I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1477
To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a portion of the
Columbia River as a recreational river, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 29, 1997
Mr. DICKS (for himself, Mr. ADAM SMITH of Washington, Mr. BLUMENAUER,
Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. DEFAZIO, and Ms. FURSE) introduced the follow-
ing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate
a portion of the Columbia River as a recreational river,
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. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) the 50-mile Handford Reach is the last free-
flowing nontidal segment of the Columbia River in
the United States and has been preserved in a rel-
atively natural condition because of its location with-
in the Hanford Nuclear Reservation;
(2) in 1988, Congress, in Public Law 100–605
(102 Stat. 3043), called for an analysis of protection
alternatives for the Hanford Reach and a report to
Congress by the Secretary of the Interior, who con-
cluded in the Hanford Reach Final Environmental
Impact Statement dated June 1994 that the Han-
ford Reach should be designated as a recreational
river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act;
(3) the Hanford Reach is a vital migration cor-
ridor for anadromous fish and contains some of the
most productive spawning areas in the Northwest
United States, producing an estimated 80 percent of
the Columbia Basin’s fall chinook salmon and
healthy runs of naturally spawning steelhead trout,
sturgeon, and other highly valued fish species;
(4) the Hanford Reach provides important habi-
tat for wintering and migrating waterfowl, bald ea-
gles, deer, elk, and a diversity of other wildlife, in-
cluding numerous Federal and State-listed threat-
ened and endangered plant and animal species, some
of which are found nowhere else;
(5) the White Bluffs and pristine conditions of
the Hanford Reach offer scenic beauty, opportunities
for solitude, and recreation, including hunting, fish-
ing, boating, hiking, swimming, and wildlife observa-
tion, in close proximity to the Tri-Cities area of the
State of Washington;
(6) the Hanford Reach and its salmon runs
have been important to mid-Columbia Native Ameri-
cans for subsistence, cultural, and religious purposes
for more than 10,000 years, and there are 150 reg-
istered archaeological sites in the area;
(7) the southern shore of the Hanford Reach
chronicles the history of the Manhattan Project, de-
fense nuclear production during the cold war, and
early Euro-American settlement of the area;
(8) the White Bluffs and adjacent shoreline
areas are a significant paleontological resource and
are rich with fossils remains from the Pliocene pe-
riod;
(9) protection of the Hanford Reach as a na-
tional wild and scenic river can enhance local reve-
nues from outdoor recreation and increase economic
investment in the Tri-Cities area by highlighting the
quality of life and natural amenities of the area;
(10) economic activities along the river corridor
in existence on the date of enactment of this Act,
such as agriculture, power production and trans-
mission, and water withdrawal, are compatible with
the recreational classification of the river, and the
classification made by this Act cannot be changed
except by a subsequent Act of Congress;
(11) designation of the Hanford Reach as a
wild and scenic river can facilitate, and make less
costly, the remediation of contaminated areas of the
Hanford Nuclear Reservation by determining future
land use within the river corridor and helping to en-
sure the Federal commitment to the cleanup of the
Hanford Site;
(12) the Hanford Reach has special significance
as an outdoor laboratory and classroom and offers
a singular opportunity for government agencies,
tribes, and community organizations to develop a
partnership around an education and interpretation
program focused on the area’s unique natural and
human history;
(13) the Columbia River shore immediately
downstream of the Hanford Reach in the Tri-Cities
area currently contains miles of high, steep levees
which create a sterile gauntlet through which mi-
grating anadromous fish must pass, and that flow
controls on the Columbia River have reduced the
need for levees of this height;
(14) modifying levees in the Tri-Cities area
could significantly improve the habitat value of this
transition area to the Hanford Reach for fish and
wildlife, decrease mortality of migratory fish and wa-
terfowl, and have the additional benefits of improv-
ing rivershore access, recreation, and aesthetics; and
(15) local jurisdictions in the Tri-Cities area
have expressed interest in a partnership with the
Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies to
study rivershore restoration in the Tri-Cities area
and develop a plan of action.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to protect the natural, cultural, scenic, and
recreational resources of the Hanford Reach of the
Columbia River;
(2) to encourage education and interpretation
of the Hanford Reach; and
(3) to restore and enhance the natural habitat
of the rivershore immediately downstream of the
Hanford Reach in the vicinity of the Tri-Cities area
of the State of Washington.
