II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2247

To establish the Wheeling National Heritage Area in the State of West

Virginia, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 9, 2000

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

the Committee on Energy and National Resources

A BILL

To establish the Wheeling National Heritage Area in the

State of West Virginia, 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 ‘‘Wheeling National

5 Heritage Area Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the area in an around Wheeling, West Vir9 ginia, possesses important historical, cultural, and

10 natural resources, representing major heritage
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1 themes of transportation, commerce and industry,

2 and Victorian culture in the United States;

3 (2) the City of Wheeling has played an impor4 tant part in the settlement of this country by serving

5 as—

6 (A) the western terminus of the National

7 Road of the early 1800’s;

8 (B) the ‘‘Crossroads of America’’ through9 out the nineteenth century;

10 (C) one of the few major inland ports in

11 the nineteenth century; and

12 (D) the site for the establishment of the

13 Restored State of Virginia, and later the State

14 of West Virginia, during the Civil War and as

15 the first capital of the new State of West Vir16 ginia;

17 (3) the City of Wheeling has also played an im18 portant role in the industrial and commercial herit19 age of the United States, through the development

20 and maintenance of many industries crucial to the

21 Nation’s expansion, including iron and steel, textile

22 manufacturing, boat building, glass manufacturing,

23 and stogie and chewing tobacco manufacturing fa24 cilities, many of which are industries that continue

25 to play an important role in the national economy;
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1 (4) the city of Wheeling has retained its na2 tional heritage themes with the designations of the

3 old custom house (now Independence Hall) and the

4 historic suspension bridge as National Historic

5 Landmarks; with five historic districts; and many in6 dividual properties in the Wheeling area listed or eli7 gible for nomination to the National Register of His8 toric Places;

9 (5) the heritage themes and number and diver10 sity of Wheeling’s remaining resources should be ap11 propriately retained, enhanced, and interpreted for

12 the education, benefit, and inspiration of the people

13 of the United States; and

14 (6) in 1992 a comprehensive plan for the devel15 opment and administration of the Wheeling National

16 Heritage Area was completed for the National Park

17 Service, the City of Wheeling, and the Wheeling Na18 tional Task Force, including—

19 (A) an inventory of the national and cul20 tural resources in the City of Wheeling;

21 (B) criteria for preserving and interpreting

22 significant natural and historic resources;

23 (C) a strategy for the conservation, preser24 vation, and reuse of the historical and cultural
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1 resources in the City of Wheeling and the sur2 rounding region; and

3 (D) an implementation agenda by which

4 the State of West Virginia and local govern5 ments can coordinate their resources as well as

6 a complete description of the management enti7 ty responsible for implementing the comprehen8 sive plan.

9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

10 (1) to recognize the special importance of the

11 history and development of the Wheeling area in the

12 cultural heritage of the Nation;

13 (2) to provide a framework to assist the City of

14 Wheeling and other public and private entities and

15 individuals in the appropriate preservation, enhance16 ment, and interpretation of significant resources in

17 the Wheeling area emblematic of Wheeling’s con18 tributions to the Nation’s cultural heritage;

19 (3) to allow for limited Federal, State and local

20 capital contributions for planning and infrastructure

21 investments to complete the Wheeling National Her22 itage Area, in partnership with the State of West

23 Virginia, the City of Wheeling, and other appro24 priate public and private entities; and
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1 (4) to provide for an economically self-sus2 taining National Heritage Area not dependent on

3 Federal financial assistance beyond the initial years

4 necessary to establish the heritage area.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 As used in this Act—

7 (1) the term ‘‘city’’ means the City of Wheeling;

8 (2) the term ‘‘heritage area’’ means the Wheel9 ing National Heritage Area established in section 4;

10 (3) the term ‘‘plan’’ means the ‘‘Plan for the

11 Wheeling National Heritage Area’’ dated August,

12 1992;

13 (4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

14 of the Interior; and

15 (5) the term ‘‘State’’ means the State of West

16 Virginia.

17 SEC. 4. WHEELING NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In furtherance of the pur19 poses of this Act, there is established in the State of West

20 Virginia the Wheeling National Heritage Area, as gen21 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Boundary Map,

22 Wheeling National Heritage Area, Wheeling, West Vir23 ginia’’ and dated March, 1994. The map shall be on file

24 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of25 fices of the National Park Service.
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1 (b) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—(1) The management

2 entity for the heritage area shall be the Wheeling National

3 Heritage Corporation, a non-profit corporation chartered

4 in the State of West Virginia.

5 (2) To the extent consistent with this Act, the man6 agement entity shall manage the heritage area in accord7 ance with the plan.

8 SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.

9 (a) MISSION.—The primary mission of the manage10 ment entity shall be—

11 (A) to implement and coordinate the rec12 ommendations contained in the plan;

13 (B) ensure integrated operation of the heritage

14 area; and

15 (C) conserve and interpret the historic and cul16 tural resources of the heritage area.

