II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2352

To designate portions of the Wekiva River and associated tributaries as

a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 4, 2000

Mr. GRAHAM introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To designate portions of the Wekiva River and associated

tributaries 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 ‘‘Wekiva Wild and Sce5 nic River Designation Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) Public Law 104–311 authorized the study

9 of the Wekiva River and the associated tributaries of

10 Rock Springs Run and Seminole Creek (including
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1 Wekiwa Springs Run and the tributary of Black

2 Water Creek that connects Seminole Creek to the

3 Wekiva River) for potential inclusion in the National

4 Wild and Scenic Rivers System;

5 (2) the study referred to in paragraph (1) de6 termined that the Wekiva River and the associated

7 tributaries of Wekiwa Springs Run, Rock Springs

8 Run, Seminole Creek, and Black Water Creek down9 stream of Lake Norris to the confluence with the

10 Wekiva River are eligible for inclusion in the Na11 tional Wild and Scenic Rivers System based on the

12 free-flowing condition and outstanding scenic, rec13 reational, fishery, wildlife, historic, cultural, and

14 water quality values of those waterways;

15 (3) the public support for designation of the

16 Wekiva River as a component of the National Wild

17 and Scenic Rivers System has been demonstrated

18 through substantial attendance at public meetings,

19 State and local agency support, and the support and

20 endorsement of designation by the Wekiva River

21 Basin Working Group that was established by the

22 Department of Environmental Protection of the

23 State of Florida and represents a broad cross sec24 tion of State and local agencies, landowners, envi-
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1 ronmentalists, nonprofit organizations, and rec2 reational users, including—

3 (A) agencies and political subdivisions of

4 the State of Florida, including—

5 (i) the Department of Environmental

6 Protection of the State of Florida;

7 (ii) the Department of Transportation

8 of the State of Florida;

9 (iii) the East Central Florida Regional

10 Planning Council;

11 (iv) Orange County, Seminole County,

12 and Lake County, Florida;

13 (v) the Game and Fresh Water Fish

14 Commission of the State of Florida;

15 (vi) the St. Johns River Water Man16 agement District; and

17 (vii) the Seminole State Forest;

18 (B) nonprofit organizations, including—

19 (i) the organization known as Friends

20 of the Wekiva;

21 (ii) the Florida Trail Association;

22 (iii) the Nature Conservancy;

23 (iv) the Florida Audubon Society;

24 (v) the Sierra Club; and

25 (vi) the Defenders of Wildlife;
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1 (C) the Florida Sport Paddling Club;

2 (D) the University of Central Florida;

3 (E) adjacent landowners;

4 (F) neighboring city agencies; and

5 (G) State and county park concessionaires;

6 (4) the State of Florida has demonstrated a

7 commitment to protect the Wekiva River—

8 (A) by enacting Florida Statutes chapter

9 369, the Wekiva River Protection Act;

10 (B) by establishing a riparian habitat wild11 life protection zone and water quality protection

12 zone administered by the St. Johns River Water

13 Management District;

14 (C) by designating the Wekiva River as

15 outstanding Florida waters; and

16 (D) by acquiring State preserve, reserve,

17 and park land adjacent to the Wekiva River

18 and associated tributaries;

19 (5) Lake, Seminole, and Orange Counties, Flor20 ida, have demonstrated their commitment to protect

21 the Wekiva River and associated tributaries in the

22 comprehensive land use plans and land development

23 regulations of those counties; and

24 (6) the segments of the Wekiva River, Rock

25 Springs Run, and Black Water Creek described in
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1 section 3, totaling approximately 41.6 miles, are in

2 public ownership, protected by conservation ease3 ments, or defined as waters of the State of Florida.

4 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION.

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

6 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(161) WEKIVA RIVER, ROCK SPRINGS RUN,

9 AND BLACK WATER CREEK, FLORIDA.—

10 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph:

11 ‘‘(i) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’

12 means the Wekiva River Coordinating

13 Council established under subparagraph

14 (D).

