II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1849

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

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’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) Public Law 102–215 (105 Stat. 1664) di9 rected the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation
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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 para8 graph (1), the White Clay Creek Study Wild and

9 Scenic Study Task Force and the National Park

10 Service prepared a watershed management plan for

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

12 Tributaries Watershed Management Plan’’, dated

13 May 1998, that establishes goals and actions to en14 sure the long-term protection of the outstanding val15 ues of, and compatible management of land and

16 water resources associated 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
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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 PENN10 SYLVANIA.—

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

14 designated segments) in the States of Delaware and

15 Pennsylvania (referred to in this paragraph as the

16 ‘Creek’), as depicted on the recommended designa17 tion and classification maps, as follows:

18 ‘‘(i) 30.8 miles of the east branch, includ19 ing Trout Run, beginning at the headwaters

20 within West Marlborough township downstream

21 to a point that is 500 feet north of the Borough

22 of Avondale wastewater treatment facility, as a

23 recreational river.

24 ‘‘(ii) 15.0 miles of the east branch begin25 ning at the southern boundary line of the Bor-
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1 ough of Avondale to a point where the East

2 Branch enters New Garden Township at the

3 Franklin Township boundary line, including

4 Walnut Run and Broad Run outside the bound5 aries of the White Clay Creek Preserve, as a

6 recreational 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, be14 ginning 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

3 boundaries of the White Clay Creek Preserve,

4 Pennsylvania and Delaware, and White Clay

5 Creek State Park, Delaware, beginning at the

6 confluence of the east and middle branches in

7 London 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

13 and White Clay Creek State Park), beginning

14 at the confluence of the east and middle

15 branches in London Britain township, Pennsyl16 vania, downstream to the confluence of the

17 White Clay Creek with the Christina River, as

18 a recreational river.

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

20 boundaries of the Middle Run Natural Area, as

21 a recreational river.

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

23 within the boundaries of the Middle Run Nat24 ural Area, as a scenic river.
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1 ‘‘(xi) 15.6 miles of Pike Creek, as a rec2 reational river.

3 ‘‘(xii) 38.7 miles of Mill Creek, as a rec4 reational river.

5 ‘‘(B) BOUNDARIES.—

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

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

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

9 year after the date of enactment of this para10 graph, except that, with respect to the segments

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

12 boundaries provided for in subsection (b), the

13 boundaries of the segments shall be the greater

14 of—

15 ‘‘(I) the 500-year floodplain; or

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

17 ordinary high water mark on both sides of

18 the segment.

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The boundary limita20 tions described in clause (i) are inapplicable

21 to—

22 ‘‘(I) the areas described in subpara23 graph (D)(i); and

24 ‘‘(II) the properties, as generally de25 picted on the map entitled ‘‘White Clay
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1 Creek Wild and Scenic River Study Area

2 Recommended Designated Area’’, dated

3 June 1999, on which are located the sur4 face water intakes and water treatment

5 and wastewater treatment facilities of—

6 ‘‘(aa) the City of Newark, Dela7 ware;

8 ‘‘(bb) the corporation known as

9 United Water Delaware; and

10 ‘‘(cc) the Borough of West

11 Grove, Pennsylvania.

12 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The segments des14 ignated by subparagraph (A) shall be adminis15 tered by the Secretary of the Interior (referred

16 to in this paragraph as the ‘Secretary’), in co17 operation with the White Clay Creek Watershed

18 Management Committee as provided for in the

19 plan prepared by the White Clay Creek Wild

20 and Scenic Study Task Force and the National

21 Park Service, entitled ‘‘White Clay and Its

22 Tributaries Watershed Management Plan’’ and

23 dated May 1998 (referred to in this paragraph

24 as the ‘Management Plan’).
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1 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT FOR COMPREHENSIVE

2 MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Management Plan

3 shall be considered to satisfy the requirements

4 for a comprehensive management plan under

5 subsection (d).

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

7 AND OTHER PROPERTIES.—

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

9 Lamborn Run, and the properties on which the

10 intake structures and pipelines for the proposed

11 Thompson’s Station Reservoir shall be located

12 shall be considered suitable for designation as

13 components of the National Wild and Scenic

14 Rivers System only at such time as those areas

15 are removed from consideration as locations for

16 the reservoir under the comprehensive plan of

17 the Delaware River Basin Commission.

18 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT DESIGNATIONS.—Noth19 ing in this paragraph prohibits the designation

20 of an area described in clause (i) as a compo21 nent of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers

22 System if, on a date after the date of enact23 ment of this paragraph, the additional segment

24 is determined to be suitable for such designa25 tion.
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1 ‘‘(iii) ASSISTANCE FOR SUBSEQUENT DES2 IGNATIONS.—The Secretary shall offer assist3 ance to the State of Delaware and New Castle

4 County, Delaware, if an area described in

5 clause (i) is designated a component of the Na6 tional Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

7 ‘‘(E) MANAGEMENT.—

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The segments des9 ignated by subparagraph (A) shall be managed

10 in accordance with the Management Plan.

11 ‘‘(ii) FEDERAL ROLE.—

12 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Director of

13 the National Park Service (or a designee)

14 shall represent the Secretary in the imple15 mentation of the Management Plan and

16 this paragraph (including the review, re17 quired under section 7(a), of proposed fed18 erally-assisted water resources projects

19 that could have a direct and adverse effect

20 on the values for which the segments were

21 designated and authorized).

22 ‘‘(II) ASSISTANCE.—To assist in the

23 implementation of the Management Plan

24 and to carry out this paragraph, the Sec25 retary may provide technical assistance,
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1 staff support, and funding at a cost to the

2 Federal Government in an amount, in the

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

4 each fiscal year.

5 ‘‘(iii) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Any

6 cooperative agreement entered into under sec7 tion 10(e) relating to any of the segments des8 ignated by subparagraph (A)—

9 ‘‘(I) shall be consistent with the Man10 agement Plan; and

11 ‘‘(II) may include provisions for finan12 cial or other assistance from the United

13 States to facilitate the long-term protec14 tion, conservation, and enhancement of the

15 segments.

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

17 local zoning laws and ordinances, as in effect on

18 the date of enactment of this paragraph, shall

19 be considered to satisfy the standards and re20 quirements under section 6(c).

21 ‘‘(v) NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.—Notwith22 standing section 10(c), any portion of a seg23 ment designated by subparagraph (A) that is

24 not in the National Park System as of the date
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1 of enactment of this paragraph shall not, under

2 this paragraph—

3 ‘‘(I) be considered a part of the Na4 tional Park System;

5 ‘‘(II) be managed by the National

6 Park Service; or

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

8 regulations) that govern the National Park

9 System.

10 ‘‘(vi) NO LAND ACQUISITION.—The Fed11 eral Government shall not acquire, by any

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

13 easement, or any other interest for the purpose

14 of carrying out this paragraph.’’.

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