17 (2) The management entity shall also direct and co18 ordinate the diverse conservation, development, program19 ming, educational, and interpretive activities within the

20 heritage area.

21 (b) RECOGNITION OF PLAN.—The management enti22 ty shall work with the State of West Virginia and local

23 governments to ensure that the plan is formally adopted

24 by the City and recognized by the State.
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1 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—To the extent practicable,

2 the management entity shall—

3 (1) implement the recommendations contained

4 in the plan in a timely manner pursuant to the

5 schedule identified in the plan—

6 (2) coordinate its activities with the City, the

7 State, and the Secretary;

8 (3) ensure the conservation and interpretation

9 of the heritage area’s historical, cultural, and nat10 ural resources, including—

11 (A) assisting the City and the State in the

12 preservation of sites, buildings, and objects

13 within the heritage area which are listed or eli14 gible for listing on the National Register of

15 Historic Places;

16 (B) assisting the City, the State, or a non17 profit organization in the restoration of any his18 toric building in the heritage area;

19 (C) increasing public awareness of and ap20 preciation for the natural, cultural, and historic

21 resources of the heritage area;

22 (D) assisting the State or City in design23 ing, establishing, and maintaining appropriate

24 interpretive facilities and exhibits in the herit25 age area;
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1 (E) assisting in the enhancement of public

2 awareness and appreciation for the historical,

3 archaeological, and geologic resources and sites

4 in the heritage area; and

5 (F) encouraging the City and other local

6 governments to adopt land use policies con7 sistent with the goals of the plan, and to take

8 actions to implement those policies;

9 (4) encourage intergovernmental cooperation in

10 the achievement of these objectives;

11 (5) develop recommendations for design stand12 ards within the heritage area; and

13 (6) seek to create public-private partnerships to

14 finance projects and initiatives within the heritage

15 area.

16 (d) AUTHORITIES.—The management entity may, for

17 the purposes of implementing the plan, use Federal funds

18 made available by this Act to—

19 (1) make loans or grants to the State, City, or

20 other appropriate public or private organizations, en21 tities, or persons;

22 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with, or

23 provide technical assistance to Federal agencies, the

24 State, City or other appropriate public or private or25 ganizations, entities, or persons;
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1 (3) hire and compensate such staff as the man2 agement entity deems necessary;

3 (4) obtain money from any source under any

4 program or law requiring the recipient of such

5 money to make a contribution in order to receive

6 such money;

7 (5) spend funds on promotion and marketing

8 consistent with the resources and associated values

9 of the heritage area in order to promote increased

10 visitation; and

11 (6) to contract for goods and services.

12 (e) ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY.—(1) Except

13 as provided in paragraph (2), the management entity may

14 not acquire any real property or interest therein within

15 the heritage area, other than the leasing of facilities.

16 (2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the management

17 entity may acquire real property, or an interest therein,

18 within the heritage area by gift or devise, or by purchase

19 from a willing seller with money which was donated, be20 queathed, appropriated, or otherwise made available to the

21 management entity on the condition that such money be

22 used to purchase real property, or interest therein, within

23 the heritage area.

24 (B) Any real property or interest therein acquired by

25 the management entity pursuant to this paragraph shall
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1 be conveyed in perpetuity by the management entity to

2 an appropriate public or private entity, as determined by

3 the management entity. Any such conveyance shall be

4 made as soon as practicable after acquisition, without con5 sideration, and on the condition that the real property or

6 interest therein so conveyed shall be used for public pur7 poses.

8 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.

9 (a) INTERPRETIVE SUPPORT.—The Secretary may,

10 upon request of the management entity, provide appro11 priate interpretive, planning, educational, staffing, exhib12 its, and other material or support for the heritage area,

13 consistent with the plan and as appropriate to the re14 sources and associated values of the heritage area.

15 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall,

16 upon request of the management entity and consistent

17 with the plan, provide technical assistance to the manage18 ment entity.

19 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, LOANS AND

20 GRANTS.—The Secretary may, in consultation with the

21 management entity and consistent with the management

22 plan, make loans and grants to, and enter into cooperative

23 agreements with the management entity, the State, City,

24 non-profit organization or any person.
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1 (d) PLAN AMENDMENTS.—No amendments to the

2 plan may be made unless approved by the Secretary. The

3 Secretary shall consult with the management entity in re4 viewing any proposed amendments.

5 SEC. 7. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.

6 Any Federal department, agency, or other entity con7 ducting or supporting activities directly affecting the herit8 age area shall—

9 (1) consult with the Secretary and the manage10 ment entity with respect to such activities.

11 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the man12 agement entity in carrying out their duties under

13 this Act, and to the extent practicable, coordinate

14 such activities directly with the duties of the Sec15 retary and the management entity.

16 (3) to the extent practicable, conduct or support

17 such activities in a manner which the management

18 entity determines will not have an adverse effect on

19 the heritage area.

20 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

22 may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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