II 

Calendar No. 535 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2892 

[Report No. 111–265] 

To establish the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 16, 2009 

Mr. SHELBY (for himself and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

AUGUST 5, 2010 

Reported by Mr. BINGAMAN, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish the Alabama Black Belt 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Purposes. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

Sec. 5. Designation of Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area. 

Sec. 6. Local coordinating entity. 

Sec. 7. Management plan. 

Sec. 8. Evaluation; report. 

Sec. 9. Relationship to other Federal agencies. 

Sec. 10. Private property and regulatory protections. 

Sec. 11. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 12. Use of Federal funds from other sources. 

Sec. 13. Termination of financial assistance. 

3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

4 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Designation of Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area. 

Sec. 4. Local coordinating entity. 

Sec. 5. Management plan. 

Sec. 6. Evaluation; report. 

Sec. 7. Relationship to other Federal agencies. 

Sec. 8. Private property and regulatory protections. 

Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 10. Use of Federal funds from other sources. 

Sec.11. Termination of financial assistance. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The Black Belt area in the lower-central 

8 portion of Alabama is a region that sustains an 

9 abundance of natural resources, historical sites, cul10 tural diversity, and recreational activities shaped by 

11 its fertile black soil. 

12 (2) The Alabama Black Belt National Heritage 

13 Area feasibility study includes the 19 counties of 

14 Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, 


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1 Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, 

2 Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, 

3 Washington, and Wilcox in the State of Alabama. 

4 (3) The geography of the Black Belt is com5 prised of threatened prairies, forests, and rivers that 

6 contain incredibly diverse species of flora and fauna. 

7 (4) The Black Belt region struggles with a de8 clining population, a high unemployment rate, insuf9 ficient schools and health care, and 8 of the 100 

10 poorest counties in the United States. 

11 (5) The Black Belt region includes Moundville, 

12 the second largest Native American ceremonial cen13 ter of the Mississippian period. 

14 (6) The Black Belt region is characterized by 

15 its distinctive geography and its exceptionally fertile 

16 black soil, which influenced the construction of a 

17 large network of cotton plantations and antebellum 

18 architecture, which in turn led to the city of Mont19 gomery being established as the first capital of the 

20 Confederacy. 

21 (7) The Black Belt region was the center of the 

22 American civil rights movement, including the his23 torical scenes of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and 

24 the Selma to Montgomery March, which led to the 


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1 Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act 

2 of 1965. 

3 (8) The Black Belt region is home to Harper 

4 Lee, who wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning novel ‘‘To 

5 Kill a Mockingbird’’. 

6 (9) The Black Belt region is home to the Gee’s 

7 Bend Quilters, whose artistic talents have been dis8 played in the Smithsonian Museum and featured on 

9 United States postage stamps. 

10 (10) The Black Belt is home to three units of 

11 the National Park System: the Selma to Mont12 gomery National Historic Trail, the Tuskegee Air13 men National Historic Site, and the Tuskegee Insti14 tute National Historic Site. 

15 (11) The Black Belt includes two National For16 ests maintained by the Forest Service: the Talladega 

17 National Forest-Oakmulgee District and the 

18 Tuskegee National Forest. The Bartram Trail, a 

19 National Recreation Trail, runs through the 

20 Tuskegee National Forest. 

21 (12) The Black Belt includes two National 

22 Wildlife Refuges maintained by the U.S. Fish and 

23 Wildlife Service: the Cahaba National Wildlife Ref24 uge and the Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge. 


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1 (13) The Black Belt is home to two Army 

2 Corps of Engineers projects: the Alabama River 

3 Lakes and the Black Warrior and Tombigbee Lakes. 

4 The Corps management offices are located in 

5 Lowndes, Marengo, and Wilcox Counties within the 

6 Black Belt. Many public recreation and natural re7 sources sites are managed by the Corps in these 

8 river basins. 

9 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

10 The purposes of this Act are— 

11 (1) to recognize the significant natural and cul12 tural legacies of the area, as described in the study 

13 titled ‘‘Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area: Feasi14 bility Study for National Heritage Area Designa15 tion’’, prepared for the National Park Service in 

16 March, 2009; 

17 (2) to promote heritage, cultural, and rec18 reational tourism and to develop educational and 

19 cultural programs for visitors and the general public; 

20 (3) to recognize and interpret important events 

21 and geographic locations of Alabama’s Black Belt 

22 region, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and 

23 the Selma to Montgomery March, and the region’s 

24 exceptionally fertile soil, prairies, forests and rivers; 


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1 (4) to recognize and interpret the distinctive 

