Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor Act of 2021
Bill: S.2441 | Sponsor: Sen. Graham, Lindsey (R-SC)
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor Act of 2021
This bill establishes the Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The University of South Carolina, as the managing entity for the corridor, shall submit a Corridor Management Action Plan for the corridor.

To establish in the States of North Carolina and South Carolina the 
Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Southern Campaign of the Revolution 
National Heritage Corridor Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) in accordance with the Study, the Southern Campaign of 
        the Revolution National Heritage Corridor, an 8-mile-wide 
        corridor, provides operational efficiency in connecting the 
        greatest concentration of the Carolinas' Revolutionary War 
        sites including battlefields, historic communities, farmsteads, 
        and landscapes that reflect the cultural and natural 
        environments of North Carolina and South Carolina in the latter 
        half of the 18th century;
            (2) there is a national interest in protecting, conserving, 
        restoring, promoting, and interpreting the benefits of the 
        Corridor for the residents of, and visitors to, the Corridor;
            (3) a primary responsibility for conserving, preserving, 
        protecting, and promoting the benefits resides with the 
        Managing Entity having jurisdiction over the Corridor; and
            (4) in view of the longstanding Federal practice of 
        assisting States in creating, protecting, conserving, 
        preserving, and interpreting areas of significant natural and 
        cultural importance, and in view of the national significance 
        of the Corridor, the Federal Government has an interest in 
        assisting the States and the Managing Entity in fulfilling the 
        responsibilities described in paragraph (3).
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to protect, preserve, conserve, restore, promote, 
        interpret, and make available for the benefit of the public the 
        historic, cultural, and natural resources of the Corridor;
            (2) to encourage and support, through financial and 
        technical assistance, the Managing Entity in the development of 
        a Management Action Plan for the Corridor to ensure coordinated 
        public and private action in the Corridor in a manner 
        consistent with subsection (a);
            (3) to provide, during the development of an integrated 
        Corridor Management Action Plan, Federal financial and 
        technical assistance for the protection, preservation, and 
        conservation of land and water areas in the Corridor that are 
        in danger of being adversely affected or destroyed;
            (4) to encourage and assist Managing Entity to identify the 
        full range of public and private technical and financial 
        assistance programs and services available to implement the 
        Corridor Management Action Plan; and
            (5) to encourage adequate coordination of all government 
        programs affecting the historic, cultural, and natural 
        resources of the Corridor.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Corridor.--The term ``Corridor'' means the Southern 
        Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor 
        established by section 4(a).
            (2) Corridor management action plan.--The term ``Corridor 
        Management Action Plan'' means the management action plan 
        developed under section 6.
            (3) Management entity.--The term ``Management Entity'' 
        means the University of South Carolina as established under 
        section 4.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (5) States.--The term ``States'' mean the States of North 
        Carolina and South Carolina.
            (6) Study.--The term ``Study'' means the Department of the 
        Interior, National Park Service (NPS)'s July 2015 Southern 
        Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Area Suitability/
        Feasibility Study.
            (7) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map provided in the 
        Study: Appendix C: Corridor Maps, page 93, ``Map 1: Proposed 
        National Heritage Area Corridor''.

