I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3596

To provide for the establishment of the Oil Region National Heritage Area,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 6, 1996

Mr. CLINGER (for himself and Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of the Oil Region National

Heritage Area, 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 ‘‘Oil Region National

5 Heritage Area Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

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

8 (1) the Oil Region of Northwestern Pennsylva9 nia, with numerous sites and districts listed on the

10 National Register of Historic Places, and designated
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1 by the Governor of Pennsylvania as one of the State

2 Heritage Park Areas, is a region with tremendous

3 physical and natural resources and possesses a story

4 of State, national, and international significance;

5 (2) the single event of Colonel Edwin Drake’s

6 drilling of the world’s first successful oil well in

7 1859 has affected the industrial, natural, social, and

8 political structures of the modern world;

9 (3) two national historic districts in Franklin

10 and Titusville as well as 18 separate National Reg11 ister sites are located within the State Heritage

12 Park boundary;

13 (4) The Allegheny River, which was designated

14 as a component of the national wild and scenic riv15 ers system in 1992 by Public Law 102–271, tra16 verses the Oil Region and connects several of its

17 major sites, as do some of the river’s tributaries

18 such as Oil Creek, French Creek, and Sandy Creek;

19 (5) the unspoiled rural character of the Oil Re20 gion provides many natural and recreational re21 sources, scenic vistas, and excellent water quality for

22 people throughout the United States to enjoy;

23 (6) remnants of the oil industry, visible on the

24 landscape to this day, provide a direct linkage to the

25 past for visitors, as do the historic valley settle-
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1 ments, riverbed settlements, plateau developments,

2 farmlands, and industrial landscapes;

3 (7) the transformation of the region from an

4 agrarian economy to one of the world’s first indus5 trial economies and the site where many of the inno6 vations used in the oil industry today were devel7 oped, was a direct result of the discovery of oil in

8 the region;

9 (8) the Oil Region also represents a cross-sec10 tion of American history associated with Native

11 Americans, frontier settlements, the French and In12 dian War, African-Americans and the Underground

13 Railroad, and immigration of the Swedish and Pol14 ish, among others;

15 (9) despite the efforts of the Commonwealth of

16 Pennsylvania, local subdivisions of the Common17 wealth, volunteer organizations, and private busi18 nesses, the cultural, national, and recreational re19 sources of the region have not realized their full po20 tential and may be lost without assistance from the

21 Federal Government; and

22 (10) many local, regional, and Commonwealth

23 agencies, businesses, and private citizens have ex24 pressed an overwhelming desire to combine forces

25 and work cooperatively to preserve and enhance the
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1 resources of the Oil Region State Heritage Park,

2 and have completed the long-range plan for the Oil

3 Region Heritage Park to that end.

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to enhance

5 a cooperative management framework to assist the Com6 monwealth of Pennsylvania, its units of local government,

7 and area citizens in retaining, enhancing, and interpreting

8 the significant features of the lands, water, and structures

9 of the Oil Region, in a manner consistent with positive

10 economic impact and development for the benefit and in11 spiration of present and future generations in the Com12 monwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States.

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

14 For purposes of this Act:

15 (1) AREA.—The terms ‘‘Area’’ and ‘‘National

16 Heritage Area’’ mean the Oil Region National Herit17 age Area designated by section 4(a).

18 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

19 means the Oil Region National Heritage Area Advi20 sory Commission established by section 5.

21 (3) COMMONWEALTH.—The term ‘‘Common22 wealth’’ means the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

23 (4) COMPACT.—The term ‘‘Compact’’ means an

24 agreement described in section 6.
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1 (5) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’

2 means the Oil Heritage Region Corporation, the

3 management entity incorporated by the Corporation

4 Bureau of the Pennsylvania Department of State on

5 October 16, 1995, and activated effective January 4,

6 1996, to preserve historic and cultural resources of

7 the Oil Region through the establishment, mainte8 nance, and operation of the Oil Heritage Region.

