I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2448 

To establish the St. Croix National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 7, 2011 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the St. Croix 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. ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

6 Area’’ means the St. Croix National Heritage Area 

7 established by subsection (b)(1). 

8 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 

9 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the local coordi10 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 

11 subsection (b)(4). 


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1 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage2 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 

3 Heritage Area required under subsection (d). 

4 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en5 titled ‘‘Proposed St. Croix National Heritage Area’’ 

6 and dated llllllll. 

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

8 the Secretary of the Interior. 

9 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means St. 

10 Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. 

11 (b) ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.— 

12 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

13 the State the St. Croix National Heritage Area. 

14 (2) CONCEPTUAL BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage 

15 Area shall consist of the entire island. 

16 (3) MAP.—A map of the Heritage Area shall 

17 be— 

18 (A) included in the management plan; and 

19 (B) on file and available for public inspec20 tion in the appropriate offices of the National 

21 Park Service. 

22 (4) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The local coordinating 

24 entity for the Heritage Area shall be known as 

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1 ronment, and Economic Development (SUC2 CEED) Inc. 

3 (B) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS.—Mem4 bership in SUCCEED, Inc. shall be open to a 

5 broad cross-section of public, private, and non6 governmental sectors including businesses, indi7 viduals, agencies, and organizations that were 

8 involved in the planning and development of the 

9 Heritage Area prior to the enactment of this 

10 Act. 

11 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

12 (1) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying 

13 out the management plan, the Secretary, acting 

14 through the local coordinating entity, may use 

15 amounts made available under this section to— 

16 (A) make grants to the State or a political 

17 subdivision of the State, nonprofit organiza18 tions, and other persons; 

19 (B) enter into cooperative agreements 

20 with, or provide technical assistance to, the 

21 State or a political subdivision of the State, 

22 nonprofit organizations, and other interested 

23 parties; 

24 (C) hire and compensate staff, which shall 

25 include individuals with expertise in natural, 


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1 cultural, and historical resources protection, 

2 and heritage programming; 

3 (D) obtain money or services from any 

4 source including any that are provided under 

5 any other Federal law or program; 

6 (E) contract for goods or services; and 

7 (F) undertake to be a catalyst for any 

8 other activity that furthers the Heritage Area 

9 and is consistent with the approved manage10 ment plan. 

11 (2) DUTIES.—The local coordinating entity 

12 shall— 

13 (A) in accordance with subsection (d), pre14 pare and submit a management plan for the 

15 Heritage Area to the Secretary; 

16 (B) assist units of local government, re17 gional planning organizations, and nonprofit or18 ganizations in carrying out the approved man19 agement plan by— 

20 (i) carrying out programs and projects 

21 that recognize, protect, and enhance im22 portant resource values in the Heritage 

23 Area; 


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1 (ii) establishing and maintaining in2 terpretive exhibits and programs in the 

3 Heritage Area; 

4 (iii) developing recreational and edu5 cational opportunities in the Heritage 

6 Area; 

7 (iv) increasing public awareness of, 

8 and appreciation for, natural, historical, 

9 scenic, and cultural resources of the Herit10 age Area; 

11 (v) protecting and restoring historic 

12 sites and buildings in the Heritage Area 

13 that are consistent with Heritage Area 

14 themes; 

15 (vi) ensuring that clear, consistent, 

16 and appropriate signs identifying points of 

17 public access, and sites of interest are 

18 posted throughout the Heritage Area; and 

19 (vii) promoting a wide range of part20 nerships among governments, organiza21 tions, and individuals to further the Herit22 age Area; 

23 (C) consider the interests of diverse units 

24 of government, businesses, organizations, and 

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1 tion and implementation of the management 

2 plan; 

3 (D) conduct meetings open to the public at 

4 least semiannually regarding the development 

5 and implementation of the management plan; 

6 (E) for any year that Federal funds have 

7 been received under this section— 

8 (i) submit an annual report to the 

9 Secretary that describes the activities, ex10 penses, and income of the local coordi11 nating entity (including grants to any 

12 other entities during the year that the re13 port is made); 

14 (ii) make available to the Secretary 

15 for audit all records relating to the expend16 iture of the funds and any matching funds; 

17 and 

18 (iii) require, with respect to all agree19 ments authorizing expenditure of Federal 

20 funds by other organizations, that the or21 ganizations receiving the funds make avail22 able to the Secretary for audit all records 

23 concerning the expenditure of the funds; 

24 and 


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1 (F) encourage by appropriate means eco2 nomic viability that is consistent with the Herit3 age Area. 

