II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2892 

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 

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’’. 

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

7 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. 


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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. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

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

4 portion of Alabama is a region that sustains an 

5 abundance of natural resources, historical sites, cul6 tural diversity, and recreational activities shaped by 

7 its fertile black soil. 

8 (2) The Alabama Black Belt National Heritage 

9 Area feasibility study includes the 19 counties of 

10 Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, 

11 Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, 

12 Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, 

13 Washington, and Wilcox in the State of Alabama. 

14 (3) The geography of the Black Belt is com15 prised of threatened prairies, forests, and rivers that 

16 contain incredibly diverse species of flora and fauna. 

17 (4) The Black Belt region struggles with a de18 clining population, a high unemployment rate, insuf19 ficient schools and health care, and 8 of the 100 

20 poorest counties in the United States. 


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1 (5) The Black Belt region includes Moundville, 

2 the second largest Native American ceremonial cen3 ter of the Mississippian period. 

4 (6) The Black Belt region is characterized by 

5 its distinctive geography and its exceptionally fertile 

6 black soil, which influenced the construction of a 

7 large network of cotton plantations and antebellum 

8 architecture, which in turn led to the city of Mont9 gomery being established as the first capital of the 

10 Confederacy. 

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

12 American civil rights movement, including the his13 torical scenes of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and 

14 the Selma to Montgomery March, which led to the 

15 Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act 

16 of 1965. 

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

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

19 Kill a Mockingbird’’. 

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

21 Bend Quilters, whose artistic talents have been dis22 played in the Smithsonian Museum and featured on 

23 United States postage stamps. 

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

25 the National Park System: the Selma to MontVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:44 Dec 18, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2892.IS S2892

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1 gomery National Historic Trail, the Tuskegee Air2 men National Historic Site, and the Tuskegee Insti3 tute National Historic Site. 

4 (11) The Black Belt includes two National For5 ests maintained by the Forest Service: the Talladega 

6 National Forest-Oakmulgee District and the 

7 Tuskegee National Forest. The Bartram Trail, a 

8 National Recreation Trail, runs through the 

9 Tuskegee National Forest. 

10 (12) The Black Belt includes two National 

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

12 Wildlife Service: the Cahaba National Wildlife Ref13 uge and the Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge. 

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

15 Corps of Engineers projects: the Alabama River 

16 Lakes and the Black Warrior and Tombigbee Lakes. 

17 The Corps management offices are located in 

18 Lowndes, Marengo, and Wilcox Counties within the 

19 Black Belt. Many public recreation and natural re20 sources sites are managed by the Corps in these 

21 river basins. 

22 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

23 The purposes of this Act are— 

24 (1) to recognize the significant natural and cul25 tural legacies of the area, as described in the study 


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1 titled ‘‘Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area: Feasi2 bility Study for National Heritage Area Designa3 tion’’, prepared for the National Park Service in 

4 March, 2009; 

5 (2) to promote heritage, cultural, and rec6 reational tourism and to develop educational and 

7 cultural programs for visitors and the general public; 

8 (3) to recognize and interpret important events 

9 and geographic locations of Alabama’s Black Belt 

10 region, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and 

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

12 exceptionally fertile soil, prairies, forests and rivers; 

13 (4) to recognize and interpret the distinctive 

14 role the region played in the history of the United 

15 States, including the Civil War, with Montgomery 

16 serving as the first capital of the Confederacy and 

17 later as the center of the American Civil Rights 

18 movement; 

19 (5) to provide a cooperative management frame20 work to foster a close working relationship with all 

21 levels of government, the private sector, and the 

22 local communities in the region in identifying, pre23 serving, interpreting, and developing the natural, 

24 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec25 reational resources of the region for the educational 


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1 and inspirational benefit of current and future gen2 erations; and 

3 (6) to provide appropriate linkages between 

4 units of the National Park System and communities, 

5 governments, and organizations within the National 

6 Heritage Area. 

7 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 

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

11 Belt National Heritage Area established by this Act. 

12 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

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

14 Study of the Black Belt at the University of West 

15 Alabama. 

16 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage17 ment plan’’ means the plan prepared by the local co18 ordinating entity for the National Heritage Area in 

19 accordance with this Act. 