9 (6) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means

10 the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

11 (7) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means a Manage12 ment Plan described in section 10(b).

13 (8) POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.—The term ‘‘politi14 cal subdivision’’ means a political subdivision of the

15 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (including a county,

16 city, township, water conservancy district, or special

17 district) any part of which is located in the Area.

18 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

19 the Secretary of the Interior.

20 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF OIL REGION NATIONAL HERITAGE

21 AREA.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Upon publication by the Sec23 retary in the Federal Register of notice that the Secretary

24 has signed the Compact (pursuant to section 6) there is
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1 hereby designated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

2 the Oil Region National Heritage Area.

3 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Area shall

4 include those lands within the counties of Venango and

5 Crawford in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, com6 monly known as the Oil Region, as depicted in the ‘‘Plan

7 for the Oil Region Heritage Park’’, dated March 1994.

8 The ‘‘Plan for the Oil Region Heritage Park’’ shall be on

9 file and available for public inspection in the Office of the

10 Director of the National Park Service, Washington, Dis11 trict of Columbia. As soon as practicable after the date

12 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior

13 shall publish in the Federal Register a detailed description

14 and map of the boundaries of the Area.

15 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Area shall be adminis16 tered in accordance with this Act.

17 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF OIL REGION NATIONAL HERIT18 AGE AREA ADVISORY COMMISSION.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To assist in carrying out the

20 purpose of this Act, there is established a Commission to

21 be known as the ‘‘Oil Region National Heritage Advisory

22 Commission’’. The Commission shall consist of 13 mem23 bers, appointed as follows:

24 (1) 1 member appointed by the Secretary to

25 represent the Department of the Interior.
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1 (2) 1 member appointed by the Secretary of

2 Agriculture to represent the Department of Agri3 culture.

4 (3) 4 members appointed by the Governor of

5 Pennsylvania, of which 1 represents the Pennsylva6 nia Department of Conservation and Natural Re7 sources and 3 represent agencies participating in the

8 Pennsylvania State Heritage Park Interagency Task

9 Force.

10 (4) 7 members appointed by the Governor of

11 Pennsylvania, subject to the concurrence of the

12 United States Representative to the Congress from

13 the Fifth Congressional District of Pennsylvania, to

14 represent private and public interests from the prin15 cipal communities in the Oil Region National Herit16 age Area.

17 (b) TIME OF APPOINTMENTS.—Appointments de18 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall

19 be made not later than 6 months after the date of the

20 enactment of this Act.

21 (c) DUTIES.—The Commission shall serve in an advi22 sory capacity to the Oil Heritage Region, Inc., the locally

23 based private, nonprofit management corporation which

24 will oversee the development of the Oil Region National

25 Heritage Park, as described in the ‘‘Plan for the Oil Re-
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1 gion Heritage Park’’. The Commission shall confer with

2 the Oil Heritage Region, Inc., on a regular basis regarding

3 matters which involve State or Federal policy, technical

4 assistance, and funding.

5 (d) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission shall

6 be appointed for a term of 5 years, except as provided

7 in subsection (e).

8 (e) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commission

9 shall be filled in the same manner in which the original

10 appointment was made. Any member appointed to fill a

11 vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for

12 which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be

13 appointed only for the remainder of that term.

14 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall elect a

15 chairperson from among its members. The term of office

16 of the chairperson shall be 2 years.

17 (g) QUORUM.—A simple majority of Commission

18 members shall constitute a quorum.

19 (h) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

20 call of the chairperson or a majority of its members, but

21 not less than 2 times each year.

22 (i) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission

23 shall serve without compensation.

24 (j) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

25 10 years after its initial meeting, unless the Secretary
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1 elects to extend the duration of the Commission for an

2 additional 5 years. In no event shall the duration of the

3 Commission extend beyond 15 years.

4 SEC. 6. APPROVAL OF COMPACT.

5 (a) SUBMISSION.—The Area may be designated

6 under section 4 only if the Corporation, within 180 days

7 of the date of the enactment of this Act, submits to the

8 Secretary for approval a proposed Compact for the Area

9 signed by the Governor of Pennsylvania.