4 (3) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF

5 REAL PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity 

6 shall not use Federal funds made available under 

7 this section to acquire real property or any interest 

8 in real property. 

9 (4) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

10 (A) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA11 TIONS.—Subject to subsection (b), there are au12 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this 

13 Act not more than $1,000,000 for any fiscal 

14 year. Funds so appropriated shall remain avail15 able until expended. 

16 (B) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The 

17 Federal share of the total cost of any activity 

18 under this Act shall be not more than 50 per19 cent; the non-Federal contribution may be in 

20 the form of in-kind contributions of goods or 

21 services fairly valued. 

22 (d) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

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

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1 proval a proposed management plan for the Heritage 

2 Area. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan 

4 shall— 

5 (A) incorporate an integrated and coopera6 tive approach for the protection, enhancement, 

7 and interpretation of the natural, cultural, his8 toric, scenic, and recreational resources of the 

9 Heritage Area; 

10 (B) take into consideration State and local 

11 plans; 

12 (C) include— 

13 (i) an inventory of— 

14 (I) the resources located in the 

15 core area described in subsection 

16 (b)(2); and 

17 (II) any other property in the 

18 core area that— 

19 (aa) is related to the themes 

20 of the Heritage Area; and 

21 (bb) should be preserved, re22 stored, managed, or maintained 

23 because of the significance of the 

24 property; 


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1 (ii) describe comprehensive policies, 

2 goals, strategies and recommendations for 

3 telling the story of the heritage of the area 

4 covered by the designation and encour5 aging long-term resource protection, en6 hancement, interpretation, funding, man7 agement, and development; 

8 (iii) a description of actions that gov9 ernments, private organizations, and indi10 viduals have agreed to take to protect the 

11 natural, historical and cultural resources of 

12 the Heritage Area; 

13 (iv) a program of implementation for 

14 the management plan by the local coordi15 nating entity that includes a description 

16 of— 

17 (I) actions to facilitate ongoing 

18 collaboration among partners to pro19 mote plans for resource protection, 

20 restoration, and construction; and 

21 (II) specific commitments for im22 plementation that have been made by 

23 the local coordinating entity or any 

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1 vidual for the first 5 years of oper2 ation; 

3 (v) the identification of sources of 

4 funding for carrying out the management 

5 plan; 

6 (vi) analysis and recommendations for 

7 means by which local, State, and Federal 

8 programs, may best be coordinated to 

9 carry out this section; and 

10 (vii) a business plan that describes the 

11 role, operation, financing, and functions of 

12 the local coordinating entity and of each of 

13 the major activities contained in the man14 agement plan and provides adequate assur15 ances that the local coordinating entity has 

16 the partnerships and financial and other 

17 resources necessary to implement the man18 agement plan for the National Heritage 

19 Area; and 

20 (D) recommend policies and strategies for 

21 resource management that consider and detail 

22 the application of appropriate land and water 

23 management techniques, including the develop24 ment of intergovernmental and interagency co25 operative agreements to protect the natural, 


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1 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec2 reational resources of the Heritage Area. 

3 (3) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management 

4 plan is not submitted to the Secretary by the date 

5 that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, the local coordinating entity shall be ineligible 

7 to receive additional funding under this section until 

8 the date that the Secretary receives and approves 

9 the management plan. 

10 (4) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGE11 MENT PLAN.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

13 days after the date of receipt of the manage14 ment plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary, 

15 in consultation with the State, shall approve or 

16 disapprove the management plan. 

17 (B) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In deter18 mining whether to approve the management 

19 plan, the Secretary shall consider whether— 

20 (i) the local coordinating entity is rep21 resentative of the diverse interests of the 

22 Heritage Area, including governments, nat23 ural and historic resource protection orga24 nizations, educational institutions, busi25 nesses, and recreational organizations; 


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1 (ii) the local coordinating entity has 

2 afforded adequate opportunity, including 

3 public hearings, for public and govern4 mental involvement in the preparation of 

5 the management plan; and 

6 (iii) the resource protection and inter7 pretation strategies contained in the man8 agement plan, if implemented, would ade9 quately protect the natural, historical, and 

10 cultural resources of the Heritage Area. 

