Union Calendar No. 155

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2650

[Report No. 103–282]

A BILL

To designate portions of the Maurice River and its

Systems.nents of the National Wild and Scenic Riverstributaries in the State of New Jersey as compoOCTOBER 12, 1993

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 155

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2650

[Report No. 103–282]

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

OCTOBER 12, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SAXTON,

Mr. KLEIN, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr. ANDREWS of New Jersey,

Mr. ZIMMER, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. GALLO, Mr.

FRANKS of New Jersey, and Mrs. ROUKEMA

OCTOBER 12, 1993

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Omit the part struck through]

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,
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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

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

3 (1) the Maurice River and its tributaries,

4 Menantico Creek, the Manumuskin River, and

5 Muskee Creek, are eligible for inclusion into the Na6 tional Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the segments

7 and their classifications being as follows—

8 (A) the Maurice River, lower segment,

9 from the United States Geological Survey Sta10 tion at Shellpile to Route 670 Bridge at

11 Mauricetown, approximately 7.0 miles, as a rec12 reational river;

13 (B) the Maurice River, middle segment,

14 from Route 670 Bridge at Mauricetown to 3.6

15 miles upstream (at drainage ditch just up16 stream of Fralinger Farm), approximately 3.8

17 miles as a scenic river;

18 (C) the Maurice River, middle segment,

19 from the drainage ditch just upstream of

20 Fralinger Farm to one-half mile upstream from

21 the United States Geological Survey Station at

22 Burcham Farm, approximately 3.1 miles, as a

23 recreational river;

24 (D) the Maurice River, upper segment,

25 from one-half mile upstream from the United

26 States Geological Survey Station at Burcham
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1 Farm to the south side of the Millville sewage

2 treatment plant, approximately 3.6 miles, as a

3 scenic river;

4 (E) the Menantico Creek, lower segment,

5 from its confluence with the Maurice River to

6 the Route 55 Bridge, approximately 1.4 miles,

7 as a recreational river;

8 (F) the Menantico Creek, upper segment,

9 from the Route 55 Bridge to the base of the

10 Impoundment at Menantico Lake, approxi11 mately 6.5 miles, as a scenic river;

12 (G) the Manumuskin River, lower segment,

13 from its confluence with the Maurice River to

14 2.0 miles upstream, as a recreational river;

15 (H) the Manumuskin River, upper seg16 ment, from 2.0 miles upstream from its con17 fluence with the Maurice River to headwaters

18 near Route 557, approximately 12.3 miles, as a

19 scenic river; and

20 (I) the Muskee Creek from its confluence

21 to the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Line

22 Railroad bridge, approximately 2.7 miles, as a

23 scenic river;

24 (2) a resource assessment of the Maurice River

25 and its tributaries, Menantico Creek, the
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1 Manumuskin River, and the Muskee Creek shows

2 that the area possesses numerous outstandingly re3 markable natural, cultural, scenic, and recreational

4 resources that are significant at the local, regional,

5 and international levels, including rare plant and

6 animal species and critical habitats for birds migrat7 ing to and from the north and south hemispheres;

8 and

9 (3) a river management plan for the river sys10 tem has been developed by the Cumberland County

11 Department of Planning and Development and

12 adopted by the Maurice River Township, Commer13 cial Township, and the City of Millville that would

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

15 and Scenic Rivers Act, the City of Vineland has

16 adopted a master plan which calls for river planning

17 and management and is in the process of adopting

18 zoning ordinances to implement their plan, and

19 Buena Vista Township in Atlantic County has

20 adopted a land use plan consistent with the Pine21 lands Comprehensive Plan which is more restrictive

22 than the Cumberland County local river manage23 ment plan.

24 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—
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1 (1) declare the importance and irreplaceable re2 source values of the Maurice River and its tribu3 taries to water quality, human health, traditional

4 economic activities, ecosystem integrity, biotic diver5 sity, fish and wildlife, scenic open space and recre6 ation and protect such values through designation of

7 the segments as components of the National Wild

8 and Scenic Rivers System; and

9 (2) recognize that the Maurice River System

10 will continue to be threatened by major development

11 and that land use regulations of the individual local

12 political jurisdictions through which the river seg13 ments pass cannot alone provide for an adequate

14 balance between conservation of the river’s resources

15 and commercial and industrial development; and

16 (3) recognize that segments of the Maurice

17 River and its tributaries additional to those des18 ignated under this Act are eligible for potential des19 ignation at some point in the near future.

20 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(a) of the Wild and Sce22 nic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding

23 the following new paragraphs at the end thereof:

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

25 From Route 670 Bridge at Mauricetown to 3.6 miles up-
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1 stream (at drainage ditch just upstream of Fralinger

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

3 Secretary of the Interior as a scenic river.

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

5 From the drainage ditch just upstream of Fralinger Farm

6 to one-half mile upstream from the United States Geologi7 cal Survey Station at Burcham Farm, approximately 3.1

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

9 as a recreational river.

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

11 From one-half mile upstream from the United States Geo12 logical Survey Station at Burcham Farm to the south side

13 of the Millville sewage treatment plant, approximately 3.6

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

15 as a scenic river.

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

17 From its confluence with the Maurice River to the Route

18 55 Bridge, approximately 1.4 miles, to be administered by

19 the Secretary of the Interior as a recreational river.

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

21 From the Route 55 Bridge to the base of the impound22 ment at Menantico Lake, approximately 6.5 miles, to be

23 administered by the Secretary of the Interior as a scenic

24 river.
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1 ‘‘( ) MANUMUSKIN RIVER, LOWER SEGMENT.—

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

3 miles upstream, to be administered by the Secretary of

4 the Interior as a recreational river.

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

6 From a point 2.0 miles upstream from its confluence with

7 the Maurice River to its headwaters near Route 557,

8 aproximately 12.3 miles, to be administered by the Sec9 retary of the Interior as a scenic river.

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

11 confluence with the Maurice River to the Pennsylvania

12 Seashore Line Railroad Bridge, approximately 2.7 miles,

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

14 scenic river.’’.

15 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT.

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

17 Interior shall manage the river segments designated as

18 components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys19 tem by this Act through cooperative agreements with the

20 political jurisdictions within which such segments pass,

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

22 Act, and in consultation with such jurisdictions, except

23 that publicly-owned lands within the boundaries of such

24 segments shall continue to be managed by the agency hav25 ing jurisdiction over such lands.
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1 (b) AGREEMENTS.—(1) Cooperative agreements for

2 management of the river segments referred to in sub3 section (a) shall provide for the long-term protection, pres4 ervation, and enhancement of such segments and shall be

5 consistent with the comprehensive management plan for

6 such segments to be prepared by the Secretary of the Inte7 rior pursuant to section 3(d) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers

8 Act and with the local river management plans prepared

9 by appropriate local political jurisdictions in conjunction

10 with the Secretary of the Interior.

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

12 appropriate representatives of local political jurisdictions

13 and the State of New Jersey, shall review local river man14 agement plans described in paragraph (1) to assure that

15 their proper implementation will protect the values for

16 which the river segments described in section 2 were des17 ignated as components of the National Wild and Scenic

18 Rivers System. If after such review the Secretary deter19 mines that such plans and their implementing local zoning

20 ordinances meet the protection standards specified in sec21 tion 6(c) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, then such

22 plans shall be deemed to constitute ‘‘local zoning ordi23 nances’’ and each township and other incorporated local

24 jurisdiction covered by such plans shall be deemed to con25 stitute a ‘‘village’’ for the purposes of section 6(c) (prohib-
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1 iting the acquisition of lands by condemnation) of the Wild

2 and Scenic Rivers Act.

3 (3) The Secretary of the Interior shall biennially re4 view compliance with the local river management plans de5 scribed in paragraph (1) and shall promptly report to the

6 Committee on Natural Resources of the United States

7 House of Representatives and to the Committee on En8 ergy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate

9 any deviation from such which would result in any diminu10 tion of the values for which the river segment concerned

11 was designated as a component of the National Wild and

12 Scenic Rivers System.

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

14 Interior may provide planning assistance to local political

15 subdivisions of the State of New Jersey through which

16 flow river segments that are designated as components of

17 the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and may

18 enter into memoranda of understanding or cooperative

19 agreements with officials or agencies of the United States

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

21 State programs that could affect such segments are car22 ried out in a manner consistent with the Wild and Scenic

23 Rivers Act and applicable river management plans.

24 (d) SEGMENT ADDITIONS.—The Secretary of the In25 terior is encouraged to continue to work with the local mu-
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1 nicipalities to negotiate agreement and support for des2 ignating those segments of the Maurice River and its trib3 utaries which were found eligible for designation pursuant

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

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

6 segments’’). For a period of 3 years after the date of en7 actment of this Act, the provisions of the Wild and Scenic

8 Rivers Act applicable to segments included in section 5

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

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

11 appropriate congressional committees within 3 years after

12 the date of enactment of this Act on the status of discus13 sions and negotiations with the local municipalities and

14 on recommendations toward inclusion of additional river

15 segments into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers

16 System.

17 (e) APPROPRIATIONS.—For the purposes of the seg18 ment described by subsection (a), there are authorized to

19 be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry

20 out the provisions of this Act.