10 (b) COMPACT.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Compact submitted

12 under this Act with respect to an area proposed for

13 designation as a National Heritage Area shall con14 sist of an agreement between the Secretary and the

15 Governor of Pennsylvania. Such agreement shall de16 fine the area, describe anticipated programs for the

17 area, and include information relating to the objec18 tives and management of the area. Such information

19 shall include, but need not be limited to, each of the

20 following:

21 (A) BOUNDARIES.—A delineation of the

22 boundaries of the proposed National Heritage

23 Area.

24 (B) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—An identifica25 tion and description of the management entity
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1 that will administer the proposed National Her2 itage Area.

3 (C) PARTNERS.—A list of the initial part4 ners to be involved in developing and imple5 menting the Management Plan for the proposed

6 Area, and a statement of the financial commit7 ment of the partners.

8 (D) GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND CONCEP9 TUAL FRAMEWORK.—A discussion of the goals,

10 objectives, and cost of the proposed National

11 Heritage Area, including an explanation of—

12 (i) the conceptual framework, pro13 posed by the partners referred to in sub14 paragraph (C), for development and imple15 mentation of the Plan for the National

16 Heritage Area; and

17 (ii) the costs associated with the con18 ceptual framework.

19 (E) ROLE OF STATE.—A description of the

20 role of the State in which the proposed National

21 Heritage Area is located.

22 (2) CONSISTENCY WITH ECONOMIC VIABIL23 ITY.—The Compact submitted under this Act with

24 respect to an area proposed for designation under
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1 this Act shall be consistent with continued economic

2 viability in the communities within the area.

3 (3) PREPARATION OF COMPACT.—The Compact

4 submitted under this Act shall be prepared with

5 public participation and in compliance with the Na6 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.

7 4321 et seq.).

8 (4) INITIATION OF ACTIONS.—Actions called for

9 in the Compact shall be initiated within a reasonable

10 time after designation of the National Heritage Area

11 and shall ensure effective implementation of the

12 State and local aspects of the Compact.

13 (c) APPROVAL, DISAPPROVAL, AND REVISIONS OF

14 COMPACT.—The Secretary shall approve or disapprove the

15 Compact submitted under this Act. If the Secretary dis16 approves the Compact, the Secretary shall advise the Cor17 poration and Commission, in writing, of the reasons for

18 the disapproval and shall make recommendations for revi19 sions of the Compact. The Secretary shall approve or dis20 approve a proposed revision to the Compact within 90

21 days after the date on which the revision is submitted to

22 the Secretary.

23 SEC. 7. ADVICE BY SECRETARY.

24 In accordance with the purpose of this Act, the Sec25 retary may advise the Commonwealth and political sub-
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1 divisions thereof, the Corporation, the Commission, non2 profit organizations, and other appropriate entities re3 garding suitable methods of recognizing and conserving

4 thematically and geographically linked natural, historic,

5 and cultural resources and recreational opportunities in

6 the Area.

7 SEC. 8. WITHDRAWAL OF DESIGNATION.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The designation of the Area

9 under this Act, after taking effect under section 4, shall

10 continue unless—

11 (1) the Secretary determines that—

12 (A) the National Heritage Area no longer

13 meets the criteria referred to in section 9;

14 (B) the use, condition, or development of

15 the Area is inconsistent with the criteria re16 ferred to in section 9, the Compact, or the

17 Plan; or

18 (C) the National Heritage Area is no

19 longer supported by the residents of the Area

20 (which may be demonstrated by a request from

21 the Governor of Pennsylvania or a petition re22 flecting the interest of residents of the Area);

23 and

24 (2) after making a determination referred to in

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary submits to the Con-
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1 gress notification that the designation of the Area

2 under this Act should be withdrawn.