SEC. 4. SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN OF THE REVOLUTION NATIONAL HERITAGE CORRIDOR.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the States the Southern 
Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor.
    (b) Boundaries.--The Corridor shall consist of the area depicted on 
the map. The Corridor shall be specified in detail in the Corridor 
Management Action Plan.
    (c) Map.--A map of the Corridor shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the appropriate offices of--
            (1) the National Park Service; and
            (2) the Management Entity.
    (d) Addition.--Additional areas of the States outside the Corridor 
boundaries may be added to the Corridor by the Secretary at the request 
of the Management Entity.
    (e) Management Entity.--The Management Entity for the Corridor 
shall be The University of South Carolina, a public research 
university.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Authorities.--To carry out the management plan, the Secretary, 
acting through the management entity, may use amounts made available 
under this section to--
            (1) make grants to the States or a political subdivision of 
        the States, nonprofit organizations, and other persons;
            (2) enter into cooperative agreements with, or provide 
        technical assistance to, the States or a political subdivision 
        of the States, nonprofit organizations, and other interested 
        parties;
            (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall include 
        individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, and historical 
        resources protection, and heritage programming;
            (4) obtain money or services from any source including any 
        that are provided under any other Federal law or program;
            (5) contract for goods or services; and
            (6) undertake to be a catalyst for any other activity that 
        furthers the Corridor and is consistent with the approved 
        Corridor Management Action Plan.
    (b) Duties.--The management entity shall--
            (1) in accordance with section 6, prepare and submit a 
        Corridor Management Action Plan for the Corridor to the 
        Secretary;
            (2) assist units of local government, regional planning 
        organizations, and nonprofit organizations in carrying out the 
        approved management plan by--
                    (A) carrying out programs and projects that 
                recognize, protect, and enhance important resource 
                values in the Corridor;
                    (B) establishing and maintaining interpretive 
                exhibits and programs in the Corridor;
                    (C) developing recreational and educational 
                opportunities in the Corridor;
                    (D) increasing public awareness of, and 
                appreciation for, natural, historical, scenic, and 
                cultural resources of the Corridor;
                    (E) protecting and restoring historic sites and 
                buildings in the Corridor that are consistent with 
                Corridor themes;
                    (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and 
                appropriate signs identifying points of public access, 
                and sites of interest are posted throughout the 
                Corridor; and
                    (G) promoting a wide range of partnerships among 
                governments, organizations, and individuals to further 
                the Corridor;
            (3) consider the interests of diverse units of government, 
        businesses, organizations, and individuals in the Corridor in 
        the preparation and implementation of the Corridor Management 
        Action Plan;
            (4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 
        semiannually regarding the development and implementation of 
        the Corridor Management Plan;
            (5) for any year that Federal funds have been received 
        under this section--
                    (A) submit an annual report to the Secretary that 
                describes the activities, expenses, and income of the 
                management entity (including grants to any other 
                entities during the year that the report is made);
                    (B) make available to the Secretary for audit all 
                records relating to the expenditure of the funds and 
                any matching funds; and
                    (C) require, with respect to all agreements 
                authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by other 
                organizations, that the organizations receiving the 
                funds make available to the Secretary for audit all 
                records concerning the expenditure of the funds; and
            (6) encourage by appropriate means economic viability that 
        is consistent with the Corridor.
    (c) Prohibition on the Acquisition of Real Property.--The 
management entity shall not use Federal funds made available under this 
section to acquire real property or any interest in real property.

