II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4683 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 

Received 

AN ACT 

To enhance the preservation and interpretation of the Gullah/ 

Geechee cultural heritage, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gullah/Geechee Cul3 tural Heritage Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

5 The purposes of this Act are to— 

6 (1) recognize the important contributions made 

7 to American culture and history by African-Ameri8 cans known as the Gullah/Geechee who settled in the 

9 coastal counties of South Carolina and Georgia; 

10 (2) assist State and local governments and pub11 lic and private entities in the South Carolina and 

12 Georgia in interpreting the story of the Gullah/ 

13 Geechee and preserving Gullah/Geechee folklore, 

14 arts, crafts, and music; and 

15 (3) assist in identifying and preserving sites, 

16 historical data, artifacts, and objects associated with 

17 the Gullah/Geechee for the benefit and education of 

18 the public. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

21 apply: 

22 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

23 means the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Cor24 ridor Commission established under this Act. 
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1 (2) HERITAGE CORRIDOR.—The term ‘‘Herit2 age Corridor’’ means the Gullah/Geechee Cultural 

3 Heritage Corridor established by this Act. 

4 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of the Interior. 

6 SEC. 4. GULLAH/GEECHEE CULTURAL HERITAGE COR7 RIDOR. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

9 Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. 

10 (b) BOUNDARIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Heritage Corridor shall 

12 be comprised of those lands and waters generally de13 picted on a map entitled ‘‘Gullah/Geechee Cultural 

14 Heritage Corridor’’ numbered GGCHC/80,000, and 

15 dated September 2004. The map shall be on file and 

16 available for public inspection in the appropriate of17 fices of the National Park Service and in an appro18 priate State office in each of the States included in 

19 the Heritage Corridor. The Secretary shall publish 

20 in the Federal Register, as soon as practicable after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act a detailed descrip22 tion and map of the boundaries established under 

23 this subsection. 

24 (2) REVISIONS.—The boundaries of the herit25 age corridor may be revised if the revision is— 
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1 (A) proposed in the management plan de2 veloped for the Heritage Corridor; 

3 (B) approved by the Secretary in accord4 ance with this Act; and 

5 (C) placed on file in accordance with para6 graph (1). 

7 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Heritage Corridor shall 

8 be administered in accordance with the provisions of this 

9 Act. 

10 SEC. 5. GULLAH/GEECHEE CULTURAL HERITAGE COR11 RIDOR COMMISSION. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a 

13 commission to be known as ‘‘Gullah/Geechee Cultural 

14 Heritage Corridor Commission’’ whose purpose shall be to 

15 assist Federal, State, and local authorities in the develop16 ment and implementation of a management plan for those 

17 land and waters specified in section 4. 

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com19 posed of nine members appointed by the Secretary as fol20 lows: 

21 (1) Four individuals nominated by the State 

22 Historic Preservation Officer of South Carolina and 

23 two individuals nominated by the State Historic 

24 Preservation Officer of Georgia and appointed by 

25 the Secretary. 
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1 (2) Two individuals from South Carolina and 

2 one individual from Georgia who are recognized ex3 perts in historic preservation, anthropology, and 

4 folklore, appointed by the Secretary. 

5 (c) TERMS.—Members of the Commission shall be 

6 appointed to terms not to exceed 3 years. The Secretary 

7 may stagger the terms of the initial appointments to the 

8 Commission in order to assure continuity of operation. 

9 Any member of the Commission may serve after the expi10 ration of their term until a successor is appointed. A va11 cancy shall be filled in the same manner in which the origi12 nal appointment was made. 

13 (d) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

14 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 6. OPERATION OF THE COMMISSION. 

16 (a) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.—To further the 

17 purposes of the Heritage Corridor, the Commission 

18 shall— 

19 (1) prepare and submit a management plan to 

20 the Secretary in accordance with section 7; 

21 (2) assist units of local government and other 

22 persons in implementing the Approved management 

23 plan by— 
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1 (A) carry out programs and projects that 

2 recognize, protect, and enhance important re3 source values within the Heritage Corridor; 

4 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre5 tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage 

6 Corridor; 

7 (C) developing recreational and educational 

8 opportunities in the Heritage Corridor; 

9 (D) increasing public awareness of and ap10 preciation for the historical, cultural, natural, 

11 and scenic resources of the Heritage Corridor; 

12 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

13 and buildings in the Heritage Corridor that are 

14 consistent with heritage corridor themes; 

15 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap16 propriate signs identifying points of public ac17 cess and sites of interest are posted throughout 

18 the Heritage Corridor; and 

19 (G) promoting a wide range of partner20 ships among governments, organizations, and 

21 individuals to further the purposes of the Herit22 age Corridor; 