3 (b) PUBLIC HEARING.—Before the Secretary makes

4 a determination referred to in subsection (a)(1) regarding

5 the National Heritage Area, the Secretary or a designee

6 shall hold a public hearing within the Area.

7 (c) TIME OF WITHDRAWAL OF DESIGNATION.—The

8 withdrawal of the designation of the Area under this Act

9 shall become final 90 legislative days after the Secretary

10 submits to the Congress the notification referred to in sub11 section (a)(2) regarding the Area.

12 SEC. 9. CRITERIA.

13 After designation under section 4, the Area shall re14 tain its designation as a National Heritage Area only if

15 the Area meets each of the following criteria:

16 (1) ASSEMBLAGE OF RESOURCES.—The Area is

17 an assemblage of natural, historic, or cultural re18 sources that—

19 (A) together represent distinctive aspects

20 of American heritage worthy of recognition,

21 conservation, interpretation, and continuing

22 use; and

23 (B) are best managed as such an assem24 blage, through partnerships among public and

25 private entities.
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1 (2) TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, BELIEFS, OR

2 FOLKLIFE.—The Area reflects traditions, customs,

3 beliefs, or folklife, or some combination thereof, that

4 are a valuable part of the story of the Nation.

5 (3) CONSERVATION OF NATURAL, CULTURAL,

6 OR HISTORIC FEATURES.—The Area provides out7 standing opportunities to conserve natural, cultural,

8 or historic features, or some combination thereof.

9 (4) RECREATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL OPPOR10 TUNITIES.—The Area provides outstanding rec11 reational and educational opportunities.

12 (5) THEMES AND INTEGRITY OF RESOURCES.—

13 The Area has an identifiable theme or themes, and

14 resources important to the theme or themes retains

15 integrity capable of supporting interpretation.

16 (6) SUPPORT.—Residents, nonprofit organiza17 tions, other private entities, and governments within

18 the Area demonstrate support for designation of the

19 Area and for management of the Area as appro20 priate for the designation.

21 (7) AGREEMENTS.—The principal organization

22 and units of government supporting the designation

23 are willing to commit to agreements to work in part24 nership to implement the Plan for the Area.
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1 (8) CONSISTENCY WITH ECONOMIC VIABIL2 ITY.—The Plan is consistent with continued eco3 nomic viability in the affected communities.

4 SEC. 10. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

5 (a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—No assistance or funding

6 may be provided under this Act after the date which is

7 2 years after the designation of the Area under this Act

8 unless the Corporation submits a Management Plan to the

9 Governor and the Secretary on or before such date. Such

10 submission shall include a written certification that the

11 Plan has been endorsed or disapproved by the Commis12 sion.

13 (b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—A Management Plan sub14 mitted under this Act for the Area shall present com15 prehensive recommendations for conservation, funding,

16 management, and development of the Area. The Plan shall

17 be prepared with public participation. The Plan shall take

18 into consideration existing Federal, State, county, and

19 local plans and involve residents, public agencies, and pri20 vate organizations in the Area. The Plan shall include a

21 description of actions that political subdivisions of the

22 Commonwealth and private organizations are rec23 ommended to take to protect the resources of the Area.

24 The Plan shall specify existing and potential sources of

25 funding for the conservation, management, and develop-
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1 ment of the Area. The Plan also shall include the follow2 ing, as appropriate:

3 (1) An inventory of the resources contained in

4 the Area, including a list of property in the Area

5 that should be conserved, restored, managed, devel6 oped, or maintained because of natural, cultural, or

7 historic significance of the property as it relates to

8 the Area.

9 (2) A recommendation of policies for resource

10 management. Such recommendation shall consider

11 and detail application of appropriate land and water

12 management techniques, including development of

13 intergovernmental cooperative agreements to manage

14 the historical, cultural, and natural resources and

15 the recreational opportunities of the Area in a man16 ner consistent with the support of appropriate and

17 compatible economic viability.

