IB
Union Calendar No. 421
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2833
[Report No. 106–740]
To establish the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
Mr. PASTOR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
JULY 17, 2000
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 9, 1999]
A BILL
To establish the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; DEFINITIONS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Act of 2000’’.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:
(1) HERITAGE
AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage
Area’’ means the Yuma Crossing National Heritage
Area established in section 3.
(2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘manage-
ment entity’’ shall mean the Yuma Crossing National
Heritage Area Board of Directors referred to section
3(c).
(3) MANAGEMENT
PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage-
ment plan’’ shall mean the management plan for the
Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) Certain events that led to the establishment
of the Yuma Crossing as a natural crossing place on
the Colorado River and to its development as an im-
portant landmark in America’s westward expansion
during the mid-19th century are of national historic
and cultural significance in terms of their contribu-
tion to the development of the new United States of
America.
(2) It is in the national interest to promote, pre-
serve, and protect physical remnants of a community
with almost 500 years of recorded history which has
outstanding cultural, historic, and architectural value
for the education and benefit of present and future
generations.
(3) The designation of the Yuma Crossing as a
national heritage area would preserve Yuma’s history
and provide related educational opportunities, pro-
vide recreational opportunities, preserve natural re-
sources, and improve the city and county of Yuma’s
ability to serve visitors and enhance the local econ-
omy through the completion of the major projects
identified within the Yuma Crossing National Herit-
age Area.
(4) The Department of the Interior is responsible
for protecting the Nation’s cultural and historic re-
sources. There are significant examples of these re-
sources within the Yuma region to merit the involve-
ment of the Federal Government in developing pro-
grams and projects, in cooperation with the Yuma
Crossing National Heritage Area and other local and
governmental bodies, to adequately conserve, protect,
and interpret this heritage for future generations
while providing opportunities for education, revital-
ization, and economic development.
(5) The city of Yuma, the Arizona State Parks
Board, agencies of the Federal Government, corporate
entities, and citizens have completed a study and
master plan for the Yuma Crossing to determine the
extent of its historic resources, preserve and interpret
these historic resources, and assess the opportunities
available to enhance the cultural experience for re-
gion’s visitors and residents.
(6) The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area
Board of Directors would be an appropriate manage-
ment entity for a heritage area established in the re-
gion.
(b) PURPOSE.—The objectives of the Yuma Crossing
National Heritage Area are as follows:
(1) To recognize the role of the Yuma Crossing
in the development of the United States, with par-
ticular emphasis on the roll of the crossing as an im-
portant landmark in the westward expansion during
the mid-19th century.
(2) To promote, interpret, and develop the phys-
ical and recreational resources of the communities
surrounding the Yuma Crossing, which has almost
500 years of recorded history and outstanding cul-
tural, historic, and architectural assets, for the edu-
cation and benefit of present and future generations.
(3) To foster a close working relationship with
all levels of government, the private sector, and the
local communities in the Yuma community and em-
power the community to conserve its heritage while
continuing to pursue economic opportunities.
(4) To provide recreational opportunities for
visitors to the Yuma Crossing and preserve natural
resources within the Heritage Area.
(5) To improve the Yuma region’s ability to
serve visitors and enhance the local economy through
the completion of the major projects identified within
the Heritage Area.
SEC. 3. YUMA CROSSING NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established the
Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.
(b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall be com-
prised of those portions of the Yuma region totaling ap-
proximately 21 square miles, encompassing over 150 identi-
fied historic, geologic, and cultural resources, and
bounded—
(1) on the west, by the Colorado River (including
the crossing point of the Army of the West);
(2) on the east, by Avenue 7E;
(3) on the north, by the Colorado River; and
(4) on the south, by the 12th Street alignment.
(c) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The management entity
for the Heritage Area shall be the Yuma Crossing National
Heritage Area Board of Directors which shall include rep-
resentatives from a broad cross-section of the individuals,
agencies, organizations, and governments that were in-
volved in the planning and development of the Heritage
Area before the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. COMPACT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes of this
Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall enter into a compact
with the management entity.
(b) COMPONENTS OF COMPACT.—The compact shall
include information relating to the objectives and manage-
ment of the Heritage Area, including each of the following:
(1) A discussion of the goals and objects of the
Heritage Area.
(2) An explanation of the proposed approach to
conservation and interpretation of the Heritage Area.
(3) A general outline of the protection measures
to which the management entity commits.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT
ENTITY.
(a) AUTHORITIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—
The management entity may, for purposes of preparing and
implementing the management plan, use funds made avail-
able through this Act for the following:
(1) To make grants to, and enter into coopera-
tive agreements with, States and their political sub-
divisions, private organizations, or any person.
(2) To hire and compensate staff.
(3) To enter into contracts for goods and serv-
ices.
(b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Taking into consideration ex-
isting State, county, and local plans, the management
entity shall develop a management plan for the Herit-
age Area.