23 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

24 government, business, organizations, and individuals 
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1 in the Heritage Corridor in the preparation and im2 plementation of the management plan; 

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

4 quarterly regarding the development and implemen5 tation of the management plan; 

6 (5) submit an annual report to the Secretary 

7 for any fiscal year in which the Commission receives 

8 Federal funds under this Act, setting forth its ac9 complishments, expenses, and income, including 

10 grants made to any other entities during the year 

11 for which the report is made; 

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

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

14 information pertaining to the expenditure of such 

15 funds and any matching funds, and require all 

16 agreements authorizing expenditures of Federal 

17 funds by other organizations, that the receiving or18 ganization make available for audit all records and 

19 other information pertaining to the expenditure of 

20 such funds; and 

21 (7) encourage by appropriate means economic 

22 viability that is consistent with the purposes of the 

23 Heritage Corridor. 
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1 (b) AUTHORITIES.—The Commission may, for the 

2 purposes of preparing and implementing the management 

3 plan, use funds made available under this Act to— 

4 (1) make grants to, and enter into cooperative 

5 agreements with the States of South Carolina and 

6 Georgia, political subdivisions of those States, a non7 profit organization, or any person; 

8 (2) hire and compensate staff; 

9 (3) obtain funds from any source including any 

10 that are provided under any other Federal law or 

11 program; and 

12 (4) contract for goods and services. 

13 SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

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

15 Heritage Corridor shall— 

16 (1) include comprehensive policies, strategies, 

17 and recommendations for conservation, funding, 

18 management, and development of the Heritage Cor19 ridor; 

20 (2) take into consideration existing State, coun21 ty, and local plans in the development of the man22 agement plan and its implementation; 

23 (3) include a description of actions that govern24 ments, private organizations, and individuals have 
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1 agreed to take to protect the historical, cultural, and 

2 natural resources of the Heritage Corridor; 

3 (4) specify the existing and potential sources of 

4 funding to protect, manage, and develop the Herit5 age Corridor in the first 5 years of implementation; 

6 (5) include an inventory of the historical, cul7 tural, natural, resources of the Heritage Corridor re8 lated to the themes of the Heritage Corridor that 

9 should be preserved, restored, managed, developed, 

10 or maintained; 

11 (6) recommend policies and strategies for re12 source management that consider and detail the ap13 plication of appropriate land and water management 

14 techniques, including the development of intergov15 ernmental and interagency cooperative agreements 

16 to protect the Heritage Corridor’s historical, cul17 tural, and natural resources; 

18 (7) describe a program for implementation of 

19 the management plan including plans for resources 

20 protection, restoration, construction, and specific 

21 commitments for implementation that have been 

22 made by the Commission or any government, organi23 zation, or individual for the first 5 years of imple24 mentation; 
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1 (8) include an analysis and recommendations 

2 for the ways in which Federal, State, or local pro3 grams may best be coordinated to further the pur4 poses of this Act; and 

5 (9) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

6 Corridor. 

7 (b) SUBMITTAL OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Com8 mission shall submit the management plan to the Sec9 retary for approval not later than 3 years after funds are 

10 made available for this Act. 

11 (c) FAILURE TO SUBMIT.—If the Commission fails 

12 to submit the management plan to the Secretary in ac13 cordance with subsection (b), the Heritage Corridor shall 

14 not qualify for Federal funding until the management plan 

15 is submitted. 

16 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

17 PLAN.— 

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

19 or disapprove the management plan not later than 

20 90 days after receiving the management plan. 

21 (2) CRITERIA.—In determining whether to ap22 prove the management plan, the Secretary shall con23 sider whether— 

24 (A) the Commission has afforded adequate 

25 opportunity, including public hearings, for pub-
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1 lic and governmental involvement in the prepa2 ration of the management plan; 

3 (B) the resource preservation and interpre4 tation strategies contained in the management 

5 plan would adequately protect the cultural and 

6 historic resources of the Heritage Corridor; and 

7 (C) the Secretary has received adequate 

8 assurances from appropriate State and local of9 ficials whose support is needed to ensure the ef10 fective implementation of the State and local 

11 aspects of the plan. 

12 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

13 Secretary disapproves the management plan, the 

14 Secretary shall advise the Commission in writing of 

15 the reasons therefore and shall make recommenda16 tions for revisions to the management plan. The Sec17 retary shall approve or disapprove a proposed revi18 sion not later than 60 days after the date it is sub19 mitted. 

20 (4) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—Substantial 

21 amendments to the management plan shall be re22 viewed and approved by the Secretary in the same 

23 manner as provided in the original management 

24 plan. The Commission shall not use Federal funds 

25 authorized by this Act to implement any amend-
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1 ments until the Secretary has approved the amend2 ments. 