15 ‘‘(ii) PLAN.—The term ‘Plan’ means

16 the comprehensive management plan re17 quired to be developed under subsection

18 (d).

19 ‘‘(iii) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Sec20 retary’ means the Secretary of the Interior,

21 acting in consultation with the Governor of

22 the State of Florida.

23 ‘‘(B) DESIGNATION.—The 45.5 miles of

24 river and tributary segments in Florida, as fol25 lows:
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1 ‘‘(i) WEKIVA RIVER, FLORIDA.—The

2 14.9 miles of the Wekiva River, from its

3 confluence with the St. Johns River to

4 Wekiwa Springs, to be administered by the

5 Secretary in the following classifications:

6 ‘‘(I) From the confluence with

7 the St. Johns River to the southern

8 boundary of the Lower Wekiva River

9 State Preserve, approximately 4.4

10 miles, as a wild river.

11 ‘‘(II) From the southern bound12 ary of the Lower Wekiva River State

13 Preserve to the northern boundary of

14 Rock Springs Run State Reserve at

15 the Wekiva River, approximately 3.4

16 miles, as a recreational river.

17 ‘‘(III) From the northern bound18 ary of Rock Springs Run State Re19 serve at the Wekiva River to the

20 southern boundary of Rock Springs

21 Run State Reserve at the Wekiva

22 River, approximately 5.9 miles, as a

23 wild river.

24 ‘‘(IV) From the southern bound25 ary of Rock Springs Run State Re-
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1 serve at the Wekiva River upstream

2 along Wekiwa Springs Run to Wekiwa

3 Springs, approximately 1.2 miles, as a

4 recreational river.

5 ‘‘(ii) ROCK SPRINGS RUN, FLORIDA.—

6 The 8.8 miles of Rock Springs Run, from

7 its confluence with the Wekiwa Springs

8 Run to its headwaters at Rock Springs, to

9 be administered by the Secretary in the

10 following classifications:

11 ‘‘(I) From the confluence with

12 Wekiwa Springs Run to the western

13 boundary of Rock Springs Run State

14 Reserve at Rock Springs Run, ap15 proximately 6.9 miles, as a wild river.

16 ‘‘(II) From the western boundary

17 of Rock Springs Run State Reserve at

18 Rock Springs Run to Rock Springs,

19 approximately 1.9 miles, as a rec20 reational river.

21 ‘‘(iii) BLACK WATER CREEK, FLOR22 IDA.—The 17.9 miles of Black Water

23 Creek from its confluence with the Wekiva

24 River to the outflow from Lake Norris, to
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1 be administered by the Secretary in the

2 following classifications:

3 ‘‘(I) From the confluence with

4 the Wekiva River to approximately .25

5 mile downstream of the Seminole

6 State Forest road crossing, approxi7 mately 4.0 miles, as a wild river.

8 ‘‘(II) From approximately .25

9 mile downstream of the Seminole

10 State Forest road to approximately

11 .25 mile upstream of the Seminole

12 State Forest road crossing, approxi13 mately .5 mile, as a scenic river.

14 ‘‘(III) From approximately .25

15 mile upstream of the Seminole State

16 Forest road crossing to approximately

17 .25 mile downstream of the old rail18 road grade crossing (approximately

19 river mile 9), approximately 4.5 miles,

20 as a wild river.

21 ‘‘(IV) From approximately .25

22 mile downstream of the old railroad

23 grade crossing (approximately river

24 mile 9) upstream to the boundary of

25 Seminole State Forest (approximately
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1 river mile 10.6), approximately 1.6

2 miles, as a scenic river.

3 ‘‘(V) From the boundary of Sem4 inole State Forest (approximately

5 river mile 10.6) to approximately .25

6 mile downstream of the State Road

7 44 crossing, approximately .9 mile, as

8 a wild river.

9 ‘‘(VI) From approximately .25

10 mile downstream of State Road 44 to

11 approximately .25 mile upstream of

12 the State Road 44A crossing, approxi13 mately .5 mile, as a recreational river.