2 role the region played in the history of the United 

3 States, including the Civil War, with Montgomery 

4 serving as the first capital of the Confederacy and 

5 later as the center of the American Civil Rights 

6 movement; 

7 (5) to provide a cooperative management frame8 work to foster a close working relationship with all 

9 levels of government, the private sector, and the 

10 local communities in the region in identifying, pre11 serving, interpreting, and developing the natural, 

12 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec13 reational resources of the region for the educational 

14 and inspirational benefit of current and future gen15 erations; and 

16 (6) to provide appropriate linkages between 

17 units of the National Park System and communities, 

18 governments, and organizations within the National 

19 Heritage Area. 

20 SEC. 4.2. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 

23 ‘‘National Heritage Area’’ means the Alabama Black 

24 Belt National Heritage Area established by this Act. 


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1 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the Center for the 

3 Study of the Black Belt at the University of West 

4 Alabama. 

5 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage6 ment plan’’ means the plan prepared by the local co7 ordinating entity for the National Heritage Area in 

8 accordance with this Act. 

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

10 the Secretary of the Interior. 

11 SEC. 5.3. DESIGNATION OF ALABAMA BLACK BELT NA12 TIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

14 the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area in the 

15 State of Alabama. 

16 (b) BOUNDARIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Heritage Area 

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

19 consist of sites as designated by the management plan 

20 within a core area located in Alabama, consisting of Bibb, 

21 Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, 

22 Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Mont23 gomery, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Washington, and Wilcox 

24 counties. 


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1 (2) MAP.—The boundaries of the National Her2 itage Area shall be as generally depicted on the map 

3 titled ‘‘llllllllll’’, and numbered 

4 lllll, and dated lllll. The map shall 

5 be on file and available to the public in the appro6 priate offices of the National Park Service and the 

7 local coordinating entity. 

8 SEC. 6.4. LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY. 

9 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Center for the Study of the 

10 Black Belt at the University of West Alabama shall be 

11 the local coordinating entity for the National Heritage 

12 Area. 

13 (b) DUTIES.—To further the purposes of the Na14 tional Heritage Area, the local coordinating entity shall— 

15 (1) submit a management plan to the Secretary 

16 in accordance with this Act; 

17 (2) submit an annual report to the Secretary 

18 for each fiscal year for which the local coordinating 

19 entity receives Federal funds under this Act, speci20 fying— 

21 (A) the specific performance goals and ac22 complishments of the local coordinating entity; 

23 (B) the expenses and income of the local 

24 coordinating entity; 


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1 (C) the amounts and sources of matching 

2 funds; 

3 (D) the amounts of non-Federal funds le4 veraged with Federal funds and sources of the 

5 leveraging; and 

6 (E) grants made to any other entities dur7 ing the fiscal year; 

8 (3) make available for audit, for each fiscal 

9 year for which the local coordinating entity receives 

10 Federal funds under this Act, all information per11 taining to the expenditure of the funds and any 

12 matching funds; and 

13 (4) encourage economic viability and sustain14 ability that is consistent with the purposes of the 

15 National Heritage Area. 

16 (c) AUTHORITIES.—For the purposes of preparing 

17 and implementing the approved management plan, the 

18 local coordinating entity may use Federal funds received 

19 under this Act— 

20 (1) to make grants to political jurisdictions, 

21 nonprofit organizations, and other parties within the 

22 National Heritage Area; 

23 (2) to enter into cooperative agreements with or 

24 provide technical assistance to political jurisdictions, 


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1 nonprofit organizations, Federal agencies, and other 

2 interested parties; 

3 (3) to hire and compensate staff, including indi4 viduals with expertise in— 

5 (A) natural, historical, cultural, edu6 cational, scenic, and recreational resource con7 servation; 

8 (B) economic and community development; 

9 and 

10 (C) heritage planning; 

11 (4) to obtain funds or services from any source, 

12 including other Federal programs; 

13 (5) to contract for goods or services; and 

14 (6) to support activities of partners and any 

15 other activities that further the purposes of the Na16 tional Heritage Area and are consistent with the ap17 proved management plan. 

18 (d) PROHIBITION ON ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP19 ERTY.—The local coordinating entity may not use Federal 

20 funds received under this Act to acquire any interest in 

21 real property. 

