II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1687

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the preservation 

and interpretation of the historic sites of the Manhattan Project for 

potential inclusion in the National Park System. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 29), 2003

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study 

on the preservation and interpretation of the historic 

sites of the Manhattan Project for potential inclusion 

in the National Park 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 ‘‘Manhattan Project Na5 tional Historical Park Study Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the Manhattan Project, the World War II 

2 effort to develop and construct the world’s first 

3 atomic bomb, represents an extraordinary era of 

4 American and world history that—

5 (A) included remarkable achievements in 

6 science and engineering made possible by inno7 vative partnerships among Federal agencies, 

8 universities, and private industries; and 

9 (B) culminated in a transformation of the 

10 global society by ushering in the atomic age; 

11 (2) the Manhattan Project was an unprece12 dented $2,200,000,000, 3-year, top-secret effort that 

13 employed approximately 130,000 men and women at 

14 its peak; 

15 (3) the Manhattan Project sites contain historic 

16 resources that are crucial for the interpretation of 

17 the Manhattan Project, including facilities in—

18 (A) Oak Ridge, Tennessee (where the first 

19 uranium enrichment facilities and pilot-scale 

20 nuclear reactor were built); 

21 (B) Hanford, Washington (where the first 

22 large-scale reactor for producing plutonium was 

23 built); 

24 (C) Los Alamos, New Mexico (where the 

25 atomic bombs were designed and built); and 
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1 (D) Trinity Site, New Mexico (where the 

2 explosion of the first nuclear device took place); 

3 (4) the Secretary of the Interior has recognized 

4 the national significance in American history of 

5 Manhattan Project facilities in the study area by—

6 (A) designating the Los Alamos Scientific 

7 Laboratory in the State of New Mexico as a 

8 National Historic Landmark in 1965 and add9 ing the Laboratory to the National Register of 

10 Historic Places in 1966; 

11 (B) designating the Trinity Site on the 

12 White Sands Missile Range in the State of New 

13 Mexico as a National Historic Landmark in 

14 1965 and adding the Site to the National Reg15 ister of Historic Places in 1966; 

16 (C) designating the X–10 Graphite Reac17 tor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 

18 the State of Tennessee as a National Historic 

19 Landmark in 1965 and adding the Reactor to 

20 the National Register of Historic Places in 

21 1966; 

22 (D) adding the Oak Ridge Historic Dis23 trict to the National Register of Historic Places 

24 in 1991; 
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1 (E) adding the B Reactor at the Hanford 

2 Site in the State of Washington to the National 

3 Register of Historic Places in 1992; and 

4 (F) by adding the Oak Ridge Turnpike, 

5 Bear Creek Road, and Bethel Valley Road 

6 Checking Stations in the State of Tennessee to 

7 the National Register of Historic Places in 

8 1992; 

9 (5) the Hanford Site has been nominated by 

10 the Richland Operations Office of the Department of 

11 Energy and the Washington State Historic Preser12 vation Office for addition to the National Register of 

13 Historic Places; 

14 (6) a panel of experts convened by the Advisory 

15 Council on Historic Preservation in 2001 reported 

16 that the development and use of the atomic bomb 

17 during World War II has been called ‘‘the single 

18 most significant event of the 20th century’’ and rec19 ommended that various sites be formally established 

20 ‘‘as a collective unit administered for preservation, 

21 commemoration, and public interpretation in co22 operation with the National Park Service’’; 

23 (7) the Advisory Council on Historic Preserva24 tion reported in 2001 that the preservation and in25 terpretation of the historic sites of the Manhattan 
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1 Project offer significant value as destinations for do2 mestic and international tourists; and 

3 (8) preservation and interpretation of the Man4 hattan Project historic sites are necessary for 

5 present and future generations to fully appreciate 

6 the extraordinary undertaking and complex con7 sequences of the Manhattan Project. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 (2) STUDY.—The term ‘‘study’’ means the 

13 study authorized by section 4(a). 

14 (3) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 

15 means the following Manhattan Project sites: 

16 (A) Los Alamos National Laboratory and 

17 townsite in the State of New Mexico. 

18 (B) The Trinity Site on the White Sands 

19 Missile Range in the State of New Mexico. 

20 (C) The Hanford Site in the State of 

21 Washington. 

22 (D) Oak Ridge Laboratory in the State of 

23 Tennessee. 
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1 (E) Other significant sites relating to the 

2 Manhattan Project determined by the Secretary 

3 to be appropriate for inclusion in the study. 

4 SEC. 4. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY. 

5 (a) STUDY.— 

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

7 a special resource study of the study area to assess 

8 the national significance, suitability, and feasibility 

9 of designating the various historic sites and struc10 tures of the study area as a unit of the National 

11 Park System in accordance with section 8(c) of Pub12 lic Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–5(c)). 

13 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—In conducting the 

14 study, the Secretary shall—

15 (A) consult with the Secretary of Energy, 

16 the Secretary of Defense, State, tribal, and 

17 local officials, representatives of interested or18 ganizations, and members of the public; and 

19 (B) evaluate, in coordination with the Sec20 retary of Energy and the Secretary of Defense, 

21 the compatibility of designating the study area, 

22 or 1 or more parts of the study area, as a na23 tional historical park or national historic site 

24 with maintaining security, productivity and 

25 management goals of the Department of En-
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1 ergy and the Department of Defense, and pub2 lic health and safety. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

4 on which funds are made available to carry out the study, 

5 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that de6 scribes the findings of the study and any conclusions and 

7 recommendations of the Secretary. 

8 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

10 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

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