SEC. 3. COLUMBIA RIVER NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC
RIVER.
Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16
U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
community-based visitor and conven-
tion bureau.
‘‘(D) ACCESS
CORRIDORS.—Access cor-
ridors in existence on the date of enactment of
this paragraph shall be retained.
‘‘(E) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—The des-
ignation of the river segment shall not be con-
strued as—
‘‘(i) prohibiting or approving relicens-
ing of any hydroelectric facility by the Fed-
eral Energy Regulatory Commission;
‘‘(ii) affecting any law, agreement,
plan, or policy in effect on the date of en-
actment of this paragraph regarding water
rights or instream flows on the river seg-
ment;
‘‘(iii) prohibiting the operation or
maintenance of any energy, transmission,
water intake, or water outfall facility in ex-
istence on the date of enactment of this
paragraph;
‘‘(iv) prohibiting the modification, re-
pair, or replacement of any energy, trans-
mission, water intake, or water outfall fa-
cility so long as there is no substantial im-
pact on the natural, cultural, or scenic re-
sources of the river segment and adjacent
land area;
‘‘(v) establishing or imposing remedi-
ation requirements more restrictive than
those that would apply but for this para-
graph;
‘‘(vi) prohibiting construction of tem-
porary facilities essential to the remedi-
ation and restoration of contaminated
areas within the viewshed of the river seg-
ment; or
‘‘(vii) relieving the Secretary of En-
ergy from any obligation or other liability
at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation under
the Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the Solid
Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et
seq.), and other applicable law or imposing
any such obligation or other liability on the
Secretary of the Interior.
‘‘(F) RIVERSHORE RESTORATION AND EN-
HANCEMENT.—The Secretary of the Army, act-
ing through the Chief of Engineers of the Army
Corps of Engineers, in cooperation and coordi-
nation with the heads of other relevant Federal
agencies and State and local governments, shall
develop a comprehensive plan of improvement
for restoration and enhancement of fish and
wildlife habitat, recreation, river access, and
overall aesthetics of the levees and other
rivershore areas downstream of the river seg-
ment in the Tri-Cities area of the State of
Washington.
‘‘(G) SECTION 1135 PROJECTS.—The Sec-
retary of the Army, acting through the Chief of
Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers—
‘‘(i) subject to receipt of a statement
of interest from the non-Federal interests
for the following projects, shall, not later
than 180 days after the date of enactment
of this paragraph, complete a preliminary
restoration plan under section 1135 of the
Water Resources Development Act of 1986
(33 U.S.C. 2309a) for each of—
‘‘(I) a portion of the rivershore of
Clover Island and a portion of the
levee immediately upstream of Clover
Island;
‘‘(II) the rivershore immediately
upstream of the portion described in
subclause (I) in the city of Kennewick,
Washington, to United States Route
395 bridge;
‘‘(III) the levee modified in 1994
between road 39 and the United
States Route 395 bridge in Franklin
County, Washington; and
‘‘(IV) the levee between the
United States Route 395 bridge to the
area immediately downstream of the
10th Avenue bridge in the city of
Pasco, Washington;
‘‘(ii) shall consider each of the
projects described in subclauses (I), (II),
(III), and (IV) of clause (i) to be a sepa-
rate project for purposes of the program
under section 1135 of the Water Resources
Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C.
2309a); and
‘‘(iii) subject to receipt of necessary
commitments from the non-Federal inter-
ests for the projects, shall, not later than
18 months after the date of enactment of
this paragraph, complete a project modi-
fication report for each of the projects.’’.
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