I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1145 

To establish the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area in the State of 

Alabama, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2007 

Mr. CRAMER (for himself and Mr. ADERHOLT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area in 

the State of Alabama, 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 ‘‘Muscle Shoals Na5 tional Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Muscle Shoals area in Northwest Ala9 bama is a region rich in natural and cultural his10 tory. 


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1 (2) The Muscle Shoals area is defined by its 

2 distinctive geography, especially the Wilson Dam, a 

3 National Historic Landmark. 

4 (3) The Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area 

5 feasibility study includes the counties of Colbert, 

6 Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, and 

7 Morgan, in Northwest Alabama. 

8 (4) Muscle Shoals is the birthplace of the Ten9 nessee Valley Authority, notable for power genera10 tion and the creation of recreational lakes. 

11 (5) The Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals is 

12 important in having shaped western expansion and 

13 cultural development of the United States. 

14 (6) The Muscle Shoals area drew the remark15 able military and entrepreneurial service of the Gen16 eral Wheeler family. 

17 (7) The Muscle Shoals area was the birthplace 

18 of Helen Keller, a celebrated symbol of inspiration 

19 for persons overcoming disabilities. 

20 (8) The Muscle Shoals area was the home of 

21 William Christopher ‘‘W.C.’’ Handy, the first musi22 cian to identify, arrange, publish, and popularize the 

23 ‘‘blues’’ musical genre. 


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1 (9) The world-renowned ‘‘Muscle Shoals sound’’ 

2 left an indelible impression on the development of 

3 music in the United States. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

7 Area’’ means the Muscle Shoals National Heritage 

8 Area, established in section 4. 

9 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

10 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi11 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 

12 section 4(d). 

13 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage14 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

15 Heritage Area specified in section 5. 

16 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map ti17 tled ‘‘Boundary Map Muscle Shoals National Herit18 age Area-Alternative llll’’, numbered lll, 

19 and datedlllll. 

20 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

23 of Alabama. 


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1 SEC. 4. MUSCLE SHOALS NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Mus3 cle Shoals National Heritage Area. 

4 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The National Heritage Area shall 

5 be comprised of— 

6 (1) the counties of Colbert, Franklin, Lauder7 dale, Lawrence, Limestone, and Morgan; 

8 (2) the Wilson Dam; 

9 (3) the Handy Home; and 

10 (4) the Helen Keller birthplace. 

11 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be on file 

12 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of13 fices of the National Park Service, Department of the In14 terior. 

15 (d) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Muscle 

16 Shoals Regional Center shall be the local coordinating en17 tity for the Heritage Area. 

18 SEC. 5. LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The local coordinating entity shall 

20 be governed by a board of directors composed of at least 

21 6 members, one resident from each of Colbert, Lauder22 dale, Franklin, Lawrence, Morgan, and Limestone coun23 ties, Alabama, the counties included in the Muscle Shoals 

24 National Heritage. 

25 (b) DUTIES.—To further the purposes of the Herit26 age Area, the local coordinating entity shall— 


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1 (1) prepare and submit a management plan for 

2 the Heritage Area to the Secretary in accordance 

3 with section 6; 

4 (2) assist units of local government, regional 

5 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 

6 in implementing the approved management plan 

7 by— 

8 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

9 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 

10 resource values within the Heritage Area; 

11 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre12 tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage 

13 Area; 

14 (C) developing recreational and educational 

15 opportunities in the Heritage Area; 

16 (D) increasing public awareness of and ap17 preciation for natural, historical, scenic, and 

18 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

19 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

20 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

21 consistent with heritage area themes; 

22 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap23 propriate signs identifying points of public ac24 cess and sites of interest are posted throughout 

25 the Heritage Area; and 


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1 (G) promoting a wide range of partner2 ships among governments, organizations, and 

3 individuals to further the purposes of the Herit4 age Area; 

5 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

6 government, businesses, organizations, and individ7 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im8 plementation of the management plan; 

9 (4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 

10 semi-annually regarding the development and imple11 mentation of the management plan; 

12 (5) submit an annual report to the secretary for 

13 any fiscal year in which the local coordinating entity 

14 receives Federal funds under this Act specifying— 

15 (A) the specific performance goals and ac16 complishments of the local coordinating entity; 

17 (B) the expenses and income of the local 

18 coordinating entity; 