22 SEC. 7.5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

23 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 

24 (1) describe comprehensive policies, goals, strat25 egies, and recommendations for telling the story of 


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1 the heritage of the area covered by the National 

2 Heritage Area and encouraging long-term resource 

3 protection, enhancement, interpretation, funding, 

4 management, and development of the National Her5 itage Area; 

6 (2) include a description of actions and commit7 ments that Federal, State, and local governments, 

8 private organizations, and citizens plan to take to 

9 protect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, and de10 velop the natural, historical, cultural, educational, 

11 scenic, and recreational resources of the National 

12 Heritage Area; 

13 (3) specify existing and potential sources of 

14 funding or economic development strategies to pro15 tect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, and develop 

16 the National Heritage Area; 

17 (4) include an inventory of the natural, histor18 ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

19 resources of the National Heritage Area related to 

20 the national importance and themes of the National 

21 Heritage Area that should be protected, enhanced, 

22 interpreted, funded, managed, and developed; 

23 (5) include recommendations for resource man24 agement policies and strategies, including the devel25 opment of intergovernmental and interagency agreeVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:02 Aug 06, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2892.RS S2892

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1 ments to protect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, 

2 and develop the natural, historical, cultural, edu3 cational, scenic, and recreational resources of the 

4 National Heritage Area; 

5 (6) describe a program for implementation of 

6 the management plan, including— 

7 (A) performance goals; 

8 (B) plans for resource protection, enhance9 ment, interpretation, funding, management, and 

10 development; and 

11 (C) specific commitments for implementa12 tion that have been made by the local coordi13 nating entity or any Federal, State, or local 

14 government agency, organization, business, or 

15 individual; 

16 (7) include an analysis of, and recommenda17 tions for, means by which Federal, State, and local 

18 programs may best be coordinated (including the 

19 role of the National Park Service and other Federal 

20 agencies associated with the National Heritage 

21 Area) to further the purposes of this Act; and 

22 (8) include a business plan that— 

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

24 and functions of the local coordinating entity 


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1 and of each of the major activities described in 

2 the management plan; and 

3 (B) provides adequate assurances that the 

4 local coordinating entity has the partnerships 

5 and financial and other resources necessary to 

6 implement the management plan. 

7 (b) DEADLINE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

9 the date on which funds are made available pursuant 

10 to this Act to develop the management plan, the 

11 local coordinating entity shall submit the manage12 ment plan to the Secretary for approval. 

13 (2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the man14 agement plan is not submitted to the Secretary in 

15 accordance with paragraph (1), the local coordi16 nating entity may not receive any additional finan17 cial assistance under this Act until such time as the 

18 management plan is submitted to and approved by 

19 the Secretary. 

20 (c) APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

21 (1) REVIEW.—Not later than 180 days after re22 ceiving the management plan, the Secretary shall re23 view and approve or disapprove the management 

24 plan on the basis of the criteria listed in paragraph 

25 (3). 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con2 sult with the Governor of Alabama before approving 

3 a management plan. 

4 (3) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

5 whether to approve a management plan, the Sec6 retary shall consider whether— 

7 (A) the local coordinating entity— 

8 (i) represents the diverse interests of 

9 the National Heritage Area, including Fed10 eral, State, and local governments, natural, 

11 and historical resource protection organiza12 tions, educational institutions, businesses, 

13 recreational organizations, community resi14 dents, and private property owners; 

15 (ii) has afforded adequate opportunity 

16 for public and Federal, State, and local 

17 governmental involvement (including 

18 through workshops and public meetings) in 

19 the preparation of the management plan; 

20 (iii) provides for at least semiannual 

21 public meetings to ensure adequate imple22 mentation of the management plan; and 

23 (iv) has demonstrated the financial 

24 capability, in partnership with others, to 

25 carry out the management plan; 


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1 (B) the management plan— 

2 (i) describes resource protection, en3 hancement, interpretation, funding, man4 agement, and development strategies 

5 which, if implemented, would adequately 

6 protect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, 

7 and develop the natural, historical, cul8 tural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

9 resources of the National Heritage Area; 

10 (ii) would not adversely affect any ac11 tivities authorized on Federal land under 

12 public applicable laws or land use plans; 

13 (iii) demonstrates partnerships among 

14 the local coordinating entity, Federal, 

15 State, and local governments, regional 

16 planning organizations, nonprofit organiza17 tions, and private sector parties for imple18 mentation of the management plan; and 

19 (iv) complies with the requirements of 

20 this section; and 

21 (C) the Secretary has received adequate 

22 assurances from the appropriate State and local 

23 officials whose support is needed that the State 

24 and local aspects of the management plan will 

25 be effectively implemented. 


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1 (4) DISAPPROVAL.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary dis3 approves the management plan, the Secretary— 

4 (i) shall advise the local coordinating 

5 entity in writing of the reasons for the dis6 approval; and 

7 (ii) may make recommendations to the 

8 local coordinating entity for revisions to 

9 the management plan. 

