I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 526 
To establish the Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor in the State of Georgia, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 14, 2009 
Mr. MARSHALL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To establish the Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor in 
the State of Georgia, 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 ‘‘Ocmulgee National 
Heritage Corridor Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Ocmulgee Heritage Corridor is centered 
on the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, a crossroads 
of history and geography, which divides two geo-
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graphic regions and creates two distinct ecosystems, 
the Piedmont Plateau and the Eastern Coastal 
Plain. The intersection of land and water transpor-
tation routes has fostered a continuum of human 
settlement that has endured more than 12,000 
years. 
(2) Macon, Georgia, has more acreage listed in 
the National Register than any other city in Geor-
gia, including fifty-four individual properties, ten 
National Register historic districts with more than 
5,500 contributing properties, and two National His-
toric Landmarks. 
(3) The Ocmulgee National Monument protects 
the remains of Native American settlements over a 
12,000-year period and has features and artifacts 
representing a long cultural continuum from early 
hunter-gatherers through the Civil War. 
(4) The Ocmulgee Old Fields, which consist of 
the Ocmulgee National Monument, Bond Swamp 
National Wildlife Refuge, Central City Park, and 
other private lands in the Ocmulgee floodplain have 
been determined eligible for listing in the National 
Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural 
Property. The Traditional Cultural Property deter-
mination is based on the area’s cultural and histor-
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ical significance in Native American heritage and its 
potential for yielding important information about 
the history of the Macon Plateau and Ocmulgee 
River. 
(5) The Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor 
has been proposed in order to heighten appreciation 
of the region, preserve its natural and historical re-
sources, and improve the quality of life and economy 
of the area. 
(6) Macon, Georgia has been designated as one 
of Georgia’s Preserve America Communities and one 
of the National Trust’s Dozen Distinctive Destina-
tions of 2004. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To establish the Ocmulgee National Herit-
age Corridor in the State of Georgia. 
(2) To implement the national heritage corridor 
alternative as described in the document entitled 
‘‘Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor Feasibility 
Study, September 2004’’. 
(3) To provide a management framework to 
foster a close working relationship among all levels 
of government, the private sector, and the local com-
munities in the Ocmulgee Heritage Corridor and to 
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conserve the region’s heritage while continuing to 
pursue compatible economic opportunities. 
(4) To assist communities, organizations, and 
citizens in the State of Georgia in identifying, pre-
serving, interpreting, and developing the historical, 
cultural, scenic, and natural resources of the region 
for the educational and inspirational benefit of cur-
rent and future generations. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) HERITAGE CORRIDOR.—The term ‘‘Herit-
age Corridor’’ means the Ocmulgee National Herit-
age Corridor, established in section 4. 
(2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 
‘‘Local Coordinating Entity’’ means the local coordi-
nating entity for the Heritage Corridor designated 
by section 4(d). 
(3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage-
ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 
Heritage Corridor specified in section 6. 
(4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map ti-
tled ‘‘Boundary Map Ocmulgee National Heritage 
Corridor—Alternative B’’ and dated September 
2004. 
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(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 
of Georgia. 
SEC. 4. OCMULGEE NATIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 
Ocmulgee National Heritage Corridor. 
(b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Corridor shall be 
comprised of the land and water within the boundaries of 
the Heritage Corridor, as depicted on the map, includ-
ing— 
(1) the City of Macon, Georgia; 
(2) Ocmulgee National Monument; and 
(3) the Ocmulgee River Corridor from Water 
Works to the Bond Swamp. 
(c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be on file 
and available for public inspection in the appropriate of-
fices of the National Park Service, Department of the In-
terior. 
(d) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Ocmulgee 
Heritage L.L.C. shall be the local coordinating entity for 
the Heritage Corridor. 
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SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE LOCAL COORDI-
NATING ENTITY. 
