I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2473
To authorize funding within the Department of the Interior to implement
the plan of the Steel Industry Heritage Project, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 12, 1995
Mr. COYNE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
A BILL
To authorize funding within the Department of the Interior
to implement the plan of the Steel Industry Heritage
Project, 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 ‘‘Steel Industry Amer-
ican Heritage Area Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the industrial and cultural heritage of
southwestern Pennsylvania, including the city of
Pittsburgh, and the counties of Allegheny, Arm-
strong, Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Washington, and
Westmoreland, related directly to steel and steel-re-
lated industries, is nationally significant;
(2) these industries include steelmaking, iron
making, aluminum, specialty metals, glass, coal min-
ing, coke production, machining and foundries,
transportation, and electrical industries;
(3) the industrial and cultural heritage of the
steel and related industries in this region includes
the social history and living cultural traditions of the
people of the region;
(4) the labor movement of the region played a
significant role in the development of the Nation, in-
cluding the formation of many key unions such as
the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and
the United Steel Workers of America (USWA), and
crucial struggles to improve wages and working con-
ditions, such as the Rail Strike of 1877, the Home-
stead Strike of 1892, and the Great Steel Strike of
1919;
(5) the Department of the Interior is respon-
sible for protecting the Nation’s cultural and historic
resources, and there are significant examples of
these resources, within this seven-county region to
merit the involvement of the Federal Government to
develop programs and projects, in cooperation with
the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation, the Com-
monwealth of Pennsylvania, and other local and gov-
ernmental bodies, to adequately conserve, protect,
and interpret this heritage for future generations,
while providing opportunities for education and revi-
talization; and
(6) the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation
would be an appropriate management entity for a
Heritage Area established in the region.
(b) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—The objectives of the
Steel Industry American Heritage Area are—
(1) to foster a close working relationship with
all levels of government, the private sector, and the
local communities in the steel industry region of
southwestern Pennsylvania and empower the com-
munities to conserve their heritage while continuing
to pursue economic opportunities; and
(2) to conserve, interpret, and develop the his-
torical, cultural, natural, and recreational resources
related to the industrial and cultural heritage of the
seven-county region of southwestern Pennsylvania.
clude actions to be undertaken by units of government and
private organizations to protect the resources of the Herit-
age Area. It shall specify the existing and potential
sources of funding to protect, manage, and develop the
Heritage Area. Such plan shall include specifically as ap-
propriate the following:
(1) 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, historic, recreational, or sce-
nic significance.
(2) A recommendation of policies for resource
management which consider and detail application of
appropriate land and water management techniques,
including but not limited to, the development of
intergovernmental cooperative agreements to protect
the Heritage Area’s historical, cultural, recreational,
and natural resources in a manner consistent with
supporting appropriate and compatible economic via-
bility.
(3) A program for implementation of the man-
agement plan by the management entity, including
plans for restoration and construction, and specific
commitments of the identified partners for the first
5 years of operation.
(4) An analysis of ways in which local, State,
and Federal programs may best be coordinated to
promote the purposes of the Act.
(5) An interpretation plan for the Heritage
Area.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT EN-
TITY.
(a) AUTHORITIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—
The management entity may, for purposes of preparing
and implementing the management plan under section 5,
use Federal funds made available through this Act—
(1) to make loans and grants to, and enter into
cooperative agreements with, States and their politi-
cal subdivisions, private organizations, or any per-
son; and
(2) to hire and compensate staff.