11 (C) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If 

12 the Secretary disapproves the management plan 

13 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 

14 (i) advise the local coordinating entity 

15 in writing of the reasons for the dis16 approval; 

17 (ii) make recommendations for revi18 sions to the management plan; and 

19 (iii) not later than 180 days after the 

20 receipt of any proposed revision of the 

21 management plan from the local coordi22 nating entity, approve or disapprove the 

23 proposed revision. 

24 (D) AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 approve or disapprove each amendment to 

3 the management plan that the Secretary 

4 determines make a substantial change to 

5 the management plan. 

6 (ii) USE OF FUNDS.—The local co7 ordinating entity shall not use Federal 

8 funds authorized by this section to carry 

9 out any amendments to the management 

10 plan until the Secretary has approved the 

11 amendments. 

12 (e) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGEN13 CIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section af15 fects the authority of a Federal agency to provide 

16 technical or financial assistance under any other law. 

17 (2) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The 

18 head of any Federal agency planning to conduct ac19 tivities that may have an impact on the Heritage 

20 Area is encouraged to consult and coordinate the ac21 tivities with the Secretary and the local coordinating 

22 entity to the maximum extent practicable. 

23 (3) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in 

24 this section— 


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1 (A) modifies, alters, or amends any law or 

2 regulation authorizing a Federal agency to 

3 manage Federal land under the jurisdiction of 

4 the Federal agency; 

5 (B) limits the discretion of a Federal land 

6 manager to implement an approved land use 

7 plan within the boundaries of the Heritage 

8 Area; or 

9 (C) modifies, alters, or amends any author10 ized use of Federal land under the jurisdiction 

11 of a Federal agency. 

12 (f) PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC13 TIONS.—Nothing in this section— 

14 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 

15 (whether public or private), including the right to re16 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro17 gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage 

18 Area; 

19 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub20 lic access (including access by Federal, State, or 

21 local agencies) to the property of the property 

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

23 of the property owner under any other Federal, 

24 State, or local law; 


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

2 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author3 ity of any Federal, State, or local agency, or conveys 

4 any land use or other regulatory authority to the 

5 local coordinating entity; 

6 (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap7 propriation of water or water rights; 

8 (5) diminishes the authority of the State to 

9 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 

10 fishing and hunting within the Heritage 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 (g) EVALUATION; REPORT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years be17 fore the date on which authority for Federal funding 

18 terminates for the Heritage Area, the Secretary 

19 shall— 

20 (A) conduct an evaluation of the accom21 plishments of the Heritage Area; and 

22 (B) prepare a report in accordance with 

23 paragraph (3). 

24 (2) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted 

25 under paragraph (1)(A) shall— 


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1 (A) assess the progress of the local coordi2 nating entity with respect to— 

3 (i) accomplishing the purposes of this 

4 section for the Heritage Area; and 

5 (ii) achieving the goals and objectives 

6 of the approved management plan for the 

7 Heritage Area; 

8 (B) analyze the Federal, State, local, and 

9 private investments in the Heritage Area to de10 termine the leverage and impact of the invest11 ments; and 

12 (C) review the management structure, 

13 partnership relationships, and funding of the 

14 Heritage Area for purposes of identifying the 

15 critical components for sustainability of the 

16 Heritage Area. 

17 (3) REPORT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Based on the evalua19 tion conducted under paragraph (1)(A), the 

20 Secretary shall prepare a report that includes 

21 recommendations for the future role of the Na22 tional Park Service, if any, with respect to the 

23 Heritage Area. 

24 (B) REQUIRED ANALYSIS.—If the report 

25 prepared under subparagraph (A) recommends 


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1 that Federal funding for the Heritage Area be 

2 reauthorized, the report shall include an anal3 ysis of— 

4 (i) ways in which Federal funding for 

5 the Heritage Area may be reduced or 

6 eliminated; and 

7 (ii) the appropriate time period nec8 essary to achieve the recommended reduc9 tion or elimination. 

10 (C) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On com11 pletion of the report, the Secretary shall submit 

12 the report to— 

13 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

14 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

15 (ii) the Committee on Natural Re16 sources of the House of Representatives. 

17 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $10,000,000, of which not more than $1,000,000 may be 

20 made available for any fiscal year. 

21 (i) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of 

22 the Secretary to provide assistance under this section ter23 minates on the date that is 15 years after the date of en24 actment of this Act. 

Æ 


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