(a) DUTIES OF THE LOCAL COORDINATING ENTI-
TY.—To further the purposes of the Heritage Corridor, 
the local coordinating entity shall— 
(1) prepare and submit a management plan for 
the Heritage Corridor to the Secretary in accordance 
with section 6; 
(2) assist units of local government, regional 
planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 
in implementing the approved management plan 
by— 
(A) carrying out programs and projects 
that recognize, protect, and enhance important 
resource values within the Heritage Corridor; 
(B) establishing and maintaining interpre-
tive exhibits and programs within the Heritage 
Corridor; 
(C) developing recreational and educational 
opportunities in the Heritage Corridor; 
(D) increasing public awareness of and ap-
preciation for natural, historical, scenic, and 
cultural resources of the Heritage Corridor; 
(E) protecting and restoring historic sites 
and buildings in the Heritage Corridor that are 
consistent with Heritage Corridor themes; 
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(F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap-
propriate signs identifying points of public ac-
cess and sites of interest are posted throughout 
the Heritage Corridor; and 
(G) promoting a wide range of partner-
ships among governments, organizations, and 
individuals to further the purposes of the Herit-
age Corridor; 
(3) consider the interests of diverse units of 
government, businesses, organizations, and individ-
uals in the Heritage Corridor in the preparation and 
implementation of the management plan; 
(4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 
semiannually regarding the development and imple-
mentation of the management plan; 
(5) submit an annual report to the Secretary 
for any fiscal year in which the local coordinating 
entity receives Federal funds under this Act speci-
fying— 
(A) the specific performance goals and ac-
complishments of the local coordinating entity; 
(B) the expenses and income of the local 
coordinating entity; 
(C) the amounts and sources of matching 
funds; 
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(D) the amounts leveraged with Federal 
funds and sources of the leveraging; and 
(E) grants made to any other entities dur-
ing the fiscal year; 
(6) make available for audit for any fiscal year 
in which it receives Federal funds under this Act, all 
information pertaining to the expenditure of such 
funds and any matching funds, and require in all 
agreements authorizing expenditures of Federal 
funds by other organizations, that the receiving or-
ganizations make available for such audit all records 
and other information pertaining to the expenditure 
of such funds; and 
(7) encourage by appropriate means economic 
viability that is consistent with the purposes of the 
Heritage Corridor. 
(b) AUTHORITIES.—The local coordinating entity 
may, for the purposes of preparing and implementing the 
management plan for the Heritage Corridor, use Federal 
funds made available through this Act to— 
(1) make grants to the State of Georgia, its po-
litical subdivisions, nonprofit organizations, and 
other persons; 
(2) enter into cooperative agreements with or 
provide technical assistance to the State of Georgia, 
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its political jurisdictions, nonprofit organizations, 
Federal agencies, and other interested parties; 
(3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in-
clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 
and historical resources protection, economic and 
community development, and heritage planning; 
(4) obtain funds or services from any source in-
cluding any that are provided under any other Fed-
eral law or program; 
(5) contract for goods or services; and 
(6) support activities of partners and any other 
activities that further the purposes of the Heritage 
Corridor and is consistent with the approved man-
agement plan. 
(c) PROHIBITIONS ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL 
PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity may not use 
Federal funds received under this Act to acquire real prop-
erty, but may use any other source of funding, including 
other Federal funding outside this authority, intended for 
the acquisition of real property. 
SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The management plan for the 
Heritage Corridor shall— 
(1) include comprehensive policies, strategies, 
and recommendations for conservation, funding, 
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management, and development of the Heritage Cor-
ridor; 
(2) take into consideration existing State, coun-
ty, and local plans in the development of the man-
agement plan and its implementation; 
(3) include a description of actions that govern-
ments, private organizations, and individuals have 
agreed to take to protect the natural, historical, and 
cultural resources of the Heritage Corridor; 
(4) specify the existing and potential sources of 
funding or economic development strategies to pro-
tect, manage, and develop the Heritage Corridor; 
(5) include an inventory of the natural, histor-
ical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational 
resources of the Heritage Corridor related to the 
themes of the Heritage Corridor that should be pre-
served, restored, managed, developed, or maintained; 
(6) recommend policies and strategies for re-
source management that consider and detail the ap-
plication of appropriate land and water management 
techniques including, but not limited to, the develop-
ment of intergovernmental and interagency coopera-
tive agreements to protect the Heritage Corridor’s 
natural, historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and 
recreational resources; 
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(7) describe a program of implementation for 
the management plan including performance goals, 
plans for resource protection, restoration, interpreta-
tion, enhancement, management, and development, 
and specific commitments for implementation that 
have been made by the local coordinating entity or 
any government, organization, or individual; 
(8) include an analysis and recommendations 
for ways in which local, State, and Federal pro-
grams, including the role of the National Park Serv-
ice in the Heritage Corridor, may best be coordi-
nated to further the purposes of this Act; 
(9) include an interpretive plan for the Heritage 
Corridor; and 
(10) include a business plan that— 
(A) describes the role, operation, financing, 
and functions of the local coordinating entity 
and of each of the major activities contained in 
the management plan; and 
(B) provides adequate assurances that the 
local coordinating entity has the partnerships 
and financial and other resources necessary to 
implement the management plan for the Herit-
age Corridor. 