14 ‘‘(VII) From approximately .25

15 mile upstream of the State Road 44A

16 crossing to approximately .25 mile

17 downstream of the Lake Norris Road

18 crossing, approximately 4.8 miles, as

19 a wild river.

20 ‘‘(VIII) From approximately .25

21 mile downstream of the Lake Norris

22 Road crossing to the outflow from

23 Lake Norris, approximately 1.1 miles,

24 as a recreational river.
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1 ‘‘(iv) SEMINOLE CREEK, FLORIDA.—

2 The 3.9 miles of Seminole Creek from its

3 confluence with Black Water Creek to

4 Seminole Spring, to be administered by the

5 Secretary as a wild river.

6 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.—The segments

7 designated by subparagraph (B) shall be ad8 ministered by the Secretary as components of

9 the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System,

10 through written cooperative agreements with

11 the State of Florida under section 10(e) and in

12 accordance with subparagraph (E)(i)(I), except

13 that publicly owned land within the boundaries

14 of designated segments shall continue to be

15 managed by the agency or entity having juris16 diction over the land.

17 ‘‘(D) WEKIVA RIVER COORDINATING COUN18 CIL.—

19 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary

20 shall establish the Wekiva River Coordi21 nating Council, through the cooperative

22 agreements described in subparagraph

23 (E)(i)(I), to assist—

24 ‘‘(I) in the development of the

25 Plan; and
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1 ‘‘(II) the Secretary in deter2 mining whether a proposed water re3 sources project would have a direct

4 and adverse effect on the values for

5 which the segments designated by

6 subparagraph (B) were included in

7 the National Wild and Scenic Rivers

8 System.

9 ‘‘(ii) COMPOSITION.—The Council

10 shall be composed of a representative of

11 each of—

12 ‘‘(I) the Department of the Inte13 rior (represented by the Director of

14 the National Park Service or a des15 ignee);

16 ‘‘(II) the East Central Florida

17 Regional Planning Council;

18 ‘‘(III) the Department of Envi19 ronmental Protection of the State of

20 Florida, Division of Recreation and

21 Parks;

22 ‘‘(IV) the Department of Envi23 ronmental Protection of the State of

24 Florida, Wekiva River Aquatic Pre25 serve;
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1 ‘‘(V) the Division of Forestry of

2 the Department of Agriculture and

3 Consumer Services of the State of

4 Florida;

5 ‘‘(VI) the Florida Audubon Soci6 ety;

7 ‘‘(VII) the nonprofit organization

8 known as Friends of the Wekiva, In9 corporated;

10 ‘‘(VIII) the Lake County Water

11 Authority;

12 ‘‘(IX) Lake County;

13 ‘‘(X) Orange County;

14 ‘‘(XI) Seminole County;

15 ‘‘(XII) the St. Johns River Water

16 Management District;

17 ‘‘(XIII) the Fish and Wildlife

18 Conservation Commission of the State

19 of Florida;

20 ‘‘(XIV) the city of Altamonte

21 Springs, Florida;

22 ‘‘(XV) the city of Longwood,

23 Florida;

24 ‘‘(XVI) the city of Apopka, Flor25 ida;
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1 ‘‘(XVII) the city of Mt. Plym2 outh, Florida;

3 ‘‘(XVIII) the Florida Farm Bu4 reau Federation;

5 ‘‘(XIX) the Florida Forestry As6 sociation;

7 ‘‘(XX) the Lake County Chamber

8 of Commerce;

9 ‘‘(XXI) the Orange County

10 Chamber of Commerce;

11 ‘‘(XXII) the Seminole County

12 Chamber of Commerce; and

13 ‘‘(XXIII) any other interested

14 party, by request to the Secretary and

15 with unanimous consent of the mem16 bers of the Council.

17 ‘‘(iii) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—

18 One representative and 1 alternate shall be

19 appointed from each member agency, agen20 cy division, or organization as follows:

21 ‘‘(I) State agency representative,

22 by the head of the State agency.

23 ‘‘(II) Local government rep24 resentatives, by the respective gov-
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1 erning bodies of the local govern2 ments.