19 (C) the amounts and sources of matching 

20 funds; 

21 (D) the amounts leveraged with Federal 

22 funds and sources of the leveraging; and 

23 (E) grants made to any other entities dur24 ing the fiscal year; 


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1 (6) make available for audit for any fiscal year 

2 in which it receives Federal funds under this Act, all 

3 information pertaining to the expenditure of such 

4 funds and any matching funds, and require in all 

5 agreements authorizing expenditures of Federal 

6 funds by other organizations, that the receiving or7 ganizations make available for such audit all records 

8 and other information pertaining to the expenditure 

9 of such funds; and 

10 (7) encourage by appropriate means economic 

11 viability that is consistent with the purposes of the 

12 Heritage Area. 

13 (c) AUTHORITIES.—The local coordinating entity 

14 may, for the purposes of preparing and implementing the 

15 management plan for the Heritage Area, use Federal 

16 funds made available through this Act to— 

17 (1) make grants to the State of Alabama, its 

18 political subdivisions, nonprofit organizations, and 

19 other persons; 

20 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with or 

21 provide technical assistance to the State of Alabama, 

22 its political jurisdictions, nonprofit organizations, 

23 Federal agencies, and other interested parties; 

24 (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in25 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 


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1 and historical resources protection, economic and 

2 community development, and heritage planning; 

3 (4) obtain funds or services from any source in4 cluding any that are provided under any other Fed5 eral law or program; 

6 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

7 (6) support activities of partners and any other 

8 activities that further the purposes of the Heritage 

9 Area and that are consistent with the approved man10 agement plan. 

11 (d) PROHIBITIONS ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

12 PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity may not use 

13 Federal funds received under this Act to acquire real prop14 erty, but may use any other source of funding, including 

15 other Federal funding outside this authority, intended for 

16 the acquisition of real property. 

17 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The management plan for the 

19 Heritage Area shall— 

20 (1) include comprehensive policies, strategies, 

21 and recommendations for conservation, funding, 

22 management, and development of the Heritage Area; 

23 (2) take into consideration existing State, coun24 ty, and local plans in the development of the man25 agement plan and its implementation; 


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1 (3) include a description of actions that govern2 ments, private organizations, and individuals have 

3 agreed to take to protect the natural, historical, and 

4 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

5 (4) specify the existing and potential sources of 

6 funding or economic development strategies to pro7 tect, manage, and develop the Heritage Area; 

8 (5) include an inventory of the natural, histor9 ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

10 resources of the Heritage Area related to the themes 

11 of the Heritage Area that should be preserved, re12 stored, managed, developed, or maintained; 

13 (6) recommend policies and strategies for re14 source management that consider and detail the ap15 plication of appropriate land and water management 

16 techniques including, but not limited to, the develop17 ment of intergovernmental and interagency coopera18 tive agreements to protect the Heritage Area’s nat19 ural, historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec20 reational resources; 

21 (7) describe a program of implementation for 

22 the management plan, including performance goals, 

23 plans for resource protection, restoration, interpreta24 tion, enhancement, management, and development, 

25 and specific commitments for implementation that 


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1 have been made by the local coordinating entity or 

2 any government, organization, or individual; 

3 (8) include an analysis and recommendations 

4 for ways in which local, State, and Federal pro5 grams, including the role of the National Park Serv6 ice in the Heritage Area, may best be coordinated to 

7 further the purposes of this Act; 

8 (9) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

9 Area; and 

10 (10) include a business plan that— 

11 (A) describes the role, operation, financing, 

12 and functions of the local coordinating entity 

13 and of each of the major activities contained in 

14 the management plan; and 

15 (B) provides adequate assurances that the 

16 local coordinating entity has the partnerships 

17 and financial and other resources necessary to 

18 implement the management plan for the Herit19 age Area. 

20 (b) DEADLINE AND TERMINATION OF FUNDING.— 

21 (1) DEADLINE.—The local coordinating entity 

22 shall submit the management plan to the Secretary 

23 for approval within 3 years after funds are made 

24 available for this Act. 


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1 (2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the man2 agement plan is not submitted to the Secretary in 

3 accordance with this subsection, the local coordi4 nating entity shall not qualify for Federal funding 

5 under this Act until such time as the management 

6 plan is submitted to and approved by the Secretary. 