(2) CONTENTS.—The management plan required
by this subsection shall include—
(A) comprehensive recommendations for
conservation, funding, management, and devel-
opment of the Heritage Area;
(B) actions to be undertaken by units of
government and private organizations to protect
the resources of the Heritage Area;
(C) a list of specific existing and potential
sources of funding to protect, manage, and de-
velop the Heritage Area;
(D) an inventory of the resources contained
in the Heritage Area, including a list of any
property in the Heritage Area that is related to
the themes of the Heritage Area and that should
be preserved, restored, managed, developed, or
maintained because of its natural, cultural, his-
toric, recreational, or scenic significance;
(E) a recommendation of policies for re-
source management which considers and details
application of appropriate land and water man-
agement techniques, including the development of
intergovernmental cooperative agreements to pro-
tect the historical, cultural, recreational, and
natural resources of the Heritage Area in a man-
ner consistent with supporting appropriate and
compatible economic viability;
(F) a program for implementation of the
management plan by the management entity, in-
cluding plans for restoration and construction,
and specific commitments of the identified part-
ners for the first 5 years of operation;
(G) an analysis of ways in which local,
State, and Federal programs may best be coordi-
nated to promote the purposes of this Act; and
(H) an interpretation plan for the Heritage
Area.
(3) SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY.—The manage-
ment entity shall submit the management plan to the
Secretary for approval not later than 3 years after
the date of enactment of this Act. If a management
plan is not submitted to the Secretary as required
within the specified time, the Heritage Area shall no
longer qualify for Federal funding.
(c) DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—In addition to
its duties under subsection (b), the management entity
shall—
(1) give priority to implementing actions set
forth in the compact and management plan, includ-
ing steps to assist units of government, regional plan-
ning organizations, and nonprofit organizations in
preserving the Heritage Area;
(2) assist units of government, regional planning
organizations, and nonprofit organizations with—
(A) establishing and maintaining interpre-
tive exhibits in the Heritage Area;
(B) developing recreational resources in the
Heritage Area;
(C) increasing public awareness of and ap-
preciation for the natural, historical, and archi-
tectural resources and sites in the Heritage Area;
(D) restoring any historic building relating
to the themes of the Heritage Area; and
(E) ensuring that clear, consistent, and en-
vironmentally appropriate signs identifying ac-
cess points and sites of interest are put in place
throughout the Heritage Area;
(3) encourage, by appropriate means, economic
viability in the Heritage Area consistent with the
goals of the management plan;
(4) encourage local governments to adopt land
use policies consistent with the management of the
Heritage Area and the goals of the management plan;
(5) consider the interests of diverse governmental,
business, and nonprofit groups within the Heritage
Area;
(6) conduct public meetings at least quarterly re-
garding the implementation of the management plan;
and
(7) for any year in which Federal funds have
been received under this Act, make available for audit
all records pertaining to the expenditure of such funds
and any matching funds, and require, for all agree-
ments authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by
other organizations, that the receiving organizations
make available for audit all records pertaining to the
expenditure of such funds.
(d) PROHIBITION
ON
THE ACQUISITION
OF REAL
PROPERTY.—The management entity may not use Federal
funds received under this Act to acquire real property or
an interest in real property. Nothing in this Act shall pre-
clude any management entity from using Federal funds
from other sources for their permitted purposes.
(e) SPENDING FOR NON-FEDERALLY OWNED PROP-
ERTY.—The management entity may spend Federal funds
directly on non-federally owned property to further the pur-
poses of this Act, especially in assisting units of government
in appropriate treatment of districts, sites, buildings, struc-
tures, and objects listed or eligible for listing on the Na-
tional Register of Historic Places.
SEC. 6. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.
(a) TECHNICAL
AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The
Secretary may, upon request of the management entity,
provide technical and financial assistance to the manage-
ment entity to develop and implement the management
plan. In assisting the management entity, the Secretary
shall give priority to actions that in general assist in—
(1) conserving the significant natural, historic,
and cultural resources which support the themes of the
Heritage Area; and
(2) providing educational, interpretive, and rec-
reational opportunities consistent with resources and
associated values of the Heritage Area.
(b) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT
PLAN.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Yuma
Crossing National Heritage Area Board of Directors, shall
approve or disapprove the management plan submitted
under this Act not later than 90 days after receiving such
management plan.
(c) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the Sec-
retary disapproves a submitted compact or management
plan, the Secretary shall advise the management entity in
writing of the reasons therefor and shall make recommenda-
tions for revisions in the management plan. The Secretary
shall approve or disapprove a proposed revision within 90
days after the date it is submitted.
(d) APPROVING AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary shall
review substantial amendments to the management plan for
the Heritage Area. Funds appropriated pursuant to this
Act may not be expended to implement the changes made
by such amendments until the Secretary approves the
amendments.
(e) DOCUMENTATION.—Subject to the availability of
funds, the Historic American Building Survey/Historic
American Engineering Record shall conduct those studies
necessary to document the cultural, historic, architectural,
and natural resources of the Heritage Area.
SEC. 7. SUNSET.
The Secretary may not make any grant or provide any
assistance under this Act after September 30, 2015.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated under 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 Area under this Act.
(b) 50 PERCENT MATCH.—Federal funding provided
under this Act, after the designation of the Heritage Area,
may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of any assistance
or grant provided or authorized under this Act.