I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2650

To designate portions of the Maurice River and its tributaries in the State

of New Jersey as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Systems.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 15, 1993

Mr. HUGHES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To designate portions of the Maurice River and its tributaries in the State of New Jersey as components of

the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Systems.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

5 (1) the Maurice River and its tributaries,

6 Menantico Creek, the Manumuskin River, and

7 Muskee Creek, are eligible for inclusion into the Na8 tional Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the segments

9 and their classifications being as follows—
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1 (A) the Maurice River, lower segment,

2 from the United States Geological Survey Sta3 tion at Shellpile to Route 670 Bridge at

4 Mauricetown, approximately 7.0 miles, as a rec5 reational river;

6 (B) the Maurice River, middle segment,

7 from Route 670 Bridge at Mauricetown to 3.6

8 miles upstream (at drainage ditch just up9 stream of Fralinger Farm), approximately 3.8

10 miles as a scenic river;

11 (C) the Maurice River, middle segment,

12 from the drainage ditch just upstream of

13 Fralinger Farm to one-half mile upstream from

14 the United States Geological Survey Station at

15 Burcham Farm, approximately 3.1 miles, as a

16 recreational river;

17 (D) the Maurice River, upper segment,

18 from one-half mile upstream from the United

19 States Geological Survey Station at Burcham

20 Farm to the south side of the Millville sewage

21 treatment plant, approximately 3.6 miles, as a

22 scenic river;

23 (E) the Menantico Creek, lower segment,

24 from its confluence with the Maurice River to
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1 the Route 55 Bridge, approximately 1.4 miles,

2 as a recreational river;

3 (F) the Menantico Creek, upper segment,

4 from the Route 55 Bridge to the base of the

5 Impoundment at Menantico Lake, approxi6 mately 6.5 miles, as a scenic river;

7 (G) the Manumuskin River, lower segment,

8 from its confluence with the Maurice River to

9 2.0 miles upstream, as a recreational river;

10 (H) the Manumuskin River, upper seg11 ment, from 2.0 miles upstream from its con12 fluence with the Maurice River to headwaters

13 near Route 557, approximately 12.3 miles, as a

14 scenic river; and

15 (I) the Muskee Creek from its confluence

16 to the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Line

17 Railroad bridge, approximately 2.7 miles, as a

18 scenic river;

19 (2) a resource assessment of the Maurice River

20 and its tributaries, Menantico Creek, the

21 Manumuskin River, and the Muskee Creek shows

22 that the area possesses numerous outstandingly re23 markable natural, cultural, scenic, and recreational

24 resources that are significant at the local, regional,

25 and international levels, including rare plant and
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1 animal species and critical habitats for birds migrat2 ing to and from the north and south hemispheres;

3 and

4 (3) a river management plan for the river sys5 tem has been developed by the Cumberland County

6 Department of Planning and Development and

7 adopted by the Maurice River Township, Commer8 cial Township, and the City of Millville that would

9 meet the requirements of section 6(c) of the Wild

10 and Scenic Rivers Act, the City of Vineland has

11 adopted a master plan which calls for river planning

12 and management and is in the process of adopting

13 zoning ordinances to implement their plan, and

14 Buena Vista Township in Atlantic County has

15 adopted a land use plan consistent with the Pine16 lands Comprehensive Plan which is more restrictive

17 than the Cumberland County local river manage18 ment plan.

19 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—

20 (1) declare the importance and irreplaceable re21 source values of the Maurice River and its tribu22 taries to water quality, human health, traditional

23 economic activities, ecosystem integrity, biotic diver24 sity, fish and wildlife, scenic open space and recre25 ation and protect such values through designation of
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1 the segments as components of the National Wild

2 and Scenic Rivers System; and

3 (2) recognize that the Maurice River System

4 will continue to be threatened by major development

5 and that land use regulations of the individual local

6 political jurisdictions through which the river seg7 ments pass cannot alone provide for an adequate

8 balance between conservation of the river’s resources

9 and commercial and industrial development; and

10 (3) recognize that segments of the Maurice

11 River and its tributaries additional to those des12 ignated under this Act are eligible for potential des13 ignation at some point in the near future.

14 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(a) of the Wild and Sce16 nic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding

17 the following new paragraphs at the end thereof:

18 ‘‘( ) THE MAURICE RIVER, MIDDLE SEGMENT.—

19 From Route 670 Bridge at Mauricetown to 3.6 miles up20 stream (at drainage ditch just upstream of Fralinger

21 Farm), approximately 3.8 miles to be administered by the

22 Secretary of the Interior as a scenic river.

23 ‘‘( ) THE MAURICE RIVER, MIDDLE SEGMENT.—

24 From the drainage ditch just upstream of Fralinger Farm

25 to one-half mile upstream from the United States Geologi-
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1 cal Survey Station at Burcham Farm, approximately 3.1

2 miles, to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior

3 as a recreational river.

4 ‘‘( ) THE MAURICE RIVER, UPPER SEGMENT.—

5 From one-half mile upstream from the United States Geo6 logical Survey Station at Burcham Farm to the south side

7 of the Millville sewage treatment plant, approximately 3.6

8 miles, to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior

9 as a scenic river.