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

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF ALABAMA BLACK BELT NATIONAL 

2 HERITAGE AREA. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

4 the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area in the 

5 State of Alabama. 

6 (b) BOUNDARIES.— 

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

8 shall consist of sites as designated by the manage9 ment plan within a core area located in Alabama, 

10 consisting of Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, 

11 Conecuh, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, 

12 Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, 

13 Sumter, Washington, and Wilcox counties. 

14 (2) MAP.—The boundaries of the National Her15 itage Area shall be as generally depicted on the map 

16 titled ‘‘llllllllll’’, and numbered 

17 lllll, and dated lllll. The map shall 

18 be on file and available to the public in the appro19 priate offices of the National Park Service and the 

20 local coordinating entity. 

21 SEC. 6. LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY. 

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

23 Black Belt at the University of West Alabama shall be 

24 the local coordinating entity for the National Heritage 

25 Area. 


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1 (b) DUTIES.—To further the purposes of the Na2 tional Heritage Area, the local coordinating entity shall— 

3 (1) submit a management plan to the Secretary 

4 in accordance with this Act; 

5 (2) submit an annual report to the Secretary 

6 for each fiscal year for which the local coordinating 

7 entity receives Federal funds under this Act, speci8 fying— 

9 (A) the specific performance goals and ac10 complishments of the local coordinating entity; 

11 (B) the expenses and income of the local 

12 coordinating entity; 

13 (C) the amounts and sources of matching 

14 funds; 

15 (D) the amounts of non-Federal funds le16 veraged with Federal funds and sources of the 

17 leveraging; and 

18 (E) grants made to any other entities dur19 ing the fiscal year; 

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

21 year for which the local coordinating entity receives 

22 Federal funds under this Act, all information per23 taining to the expenditure of the funds and any 

24 matching funds; and 


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1 (4) encourage economic viability and sustain2 ability that is consistent with the purposes of the 

3 National Heritage Area. 

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

5 and implementing the approved management plan, the 

6 local coordinating entity may use Federal funds received 

7 under this Act— 

8 (1) to make grants to political jurisdictions, 

9 nonprofit organizations, and other parties within the 

10 National Heritage Area; 

11 (2) to enter into cooperative agreements with or 

12 provide technical assistance to political jurisdictions, 

13 nonprofit organizations, Federal agencies, and other 

14 interested parties; 

15 (3) to hire and compensate staff, including indi16 viduals with expertise in— 

17 (A) natural, historical, cultural, edu18 cational, scenic, and recreational resource con19 servation; 

20 (B) economic and community development; 

21 and 

22 (C) heritage planning; 

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

24 including other Federal programs; 

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


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1 (6) to support activities of partners and any 

2 other activities that further the purposes of the Na3 tional Heritage Area and are consistent with the ap4 proved management plan. 

5 (d) PROHIBITION ON ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP6 ERTY.—The local coordinating entity may not use Federal 

7 funds received under this Act to acquire any interest in 

8 real property. 

9 SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

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

11 (1) describe comprehensive policies, goals, strat12 egies, and recommendations for telling the story of 

13 the heritage of the area covered by the National 

14 Heritage Area and encouraging long-term resource 

15 protection, enhancement, interpretation, funding, 

16 management, and development of the National Her17 itage Area; 

18 (2) include a description of actions and commit19 ments that Federal, State, and local governments, 

20 private organizations, and citizens plan to take to 

21 protect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, and de22 velop the natural, historical, cultural, educational, 

23 scenic, and recreational resources of the National 

24 Heritage Area; 


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1 (3) specify existing and potential sources of 