(b) DEADLINE AND TERMINATION OF FUNDING.— 
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(1) DEADLINE.—The local coordinating entity 
shall submit the management plan to the Secretary 
for approval not later than 3 years after funds are 
made available for this Act. 
(2) TERMINATION OF FUNDING.—If the man-
agement plan is not submitted to the Secretary in 
accordance with this subsection, the local coordi-
nating entity shall not qualify for Federal funding 
under this Act until such time as the management 
plan is submitted to and approved by the Secretary. 
SEC. 7. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY. 
(a) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may, upon 
the request of the local coordinating entity, provide 
technical and financial assistance on a reimbursable 
or nonreimbursable basis (as determined by the Sec-
retary) to the Heritage Corridor to develop and im-
plement the approved management plan. The Sec-
retary is authorized to enter into cooperative agree-
ments with the local coordinating entity and other 
public or private entities for this purpose. 
(2) PRIORITY ACTIONS.—In assisting the Herit-
age Corridor, the Secretary shall give priority to ac-
tions that in general assist in— 
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(A) conserving the significant natural, his-
torical, cultural, and scenic resources of the 
Heritage Corridor; and 
(B) providing educational, interpretive, and 
recreational opportunities consistent with the 
purposes of the Heritage Corridor. 
(b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT 
PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall approve 
or disapprove the management plan not later than 
180 days after receiving the management plan. 
(2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 
the approval of the management plan, the Secretary 
shall consider whether— 
(A) the local coordinating entity is rep-
resentative of the diverse interests of the Herit-
age Corridor including governments, natural 
and historic resource protection organizations, 
educational institutions, businesses, and rec-
reational organizations; 
(B) the local coordinating entity has af-
forded adequate opportunity, including public 
hearings, for public and governmental involve-
ment in the preparation of the management 
plan; 
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(C) the resource protection and interpreta-
tion strategies contained in the management 
plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 
the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 
the Heritage Corridor; 
(D) the Secretary has received adequate 
assurances from the appropriate State and local 
officials whose support is needed to ensure the 
effective implementation of the State and local 
aspects of the management plan; and 
(E) the local coordinating entity has dem-
onstrated the financial capability, in partner-
ship with others, to carry out the plan. 
(3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 
Secretary disapproves the management plan, the 
Secretary shall advise the local coordinating entity in 
writing of the reasons that the management plan 
was disapproved and shall make recommendations 
for revisions to the management plan. The Secretary 
shall approve or disapprove a proposed revision with-
in 180 days after the date it is submitted. 
(4) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—Substantial 
amendments to the management plan shall be re-
viewed by the Secretary and approved in the same 
manner as provided for the original management 
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plan. The local coordinating entity shall not use 
Federal funds authorized by this Act to implement 
any amendments until the Secretary has approved 
the amendments. 
SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au-
thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan-
cial assistance under any other law. 
(b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 
of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 
may have an impact on the Heritage Corridor is encour-
aged to consult and coordinate the activities with the Sec-
retary and the local coordinating entity to the maximum 
extent practicable. 
(c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 
Act— 
(1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu-
lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed-
eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen-
cy; 
(2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man-
ager to implement an approved land use plan within 
the boundaries of the Heritage Corridor; or 
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(3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 
use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed-
eral agency. 
SEC. 9. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC-
TIONS. 
Nothing in this Act— 
(1) abridges the rights of any property owner 
(whether public or private), including the right to re-
frain from participating in any plan, project, pro-
gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage Cor-
ridor; 
(2) requires any property owner to permit pub-
lic access (including access by Federal, State, or 
local agencies) to the property of the property 
owner, or to modify public access or use of property 
of the property owner under any other Federal, 
State, or local law; 
(3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 
approved land use plan, or other regulatory author-
ity of any Federal, State, or local agency, or conveys 
any land use or other regulatory authority to any 
local coordinating entity; 
(4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap-
propriation of water or water rights; 
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(5) diminishes the authority of the State to 
manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 
fishing and hunting within the Heritage Corridor; or 
(6) creates any liability, or affects any liability 
under any other law, or any private property owner 
with respect to any person injured on the private 
property. 
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated for the purposes of this Act not more than 
$1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Not more than a total of 
$10,000,000 may be appropriated for the Heritage Cor-
ridor under this Act. 
(b) MATCHING FUNDS.—Federal funding provided 
under this Act may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost 
of any assistance or grant provided or authorized under 
this Act. 
SEC. 11. SUNSET. 
The authority of the Secretary to provide financial 
assistance under this Act shall terminate on the day occur-
ring 15 years after the date of the enactment of the Act. 
Æ 
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