10 ‘‘( ) THE MENANTICO CREEK, LOWER SEGMENT.—

11 From its confluence with the Maurice River to the Route

12 55 Bridge, approximately 1.4 miles, to be administered by

13 the Secretary of the Interior as a recreational river.

14 ‘‘( ) THE MENANTICO CREEK, UPPER SEGMENT.—

15 From the Route 55 Bridge to the base of the impound16 ment at Menantico Lake, approximately 6.5 miles, to be

17 administered by the Secretary of the Interior as a scenic

18 river.

19 ‘‘( ) MANUMUSKIN RIVER, LOWER SEGMENT.—

20 From its confluence with the Maurice River to a point 2.0

21 miles upstream, to be administered by the Secretary of

22 the Interior as a recreational river.

23 ‘‘( ) MANUMUSKIN RIVER, UPPER SEGMENT.—

24 From a point 2.0 miles upstream from its confluence with

25 the Maurice River to its headwaters near Route 557,
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1 aproximately 12.3 miles, to be administered by the Sec2 retary of the Interior as a scenic river.

3 ‘‘( ) MUSKEE CREEK, NEW JERSEY.—From its

4 confluence with the Maurice River to the Pennsylvania

5 Seashore Line Railroad Bridge, approximately 2.7 miles,

6 to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior as a

7 scenic river.’’.

8 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT.

9 (a) DUTIES OF SECRETARY.—The Secretary of the

10 Interior shall manage the river segments designated as

11 components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys12 tem by this Act through cooperative agreements with the

13 political jurisdictions within which such segments pass,

14 pursuant to section 10(e) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers

15 Act, and in consultation with such jurisdictions, except

16 that publicly-owned lands within the boundaries of such

17 segments shall continue to be managed by the agency hav18 ing jurisdiction over such lands.

19 (b) AGREEMENTS.—(1) Cooperative agreements for

20 management of the river segments referred to in sub21 section (a) shall provide for the long-term protection, pres22 ervation, and enhancement of such segments and shall be

23 consistent with the comprehensive management plan for

24 such segments to be prepared by the Secretary of the Inte25 rior pursuant to section 3(d) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers
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1 Act and with the local river management plans prepared

2 by appropriate local political jurisdictions in conjunction

3 with the Secretary of the Interior.

4 (2) The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with

5 appropriate representatives of local political jurisdictions

6 and the State of New Jersey, shall review local river man7 agement plans described in paragraph (1) to assure that

8 their proper implementation will protect the values for

9 which the river segments described in section 2 were des10 ignated as components of the National Wild and Scenic

11 Rivers System. If after such review the Secretary deter12 mines that such plans and their implementing local zoning

13 ordinances meet the protection standards specified in sec14 tion 6(c) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, then such

15 plans shall be deemed to constitute ‘‘local zoning ordi16 nances’’ and each township and other incorporated local

17 jurisdiction covered by such plans shall be deemed to con18 stitute a ‘‘village’’ for the purposes of section 6(c) (prohib19 iting the acquisition of lands by condemnation) of the Wild

20 and Scenic Rivers Act.

21 (3) The Secretary of the Interior shall biennially re22 view compliance with the local river management plans de23 scribed in paragraph (1) and shall promptly report to the

24 Committee on Natural Resources of the United States

25 House of Representatives and to the Committee on En-
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1 ergy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate

2 any deviation from such which would result in any diminu3 tion of the values for which the river segment concerned

4 was designated as a component of the National Wild and

5 Scenic Rivers System.

6 (c) PLANNING ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of the

7 Interior may provide planning assistance to local political

8 subdivisions of the State of New Jersey through which

9 flow river segments that are designated as components of

10 the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and may

11 enter into memoranda of understanding or cooperative

12 agreements with officials or agencies of the United States

13 or the State of New Jersey to ensure that Federal and

14 State programs that could affect such segments are car15 ried out in a manner consistent with the Wild and Scenic

16 Rivers Act and applicable river management plans.

17 (d) SEGMENT ADDITIONS.—The Secretary of the In18 terior is encouraged to continue to work with the local mu19 nicipalities to negotiate agreement and support for des20 ignating those segments of the Maurice River and its trib21 utaries which were found eligible for designation pursuant

22 to Public Law 100–33 and were not designated pursuant

23 to this Act (hereinafter referred to as ‘‘additional eligible

24 segments’’). For a period of 3 years after the date of en25 actment of this Act, the provisions of the Wild and Scenic
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1 Rivers Act applicable to segments included in section 5

2 of that Act shall apply to the additional eligible segments.

3 The Secretary of the Interior is directed to report to the

4 appropriate congressional committees within 3 years after

5 the date of enactment of this Act on the status of discus6 sions and negotiations with the local municipalities and

7 on recommendations toward inclusion of additional river

8 segments into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers

9 System.

10 (e) APPROPRIATIONS.—For the purposes of the seg11 ment described by subsection (a), there are authorized to

12 be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry

13 out the provisions of this Act.

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