System as of the date

5 of enactment of this Act shall not—

6 (1) be considered a part of the National Park

7 System;

8 (2) be managed by the National Park Service; or

9 (3) be subject to laws (including regulations)

10 that govern the National Park System.

11 (g) NO LAND ACQUISITION.—The Federal Government

12 shall not acquire, by any means, any right or title in or

13 to land, any easement, or any other interest for the purpose

14 of carrying out this Act.