3 SEC. 8. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon a request of the Commis5 sion, the Secretary may provide technical and financial as6 sistance for the development and implementation of the 

7 management plan. 

8 (b) PRIORITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—In providing assist9 ance under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority 

10 to actions that assist in— 

11 (1) conserving the significant cultural, histor12 ical, and natural resources of the Heritage Corridor; 

13 and 

14 (2) providing educational and interpretive op15 portunities consistent with the purposes of the Her16 itage Corridor. 

17 (c) SPENDING FOR NON-FEDERAL PROPERTY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may ex19 pend Federal funds made available under this Act 

20 on nonfederally owned property that is— 

21 (A) identified in the management plan; or 

22 (B) listed or eligible for listing on the Na23 tional Register for Historic Places. 

24 (2) AGREEMENTS.—Any payment of Federal 

25 funds made pursuant to this Act shall be subject to 
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1 an agreement that conversion, use, or disposal of a 

2 project so assisted for purposes contrary to the pur3 poses of this Act, as determined by the Secretary, 

4 shall result in a right of the United States to com5 pensation of all funds made available to that project 

6 or the proportion of the increased value of the 

7 project attributable to such funds as determined at 

8 the time of such conversion, use, or disposal, which9 ever is greater. 

10 SEC. 9. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

11 Any Federal agency conducting or supporting activi12 ties directly affecting the Heritage Corridor shall— 

13 (1) consult with the Secretary and the Commis14 sion with respect to such activities; 

15 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the Com16 mission in carrying out their duties under this Act 

17 and, to the maximum extent practicable, coordinate 

18 such activities with the carrying out of such duties; 

19 and 

20 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct 

21 or support such activities in a manner in which the 

22 Commission determines will not have an adverse ef23 fect on the Heritage Corridor. 
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1 SEC. 10. COASTAL HERITAGE CENTERS. 

2 In furtherance of the purposes of this Act and using 

3 the authorities made available under this Act, the Com4 mission shall establish one or more Coastal Heritage Cen5 ters at appropriate locations within the Heritage Corridor 

6 in accordance with the preferred alternative identified in 

7 the Record of Decision for the Low Country Gullah Cul8 ture Special Resource Study and Environmental Impact 

9 Study, December 2003. 

10 SEC. 11. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION. 

11 (a) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in 

12 this Act shall be construed to require any private property 

13 owner to permit public access (including Federal, State, 

14 or local government access) to such private property. 

15 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify any provi16 sion of Federal, State, or local law with regard to public 

17 access to or use of private lands. 

18 (b) LIABILITY.—Designation of the Heritage Cor19 ridor shall not be considered to create any liability, or to 

20 have any effect on any liability under any other law, of 

21 any private property owner with respect to any persons 

22 injured on such private property. 

23 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

24 USE.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify 

25 any authority of Federal, State, or local governments to 

26 regulate land use. 
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1 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS

2 IN HERITAGE CORRIDOR.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

3 construed to require the owner of any private property lo4 cated within the boundaries of the Heritage Corridor to 

5 participate in or be associated with the Heritage Corridor. 

6 (e) EFFECT OF ESTABLISHMENT.—The boundaries 

7 designated for the Heritage Corridor represent the area 

8 within which Federal funds appropriated for the purpose 

9 of this Act shall be expended. The establishment of the 

10 Heritage Corridor and its boundaries shall not be con11 strued to provide any nonexisting regulatory authority on 

12 land use within the Heritage Corridor or its viewshed by 

13 the Secretary or the management entity. 

14 (f) NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT OF PROPERTY

15 OWNERS REQUIRED.—No privately owned property shall 

16 be preserved, conserved, or promoted by the management 

17 plan for the Heritage Corridor until the owner of that pri18 vate property has been notified in writing by the manage19 ment entity and has given written consent for such preser20 vation, conservation, or promotion to the management en21 tity. 

22 (g) LANDOWNER WITHDRAWAL.—Any owner of pri23 vate property included within the boundary of the Herit24 age Corridor shall have their property immediately re-
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1 moved from within the boundary by submitting a written 

2 request to the management entity. 

3 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro5 priated for the purposes of this Act not more than 

6 $1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Not more than a total of 

7 $10,000,000 may be appropriated for the Heritage Cor8 ridor under this Act. 

9 (b) COST SHARE.—Federal funding provided under 

10 this Act may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of 

11 any activity for which assistance is provided under this 

12 Act. 

13 (c) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary may 

14 accept in-kind contributions as part of the non-Federal 

15 cost share of any activity for which assistance is provided 

16 under this Act. 

17 SEC. 13. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

18 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

19 under this Act shall terminate on the day occurring 15 

20 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 28, 

2004. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk.