I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 706 
To establish the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, to dedicate 
the Park to John H. Chafee, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 14, 2013 
Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. NEAL) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To establish the Blackstone River Valley National Historical 
Park, to dedicate the Park to John H. Chafee, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blackstone River Val-
ley National Historical Park Establishment Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to establish the Blackstone 
River Valley National Historical Park— 
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(1) to help preserve, protect, and interpret the 
nationally significant resources that exemplify the 
industrial heritage of the Blackstone River Valley 
for the benefit and inspiration of future generations; 
(2) to support the preservation, protection, and 
interpretation of the urban, rural, and agricultural 
landscape features (including the Blackstone River 
and Canal) of the region that provide an overarching 
context for the industrial heritage of the Blackstone 
River Valley; 
(3) to educate the public about— 
(A) the nationally significant sites and dis-
tricts that convey the industrial history of the 
Blackstone River Valley; and 
(B) the significance of the Blackstone 
River Valley to the past and present of the 
United States; and 
(4) to support and enhance the network of part-
ners in the protection, improvement, management, 
and operation of related resources and facilities 
throughout the John H. Chafee Blackstone River 
Valley National Heritage Corridor. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) 
NATIONAL
HERITAGE
CORRIDOR.—The 
term ‘‘National Heritage Corridor’’ means the John 
H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Herit-
age Corridor. 
(2) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Black-
stone River Valley National Historical Park estab-
lished under section 4. 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(4) STATES.—The term ‘‘States’’ means— 
(A) the State of Massachusetts; and 
(B) the State of Rhode Island. 
SEC. 4. BLACKSTONE RIVER VALLEY NATIONAL HISTOR-
ICAL PARK. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
States a unit of the National Park System, to be known 
as the ‘‘Blackstone River Valley National Historical 
Park’’. 
(b) HISTORIC SITES
AND DISTRICTS.—The Park 
shall include— 
(1) Blackstone River State Park; and 
(2) the following resources, as described in 
Management Option 3 of the study entitled ‘‘Black-
stone River Valley Special Resource Study—Study 
Report 2011’’: 
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(A) Old Slater Mill National Historic 
Landmark District. 
(B) Slatersville Historic District. 
(C) Ashton Historic District. 
(D) Whitinsville Historic District. 
(E) Hopedale Village Historic District. 
(F) Blackstone River and the tributaries of 
Blackstone River. 
(G) Blackstone Canal. 
(c) ACQUISITION OF LAND; PARK BOUNDARY.— 
(1) LAND
ACQUISITION.—The Secretary may 
acquire land or interests in land that are considered 
contributing historic resources in the historic sites 
and districts described in subsection (b)(2) for inclu-
sion in the Park boundary by donation, purchase 
from a willing seller with donated or appropriated 
funds, or exchange. 
(2) PARK BOUNDARY.—On a determination by 
the Secretary that a sufficient quantity of land or 
interests in land has been acquired to constitute a 
manageable park unit, the Secretary shall establish 
a boundary for the Park by publishing a boundary 
map in the Federal Register. 
(3) OTHER
RESOURCES.—The Secretary may 
include in the Park boundary any resources that are 
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the subject of an agreement with the States or a 
subdivision of the States entered into under sub-
section (d)(4). 
(4) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—On the acquisi-
tion of additional land or interests in land under 
paragraph (1), or on entering an agreement under 
paragraph (3), the boundary of the Park shall be ad-
justed to reflect the acquisition or agreement by 
publishing a Park boundary map in the Federal 
Register. 
(5) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The maps referred 
to in this subsection shall be available for public in-
spection in the appropriate offices of the National 
Park Service. 
(6) ADMINISTRATIVE
FACILITIES.—The Sec-
retary may acquire not more than 10 acres in 
Woonsocket, Rhode Island for the development of 
administrative, curatorial, maintenance, or visitor fa-
cilities for the Park. 
(7) LIMITATION.—Land owned by the States or 
a political subdivision of the States may be acquired 
under this subsection only by donation. 
(d) ADMINISTRATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin-
ister land within the boundary of the Park in ac-
cordance with— 
(A) this section; and 
(B) the laws generally applicable to units 
of the National Park System, including— 
(i) the National Park Service Organic 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and 
(ii) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 
U.S.C. 461 et seq.). 
(2) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date on which funds are made avail-
able to carry out this section, the Secretary 
shall prepare a general management plan for 
the Park— 
(i) in consultation with the States and 
other interested parties; and 
(ii) in accordance with section 12(b) 
of the National Park System General Au-
thorities Act (16 U.S.C. 1a–7(b)). 
(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall con-
sider ways to use preexisting or planned visitor 
facilities and recreational opportunities devel-
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oped in the National Heritage Corridor, includ-
ing— 
(i) the Blackstone Valley Visitor Cen-
ter, Pawtucket, Rhode Island; 
(ii) the Captain Wilbur Kelly House, 
Blackstone River State Park, Lincoln, 
Rhode Island; 
(iii) the Museum of Work and Cul-
ture, Woonsocket, Rhode Island; 
(iv) the River Bend Farm/Blackstone 
River and Canal Heritage State Park, 
Uxbridge, Massachusetts; 
(v) the Worcester Blackstone Visitor 
Center, located at the former Washburn & 
Moen wire mill facility, Worcester, Massa-
chusetts; 
(vi) the Route 295 Visitor Center ad-
jacent to Blackstone River State Park; and 
(vii) the Blackstone River Bikeway. 
(3) RELATED SITES.—The Secretary may pro-
vide technical assistance, visitor services, interpretive 
tours, and educational programs to sites and re-
sources in the National Heritage Corridor that are 
located outside the boundary of the Park and associ-
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ated with the purposes for which the Park is estab-
lished. 
(4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—To further the pur-
poses of this section and notwithstanding chap-
ter 63 of title 31, United States Code, the Sec-
retary may enter into cooperative agreements 
with the States, political subdivisions of the 
States, 
nonprofit 
organizations 
(including 
Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Cor-
ridor, Inc.), and other interested parties— 
(i) to provide technical assistance, in-
terpretation, and educational programs in 
the historic sites and districts described in 
subsection (b)(2); and 
(ii) subject to the availability of ap-
propriations and subparagraphs (B) and 
(C), to provide not more than 50 percent 
of the cost of any natural, historic, or cul-
tural resource protection project in the 
Park that is consistent with the general 
management plan prepared under para-
graph (2). 
(B) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a con-
dition of the receipt of funds under subpara-
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graph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall require that 
any Federal funds made available under a coop-
erative agreement entered into under this para-
graph are to be matched on a 1-to-1 basis by 
non-Federal funds. 
(C) 
REIMBURSEMENT.—Any 
payment 
made by the Secretary under subparagraph 
(A)(ii) shall be subject to an agreement that the 
conversion, use, or disposal of the project for 
purposes that are inconsistent with the pur-
poses of this section, as determined by the Sec-
retary, shall result in a right of the United 
States to reimbursement of the greater of— 
(i) the amount provided by the Sec-
retary to the project under subparagraph 
(A)(ii); or 
(ii) an amount equal to the increase in 
the value of the project that is attributable 
to the funds, as determined by the Sec-
retary at the time of the conversion, use, 
or disposal. 
(D) PUBLIC
ACCESS.—Any cooperative 
agreement entered into under this paragraph 
shall provide for reasonable public access to the 
resources covered by the cooperative agreement. 
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(e) DEDICATION; MEMORIAL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Congress dedicates the Park 
to John H. Chafee, the former United States Sen-
ator from Rhode Island, in recognition of— 
(A) the role of John H. Chafee in the pres-
ervation of the resources of the Blackstone 
River Valley and the heritage corridor that 
bears the name of John H. Chafee; and 
(B) the decades of the service of John H. 
Chafee to the people of Rhode Island and the 
United States. 
(2) MEMORIAL.—The Secretary shall display a 
memorial at an appropriate location in the Park that 
recognizes the role of John H. Chafee in preserving 
the resources of the Blackstone River Valley for the 
people of the United States. 
SEC. 5. JOHN H. CHAFEE BLACKSTONE RIVER VALLEY NA-
TIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR AMENDMENTS. 
Public Law 99–647 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; 100 Stat. 
3625) is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence of section 2 (110 Stat. 
4202), by striking ‘‘the map entitled ‘Blackstone 
River Valley National Heritage Corridor Boundary 
Map’, numbered BRV–80–80,011, and dated May 2, 
1993’’ and inserting ‘‘the map entitled ‘John H. 
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Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage 
Corridor—Proposed 
Boundary’, 
numbered 
022/ 
111530, and dated November 10, 2011’’; 
(2) in section 7 (120 Stat. 1858, 125 Stat. 
155)— 
(A) in the section heading, by striking 
‘‘termination of commission’’ and inserting 
‘‘termination of commission; designation of local 
coordinating entity’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.— 
‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Blackstone River 
Valley National Heritage Corridor, Inc., shall be the 
local coordinating entity for the Corridor (referred to 
in this section as the ‘local coordinating entity’). 
‘‘(2) 
IMPLEMENTATION
OF
MANAGEMENT 
PLAN.—The local coordinating entity shall assume 
the duties of the Commission for the implementation 
of the Cultural Heritage and Land Management 
Plan developed and approved under section 6. 
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‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—For the purposes of carrying 
out the management plan, the local coordinating entity 
may use amounts made available under this Act— 
‘‘(1) to make grants to the States of Massachu-
setts and Rhode Island (referred to in this section 
as the ‘States’), political subdivisions of the States, 
nonprofit organizations, and other persons; 
‘‘(2) to enter into cooperative agreements with 
or provide technical assistance to the States, political 
subdivisions of the States, nonprofit organizations, 
Federal agencies, and other interested parties; 
‘‘(3) to hire and compensate staff, including in-
dividuals with expertise in— 
‘‘(A) natural, historical, cultural, edu-
cational, scenic, and recreational resource con-
servation; 
‘‘(B) economic and community develop-
ment; or 
‘‘(C) heritage planning; 
‘‘(4) to obtain funds or services from any 
source, including funds and services provided under 
any other Federal law or program; 
‘‘(5) to contract for goods or services; and 
‘‘(6) to support activities of partners and any 
other activities that further the purposes of the Cor-
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ridor and are consistent with the approved manage-
ment plan.’’; 
(3) in section 8 (120 Stat. 1858)— 
(A) in subsection (b)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—Notwith-
standing chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, 
the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements 
with the local coordinating entity designated by 
paragraph (1) and other public or private entities 
for the purpose of— 
‘‘(A) providing technical assistance; or 
‘‘(B) implementing the plan under section 
6(c).’’; and 
(B) by striking subsection (d) and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(d) 
TRANSITION
MEMORANDUM
OF
UNDER-
STANDING.—The Secretary shall enter into a memo-
randum of understanding with the local coordinating enti-
ty to ensure— 
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‘‘(1) the appropriate transition of management 
of the Corridor from the Commission to the local co-
ordinating entity; and 
‘‘(2) coordination regarding the implementation 
of the Cultural Heritage and Land Management 
Plan.’’; 
(4) in section 10 (120 Stat. 1858)— 
(A) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘for each 
year in which the Commission is in existence’’ 
and replace with ‘‘until September 30, 2016’’; 
and 
(B) by striking subsection (c); and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 11. REFERENCES TO THE CORRIDOR, INC. 
‘‘For purposes of sections 6, 8, 9 and 10 (other than 
section 8(d)(1)), a reference to the ‘Commission’ shall be 
considered to be a reference to the local coordinating enti-
ty.’’. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as are necessary to carry out sections 2 through 4. 
Æ 
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