10 (B) DEADLINE.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after receiving a revised management plan, the 

12 Secretary shall approve or disapprove the re13 vised management plan. 

14 (5) AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—An amendment to the 

16 approved management plan that substantially 

17 alters such plan shall be reviewed by the Sec18 retary and approved or disapproved in the same 

19 manner as the original management plan. 

20 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—The local coordi21 nating entity shall not use Federal funds re22 ceived under this Act to implement a substan23 tial amendment to the management plan until 

24 the Secretary approves the amendment. 

25 (6) AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary may— 


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1 (A) provide technical assistance under the 

2 authority of this Act for the development and 

3 implementation of the management plan; and 

4 (B) enter into cooperative agreements with 

5 interested parties to carry out this Act. 

6 SEC. 8.6. EVALUATION; REPORT. 

7 (a) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall conduct an 

8 evaluation of the accomplishments of the National Herit9 age Area. An evaluation conducted under this subsection 

10 shall— 

11 (1) assess the progress of the local coordinating 

12 entity with respect to— 

13 (A) accomplishing the purposes of this Act 

14 for the National Heritage Area; and 

15 (B) achieving the goals and objectives of 

16 the approved management plan; 

17 (2) analyze the Federal, State, and local gov18 ernment, and private investments in the National 

19 Heritage Area to determine the impact of the invest20 ments; and 

21 (3) review the management structure, partner22 ship relationships, and funding of the National Her23 itage Area for purposes of identifying the critical 

24 components for sustainability of the National Herit25 age Area. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years before the date 

2 on which authority for Federal funding terminates for the 

3 National Heritage Area under this Act, based on the eval4 uation conducted under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

5 submit a report to the Committee on Natural Resources 

6 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

7 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. The report 

8 shall include recommendations for the future role of the 

9 National Park Service, if any, with respect to the National 

10 Heritage Area. 

11 SEC. 9.7. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au13 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan14 cial assistance under any other law. 

15 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

16 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

17 may have an impact on the National Heritage Area is en18 couraged to consult and coordinate the activities with the 

19 Secretary and the local coordinating entity to the max20 imum extent practicable. 

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

22 Act— 

23 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu24 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage FedVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:02 Aug 06, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2892.RS S2892

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1 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen2 cy; 

3 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man4 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

5 the boundaries of the National Heritage Area; or 

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

7 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed8 eral agency. 

9 SEC. 10.8. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC10 TIONS. 

11 Nothing in this Act— 

12 (1) abridges the rights of any owner of public 

13 or private property, including the right to refrain 

14 from participating in any plan, project, program, or 

15 activity conducted within the National Heritage 

16 Area; 

17 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub18 lic access (including access by Federal, State, tribal, 

19 or local agencies) to the property of the property 

20 owner, or to modify public access or use of property 

21 of the property owner under any other Federal, 

22 State, tribal, or local law; 

23 (3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 

24 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author25 ity of any Federal, State, tribal, or local agency, or 


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1 conveys any land use or other regulatory authority 

2 to any local coordinating entity, including develop3 ment and management of energy, water, or water-re4 lated infrastructure; 

5 (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap6 propriation of water or water rights; 

7 (5) diminishes the authority of the State to 

8 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

9 fishing and hunting within the National Heritage 

10 Area; or 

11 (6) creates any liability, or affects any liability 

12 under any other law, of any private property owner 

13 with respect to any person injured on the private 

14 property. 

15 SEC. 11.9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subject 

17 to subsection (b), there are authorized to be appropriated 

18 to carry out this Act not more than $1,000,000 for any 

19 fiscal year. Funds so appropriated shall remain available 

20 until expended. 

21 (b) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNTS APPRO22 PRIATED.—Not more than $15,000,000$10,000,000 may 

23 be appropriated to carry out this Act. 

24 (c) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Federal 

25 share of the total cost of any activity under this Act shall 


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1 be not more than 50 percent. The non-Federal contribu2 tion may be in the form of in-kind contributions of goods 

3 or services fairly valued. 

4 SEC. 12.10. USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FROM OTHER 

5 SOURCES. 

6 Nothing in this Act shall preclude the local coordi7 nating entity from using Federal funds available under 

8 other laws for the purposes for which those funds were 

9 authorized. 

10 SEC. 13.11. TERMINATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

11 The authority of the Secretary to provide financial 

12 assistance under this Act terminates on the date that is 

13 15 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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Calendar No. 535 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2892 

[Report No. 111–265] 

A BILL 

To establish the Alabama Black Belt National 

Heritage Area, and for other purposes. 

AUGUST 5, 2010 

Reported with amendments 


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