7 SEC. 7. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

8 (a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, upon 

10 the request of the local coordinating entity, provide 

11 technical and financial assistance on a reimbursable 

12 or non-reimbursable basis (as determined by the 

13 Secretary) to the Heritage Area to develop and im14 plement the approved management plan. The Sec15 retary is authorized to enter into cooperative agree16 ments with the local coordinating entity and other 

17 public or private entities for this purpose. 

18 (2) PRIORITY ACTIONS.—In assisting the Herit19 age Area, the Secretary shall give priority to actions 

20 that in general assist in— 

21 (A) conserving the significant natural, his22 torical, cultural, and scenic resources of the 

23 Heritage Area; and 


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1 (B) providing educational, interpretive, and 

2 recreational opportunities consistent with the 

3 purposes of the Heritage Area. 

4 (b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

5 PLAN.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve 

7 or disapprove the management plan not later than 

8 180 days after receiving the management plan. 

9 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

10 the approval of the management plan, the Secretary 

11 shall consider whether— 

12 (A) the local coordinating entity is rep13 resentative of the diverse interests of the Herit14 age Area, including governments, natural and 

15 historic resource protection organizations, edu16 cational institutions, businesses, and rec17 reational organizations; 

18 (B) the local coordinating entity has af19 forded adequate opportunity for public and gov20 ernmental involvement, including public hear21 ings, in the preparation of the management 

22 plan; 

23 (C) the resource protection and interpreta24 tion strategies contained in the management 

25 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 


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1 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 

2 the Heritage Area; 

3 (D) the Secretary has received adequate 

4 assurances from the appropriate State and local 

5 officials whose support is needed to ensure the 

6 effective implementation of the State and local 

7 aspects of the management plan; and 

8 (E) the local coordinating entity has dem9 onstrated the financial capability, in partner10 ship with others, to carry out the plan. 

11 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

12 Secretary disapproves the management plan, the 

13 Secretary shall advise the local coordinating entity in 

14 writing of the reasons therefore and shall make rec15 ommendations for revisions to the management plan. 

16 The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a pro17 posed revision within 180 days after the date it is 

18 submitted. 

19 (4) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—Substantial 

20 amendments to the management plan shall be re21 viewed by the Secretary and approved in the same 

22 manner as provided for the original management 

23 plan. The local coordinating entity shall not use 

24 Federal funds authorized by this Act to implement 


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1 any amendments until the Secretary has approved 

2 the amendments. 

3 SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall not affect the au5 thority of any Federal official to provide technical or fi6 nancial assistance under any other law. 

7 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

8 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

9 may have an impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged 

10 to consult and coordinate the activities with the Secretary 

11 and the local coordinating entity to the extent practicable. 

12 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 

13 Act— 

14 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu15 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed16 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen17 cy; 

18 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man19 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

20 the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or 

21 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 

22 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed23 eral agency. 


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1 SEC. 9. PROPERTY OWNERS AND REGULATORY PROTEC2 TIONS. 

3 (a) NO EFFECT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing 

4 in this subtitle shall be construed— 

5 (1) to modify, enlarge, or diminish any author6 ity of Federal, State, or local governments to regu7 late any use of privately owned lands; or 

8 (2) to grant the local coordinating entity any 

9 authority to regulate the use of privately owned 

10 lands. 

11 (b) AUTHORITY OF GOVERNMENTS.—Nothing in this 

12 subtitle shall— 

13 (1) modify, enlarge, or diminish any authority 

14 of Federal, State, tribal, or local governments to 

15 manage or regulate any use of land as provided for 

16 by law or regulation; or 

17 (2) authorize the local coordinating entity to as18 sume any management authorities over such lands. 

19 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro21 priated for the purposes of this Act $10,000,000, of which 

22 not more than $1,000,000 shall be made available for any 

23 fiscal year. 

24 (b) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided 

25 under this Act may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost 


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1 of any assistance or grant provided or authorized under 

2 this Act. 

3 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The local coordinating 

4 entity may not expend more than 15 percent of funds 

5 made available under this Act for administrative costs. 

6 SEC. 11. SUNSET. 

7 The authority of the Secretary to provide financial 

8 assistance under this Act shall terminate on the day occur9 ring 15 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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