2 funding or economic development strategies to pro3 tect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, and develop 

4 the National Heritage Area; 

5 (4) include an inventory of the natural, histor6 ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

7 resources of the National Heritage Area related to 

8 the national importance and themes of the National 

9 Heritage Area that should be protected, enhanced, 

10 interpreted, funded, managed, and developed; 

11 (5) include recommendations for resource man12 agement policies and strategies, including the devel13 opment of intergovernmental and interagency agree14 ments to protect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, 

15 and develop the natural, historical, cultural, edu16 cational, scenic, and recreational resources of the 

17 National Heritage Area; 

18 (6) describe a program for implementation of 

19 the management plan, including— 

20 (A) performance goals; 

21 (B) plans for resource protection, enhance22 ment, interpretation, funding, management, and 

23 development; and 

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1 nating entity or any Federal, State, or local 

2 government agency, organization, business, or 

3 individual; 

4 (7) include an analysis of, and recommenda5 tions for, means by which Federal, State, and local 

6 programs may best be coordinated (including the 

7 role of the National Park Service and other Federal 

8 agencies associated with the National Heritage 

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

10 (8) 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 described 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. 

19 (b) DEADLINE.— 

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

21 the date on which funds are made available pursuant 

22 to this Act to develop the management plan, the 

23 local coordinating entity shall submit the manage24 ment plan to the Secretary for approval. 


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

3 accordance with paragraph (1), the local coordi4 nating entity may not receive any additional finan5 cial assistance under this Act until such time as the 

6 management plan is submitted to and approved by 

7 the Secretary. 

8 (c) APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

9 (1) REVIEW.—Not later than 180 days after re10 ceiving the management plan, the Secretary shall re11 view and approve or disapprove the management 

12 plan on the basis of the criteria listed in paragraph 

13 (3). 

14 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con15 sult with the Governor of Alabama before approving 

16 a management plan. 

17 (3) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

18 whether to approve a management plan, the Sec19 retary shall consider whether— 

20 (A) the local coordinating entity— 

21 (i) represents the diverse interests of 

22 the National Heritage Area, including Fed23 eral, State, and local governments, natural, 

24 and historical resource protection organiza25 tions, educational institutions, businesses, 


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1 recreational organizations, community resi2 dents, and private property owners; 

3 (ii) has afforded adequate opportunity 

4 for public and Federal, State, and local 

5 governmental involvement (including 

6 through workshops and public meetings) in 

7 the preparation of the management plan; 

8 (iii) provides for at least semiannual 

9 public meetings to ensure adequate imple10 mentation of the management plan; and 

11 (iv) has demonstrated the financial 

12 capability, in partnership with others, to 

13 carry out the management plan; 

14 (B) the management plan— 

15 (i) describes resource protection, en16 hancement, interpretation, funding, man17 agement, and development strategies 

18 which, if implemented, would adequately 

19 protect, enhance, interpret, fund, manage, 

20 and develop the natural, historical, cul21 tural, educational, scenic, and recreational 

22 resources of the National Heritage Area; 

23 (ii) would not adversely affect any ac24 tivities authorized on Federal land under 

25 public applicable laws or land use plans; 


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1 (iii) demonstrates partnerships among 

2 the local coordinating entity, Federal, 

3 State, and local governments, regional 

4 planning organizations, nonprofit organiza5 tions, and private sector parties for imple6 mentation of the management plan; and 

7 (iv) complies with the requirements of 

8 this section; and 

9 (C) the Secretary has received adequate 

10 assurances from the appropriate State and local 

11 officials whose support is needed that the State 

12 and local aspects of the management plan will 

13 be effectively implemented. 

14 (4) DISAPPROVAL.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary dis16 approves the management plan, the Secretary— 

17 (i) shall advise the local coordinating 

18 entity in writing of the reasons for the dis19 approval; and 

20 (ii) may make recommendations to the 

21 local coordinating entity for revisions to 

22 the management plan. 