3 ‘‘(III) Water management dis4 trict, by its Governing Board.

5 ‘‘(IV) Department of the Interior

6 representative, by the Secretary, act7 ing through the Southeast Regional

8 Director of the National Park Service.

9 ‘‘(V) East Central Florida Re10 gional Planning Council, by its Gov11 erning Board.

12 ‘‘(VI) Other entities and organi13 zations, by the respective governing

14 bodies of the entities and organiza15 tions.

16 ‘‘(iv) VOTES.—Each member agency,

17 governmental entity, or organization shall

18 have 1 vote.

19 ‘‘(v) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES.—The

20 Council shall develop and submit for the

21 approval of the Secretary any additional

22 procedures required to carry out the busi23 ness of the Council as part of the Plan.

24 ‘‘(vi) FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS.—

25 The Council shall meet at the call of the
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1 Florida Department of Environmental Pro2 tection and the St. Johns River Water

3 Management District, in consultation with

4 the Secretary.

5 ‘‘(vii) ADVISORY ROLE.—The

6 Council—

7 ‘‘(I) shall serve the Secretary

8 only in an advisory capacity; and

9 ‘‘(II) shall not have regulatory or

10 land acquisition authority.

11 ‘‘(E) MANAGEMENT.—

12 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL ROLE.—

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec14 retary, in accordance with sections

15 10(e) and 11(b)(1), shall enter into

16 written cooperative agreements with

17 the State of Florida and may enter

18 into written cooperative agreements

19 with appropriate local political juris20 dictions, interested landowners, and

21 private organizations and individuals,

22 to provide for the long-term protec23 tion, preservation, and enhancement

24 of the river segments designated by

25 subparagraph (B).
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1 ‘‘(II) COMPREHENSIVE MANAGE2 MENT PLAN.—The Secretary, in con3 sultation with the Department of En4 vironmental Protection of the State of

5 Florida, the St. Johns River Water

6 Management District, and the Coun7 cil, shall develop a comprehensive

8 management plan for the river seg9 ments designated by subparagraph

10 (B).

11 ‘‘(III) SUPPORT.—The Secretary

12 may provide technical assistance, staff

13 support, and funding to assist in the

14 development and implementation of

15 the Plan.

16 ‘‘(IV) REVIEW AND REPORT.—

17 The Secretary, in consultation with

18 the Department of Environmental

19 Protection of the State of Florida, the

20 St. Johns River Water Management

21 District, and the Council, shall bienni22 ally review, and revise as necessary,

23 the Plan.

24 ‘‘(V) REPORT.—After each bien25 nial review described in subclause
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1 (IV), the Secretary shall submit to the

2 Council on Resources of the House of

3 Representatives and the Council on

4 Energy and Natural Resources of the

5 Senate a report describing any devi6 ation from the Plan that could result

7 in any diminution of the values for

8 which a river segment was designated

9 by subparagraph (B).

10 ‘‘(ii) NO ADMINISTRATION.—Imple11 mentation of this paragraph through coop12 erative agreements as described in clause

13 (i)(I) shall not—

14 ‘‘(I) constitute or authorize Na15 tional Park Service administration of

16 the segments designated by subpara17 graph (B) for purposes of subsection

18 (d) or section 10(c); and

19 ‘‘(II) shall not cause any segment

20 designated by subparagraph (B) to be

21 considered a unit of the National

22 Park System.

23 ‘‘(F) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—With re24 spect to the river segments designated as com25 ponents of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
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1 System under this paragraph, nothing in this

2 paragraph—

3 ‘‘(i) imposes or authorizes the adop4 tion of additional or more restrictive regu5 latory requirements;

6 ‘‘(ii) authorizes the denial of a permit

7 or the imposition of additional permit con8 ditions; or

9 ‘‘(iii) authorizes any governmental

10 agency to reduce or restrict the rights of

11 the owners of uplands adjacent to the des12 ignated river segments.

13 ‘‘(G) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA14 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro15 priated such sums as are necessary to carry out

16 this paragraph.’’.

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