18 (3) A program, including plans for restoration

19 and construction, for implementation of the Plan by

20 the management entity specified in the Compact for

21 the Area and specific commitments, for the first 5

22 years of operation of the Plan, by the partners iden23 tified in the Compact.
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1 (4) An analysis of means by which Federal,

2 State, and local programs may best be coordinated

3 to promote the purpose of this Act.

4 (5) An interpretive plan for the Area.

5 SEC. 11. TECHNICAL AND OTHER ASSISTANCE.

6 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may

7 provide technical assistance to the Commonwealth, politi8 cal subdivisions of the Commonwealth, or the Corporation

9 regarding Plan revisions and implementation.

10 (b) ASSISTANCE UNDER PROGRAM.—If the Congress

11 establishes a National Heritage Areas Program or similar

12 program within the Department of the Interior to assist

13 National Heritage Areas, the Oil Region National Herit14 age Area shall be eligible for the technical and grant as15 sistance available to National Heritage Areas under such

16 program.

17 SEC. 12. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.

18 (a) LIMITATION ON INCLUSION OF PRIVATE PROP19 ERTY IN NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—No privately

20 owned property shall be included within the boundaries of

21 the Area unless the government of the county, city, or

22 township in which the property is located agrees to be so

23 included and submits notification of such agreement to the

24 Secretary. If, at any time after the designation of the

25 Area, the government of the county, city, or township
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1 which submitted such notification requests to be removed

2 from the Area, the Secretary and Governor shall revise

3 the Compact for the Area to exclude the county, city, or

4 township from the Area.

5 (b) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—No provision

6 of this Act shall be construed to require any private prop7 erty owner to permit public access to such private prop8 erty. No provision of this Act shall be construed to modify

9 any provision of Commonwealth law with regard to public

10 access to or use of private lands.

11 (c) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS

12 IN OIL REGION NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—No provi13 sion of this Act shall be construed to require any private

14 property owner located within the boundary of the Area

15 to participate in or be associated with the Area.

16 SEC. 13. LACK OF EFFECT ON LAND USE REGULATION.

17 (a) LACK OF EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF GOVERN18 MENTS.—No provision of this Act shall be construed to

19 modify, enlarge, or diminish any authority of the Federal

20 Government, Commonwealth government, or political sub21 divisions of the Commonwealth to regulate any use of land

22 as provided for by law or regulation.

23 (b) LACK OF ZONING OR LAND USE POWERS OF EN24 TITY.—No provision of this Act shall be construed to
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1 grant powers of zoning or land use to the management

2 entity for the Area.

3 (c) NO CONDITIONING OF APPROVAL AND ASSIST4 ANCE BY SECRETARY ON LAND USE RESTRICTIONS.—

5 The Secretary may not, as a condition of approving the

6 Compact or the determination of eligibility for technical

7 assistance under this Act, require enactment or modifica8 tion of land use restrictions.

9 SEC. 14. FISHING AND HUNTING SAVINGS CLAUSE.

10 (a) NO DIMINISHMENT OF STATE AUTHORITY.—The

11 designation of the Area under this Act shall not diminish

12 the authority of the Commonwealth to manage fish and

13 wildlife, including the regulation of fishing and hunting

14 within such Area.

15 (b) NO CONDITIONING OF APPROVAL AND ASSIST16 ANCE BY SECRETARY ON FISHING AND HUNTING RE17 STRICTIONS.—The Secretary may not, as a condition of

18 the approval of the Compact or the determination of eligi19 bility for technical assistance under this Act, require limi20 tations on fishing, hunting, or trapping, and neither the

21 Secretary nor any other Federal agency may condition the

22 receipt, in connection with the National Heritage Area

23 status of the Area, of any other form of assistance from

24 the Secretary or such agencies on such limitations.

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