(b) DUTIES OF THE MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The
management entity shall—
(1) develop and submit to the Secretary for ap-
proval a management plan as described in section 5
within 3 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act;
(2) give priority to implementing actions set
forth in the compact and the management plan, in-
cluding taking steps to—
(A) assist units of government, regional
planning organizations, and nonprofit organiza-
tions in preserving the Heritage Area;
(B) assist units of government, regional
planning organizations, and nonprofit organiza-
tions in establishing, and maintaining interpre-
tive exhibits in the Heritage Area;
(C) assist units of government, regional
planning organizations, and nonprofit organiza-
tions in developing recreational resources in the
Heritage Area;
(D) assist units of government, regional
planning organizations, and nonprofit organiza-
tions in increasing public awareness of and ap-
preciation for the natural, historical and archi-
tectural resources and sites in the Heritage
Area;
(E) assist units of government, regional
planning organizations and nonprofit organiza-
tions in the restoration of any historic building
relating to the themes of the Heritage Area;
(F) encourage by appropriate means eco-
nomic viability in the Heritage Area consistent
with the goals of the plan;
(G) encourage local governments to adopt
land use policies consistent with the manage-
ment of the Heritage Area and the goals of the
plan; and
(H) assist units of government, regional
planning organizations and nonprofit organiza-
tions to ensure that clear, consistent, and envi-
ronmentally appropriate signs identifying access
points and sites of interest are put in place
throughout the Heritage Area;
(3) consider the interests of diverse govern-
mental, business, and nonprofit groups within the
Heritage Area;
(4) conduct public meetings at least quarterly
regarding the implementation of the management
plan;
(5) submit substantial changes (including any
increase of more than 20 percent in the cost esti-
mates for implementation) to the management plan
to the Secretary for the Secretary’s approval;
(6) for any year in which Federal funds have
been received under this Act, submit an annual re-
port to the Secretary setting forth its accomplish-
ments, its expenses and income, and the entity to
which any loans and grants were made during the
year for which the report is made; 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 agreements authorizing expenditure of Federal
funds by other organizations, that the receiving or-
ganizations make available for audit all records per-
taining to the expenditure of such funds.
If a management plan is not submitted to the Secretary
as required under paragraph (1) within the specified time,
the Heritage Area shall no longer qualify for Federal
funding.
(c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL
PROPERTY.—The management entity may not use Fed-
eral funds received under this Act to acquire real property
or an interest in real property. Nothing in this Act shall
preclude any management entity from using Federal funds
from other sources for their permitted purposes.
(d) ELIGIBILITY FOR RECEIVING FINANCIAL ASSIST-
ANCE.—
(1) ELIGIBILITY.—The 
management 
entity
shall be eligible to receive funds appropriated
through this Act for a period of 13 years after the
day on which the compact under section 4 is signed
by the Secretary and the management entity, except
as provided in paragraph (2).
(2) EXCEPTION.—The management entity’s eli-
gibility for funding under this Act may be extended
for a period of not more than 5 additional years,
if—
(A) the management entity determine such
extension is necessary in order to carry out the
purposes of this Act and notify the Secretary
not later than 180 days prior to the termination
date;
(B) the management entity, not later than
180 days prior to the termination date, present
to the Secretary a plan of their activities for the
period of the extension, including provisions for
becoming independent of the funds made avail-
able through this Act; and
(C) the Secretary, with the advice of the
Governor of Pennsylvania approves such exten-
sion of funding.
SEC. 7. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.
(a) DUTIES
AND
AUTHORITIES
OF
THE
SEC-
RETARY.—
(1) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may,
upon request of the management entity, provide
technical and financial assistance to the Herit-
age Area to develop and implement the manage-
ment plan. In assisting the Heritage Area, the
Secretary shall give priority to actions that in
general assist in—
(i) conserving the significant natural,
historic, and cultural resources which sup-
port its themes; and
(ii) providing educational, interpretive,
and recreational opportunities consistent
with its resources and associated values.
(B) 
SPENDING
FOR
NONFEDERALLY
OWNED PROPERTY.—The Secretary may spend
Federal funds directly on nonfederally owned
property to further the purposes of this Act, es-
pecially in assisting units of government in ap-
propriate treatment of districts, sites, buildings,
structures, and objects listed or eligible for list-
ing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Historic American Building Survey/His-
toric American Engineering Record shall con-
duct those studies necessary to document the
industrial, engineering, building, and architec-
tural history of the region.
(2) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF COMPACTS
AND MANAGEMENT PLANS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con-
sultation with the Governor of Pennsylvania
shall approve or disapprove a compact or man-
agement plan submitted under this Act not
later than 90 days after receiving such compact
or management plan.
(B) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—
If the Secretary disapproves a submitted com-
pact 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 compact or plan. The
Secretary shall approve or disapprove a pro-
posed revision within 90 days after the date it
is submitted.
(3) APPROVING AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary
shall review substantial amendments to the manage-
ment plan for the Heritage Area. Funds appro-
priated pursuant to this Act may not be expended to
implement the changes until the Secretary approves
the amendments.
(4) PROMULGATING REGULATIONS.—The Sec-
retary shall promulgate such regulations as are nec-
essary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(b) DUTIES OF FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Any Federal
entity conducting any activity directly affecting the Herit-
age Area shall consider the potential effect of the activity
on the management plan for the area and shall consult
with the Governor of Pennsylvania with respect to the ac-
tivity to minimize the adverse effects of the activity on
the area.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
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