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

24 after receiving a revised management plan, the 


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1 Secretary shall approve or disapprove the re2 vised management plan. 

3 (5) AMENDMENTS.— 

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

5 approved management plan that substantially 

6 alters such plan shall be reviewed by the Sec7 retary and approved or disapproved in the same 

8 manner as the original management plan. 

9 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—The local coordi10 nating entity shall not use Federal funds re11 ceived under this Act to implement a substan12 tial amendment to the management plan until 

13 the Secretary approves the amendment. 

14 (6) AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary may— 

15 (A) provide technical assistance under the 

16 authority of this Act for the development and 

17 implementation of the management plan; and 

18 (B) enter into cooperative agreements with 

19 interested parties to carry out this Act. 

20 SEC. 8. EVALUATION; REPORT. 

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

22 evaluation of the accomplishments of the National Herit23 age Area. An evaluation conducted under this subsection 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) assess the progress of the local coordinating 

2 entity with respect to— 

3 (A) accomplishing the purposes of this Act 

4 for the National Heritage Area; and 

5 (B) achieving the goals and objectives of 

6 the approved management plan; 

7 (2) analyze the Federal, State, and local gov8 ernment, and private investments in the National 

9 Heritage Area to determine the impact of the invest10 ments; and 

11 (3) review the management structure, partner12 ship relationships, and funding of the National Her13 itage Area for purposes of identifying the critical 

14 components for sustainability of the National Herit15 age Area. 

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

17 on which authority for Federal funding terminates for the 

18 National Heritage Area under this Act, based on the eval19 uation conducted under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

20 submit a report to the Committee on Natural Resources 

21 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

22 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. The report 

23 shall include recommendations for the future role of the 

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

25 Heritage Area. 


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1 SEC. 9. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au3 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan4 cial assistance under any other law. 

5 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 

6 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 

7 may have an impact on the National Heritage Area is en8 couraged to consult and coordinate the activities with the 

9 Secretary and the local coordinating entity to the max10 imum extent practicable. 

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

12 Act— 

13 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu14 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed15 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen16 cy; 

17 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man18 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 

19 the boundaries of the National Heritage Area; or 

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

21 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed22 eral agency. 

23 SEC. 10. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC24 TIONS. 

25 Nothing in this Act— 


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

2 or private property, including the right to refrain 

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

4 activity conducted within the National Heritage 

5 Area; 

6 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub7 lic access (including access by Federal, State, tribal, 

8 or local agencies) to the property of the property 

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

10 of the property owner under any other Federal, 

11 State, tribal, or local law; 

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

13 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author14 ity of any Federal, State, tribal, or local agency, or 

15 conveys any land use or other regulatory authority 

16 to any local coordinating entity, including develop17 ment and management of energy, water, or water-re18 lated infrastructure; 

19 (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap20 propriation of water or water rights; 

21 (5) diminishes the authority of the State to 

22 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

23 fishing and hunting within the National Heritage 

24 Area; or 


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

2 under any other law, of any private property owner 

3 with respect to any person injured on the private 

4 property. 

5 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subject 

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

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

9 fiscal year. Funds so appropriated shall remain available 

10 until expended. 

11 (b) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNTS APPRO12 PRIATED.—Not more than $15,000,000 may be appro13 priated to carry out this Act. 

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

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

16 be not more than 50 percent. The non-Federal contribu17 tion may be in the form of in-kind contributions of goods 

18 or services fairly valued. 

19 SEC. 12. USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FROM OTHER SOURCES. 

20 Nothing in this Act shall preclude the local coordi21 nating entity from using Federal funds available under 

22 other laws for the purposes for which those funds were 

23 authorized. 


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1 SEC. 13. TERMINATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

2 The authority of the Secretary to provide financial 

3 assistance under this Act terminates on the date that is 

4 15 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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