SEC. 6. CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Management Entity shall submit to the Secretary for 
approval a proposed Corridor Management Action Plan for the Corridor.
    (b) Requirements.--The Corridor Management Action Plan shall--
            (1) determine the boundaries of the Corridor adherent to 
        section 4(b);
            (2) incorporate an integrated and cooperative approach for 
        the protection, enhancement, and interpretation of the natural, 
        cultural, historic, scenic, and recreational resources of the 
        Corridor;
            (3) take into consideration Federal, State, local, and 
        Tribal plans and treaty rights;
            (4) include--
                    (A) an inventory of--
                            (i) the resources located in the Corridor; 
                        and
                            (ii) any other property in the Corridor 
                        that--
                                    (I) is related to the themes of the 
                                Corridor; and
                                    (II) should be preserved, restored, 
                                managed, or maintained because of the 
                                significations of the property;
                    (B) comprehensive policies, strategies, and 
                recommendations for conservation, funding, management, 
                and development of the Corridor;
                    (C) a description of the actions that the Federal 
                Government, State, Tribal, and local governments, 
                private organizations, and individuals have agreed to 
                take to protect the natural, historical, cultural, 
                scenic, and recreational resources of the Corridor;
                    (D) a program of implementation for the Corridor 
                Management Action Plan by the management entity that 
                includes a description of--
                            (i) actions to facilitate ongoing 
                        collaboration among partners to promote plans 
                        for resource protection, restoration, and 
                        construction; and
                            (ii) specific commitments for 
                        implementation that have been made by the 
                        management entity or any government, 
                        organization, or individual for the first 5 
                        years of operation;
                    (E) the identification of sources of funding for 
                carrying out the management plan;
                    (F) analysis and recommendations for means by which 
                Federal, State, local, and Tribal programs, including 
                the role of the National Park Service in the Corridor, 
                may best be coordinated to carry out this subsection; 
                and
                    (G) an interpretative plan for the Corridor; and
            (5) recommend policies and strategies for resource 
        management that consider and detail the application of 
        appropriate land and water management techniques, including the 
        development of intergovernmental and interagency cooperative 
        agreements to protect the natural, historical, cultural, 
        educational, scenic, and recreational resources of the 
        Corridor.
    (c) Deadline.--If a proposed management plan is not submitted to 
the Secretary by the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the management entity shall be ineligible to receive 
additional funding under this section until the date that the Secretary 
receives and approves the management plan.
    (d) Approval or Disapproval of Management Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        receipt of the management plan the Secretary, in consultation 
        with State and Tribal governments, shall approve or disapprove 
        the management plan.
            (2) Criteria for approval.--In determining whether to 
        approve the management plan, the Secretary shall consider 
        whether--
                    (A) the management entity is representative of the 
                diverse interests of the Corridor, including Federal, 
                State, Tribal, and local governments, natural and 
                historic resources protection organizations, 
                educational institutions, businesses, recreational 
                organizations;
                    (B) the management entity has afforded adequate 
                opportunity, including public hearings, for public and 
                governmental involvement in the preparation of the 
                management plan;
                    (C) the resource preservation and interpretation 
                strategies contained in the management plan would 
                adequately protect the natural, historical, and 
                cultural resources of the Corridor; and
                    (D) the Secretary has received adequate assurances 
                from appropriate State and local officials whose 
                support is needed to ensure the effective 
                implementation of the State and local aspects of the 
                plan.
            (3) Action following disapproval.--If the Secretary 
        disapproves the management plan, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) advise the management entity in writing of the 
                reasons for the disapproval;
                    (B) make recommendations for revisions to the 
                management plan; and
                    (C) not later than 180 days after the receipt of 
                any proposed revision of the management plan from the 
                management entity, approve or disapprove the proposed 
                revision.
            (4) Amendments.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall approve or 
                disapprove each amendment to the management plan that 
                the Secretary determines make a substantial change to 
                the management plan.
                    (B) Use of funds.--The management entity shall not 
                use Federal funds authorized by this subtitle to carry 
                out any amendments to the management plan until the 
                Secretary has approved the amendments.

SEC. 7. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.

    (a) In General.--Nothing in this section affects the authority of a 
Federal agency to provide technical or financial 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 
Area is encouraged to consult and coordinate the activities with the 
Secretary and the management entity to the maximum extent practicable.
    (c) Other Federal Agencies.--Nothing in this section--
            (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regulation 
        authorizing a Federal agency to manage Federal land under the 
        jurisdiction of the Federal agency;
            (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land manager to 
        implement an approved land use plan within the boundaries of 
        the Heritage Area; or
            (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized use of 
        Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Federal agency.

SEC. 8. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTECTIONS.

    Nothing in this Act--
            (1) abridges the rights of any property owner (whether 
        public or private), including the right to refrain from 
        participating in any plan, project, program, or activity 
        conducted within the Heritage Area;
            (2) requires any property owner to permit public 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 authority of any Federal, 
        State, or local agency, or conveys any land use or other 
        regulatory authority to the management entity;
            (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or appropriation 
        of water or water rights;
            (5) diminishes the authority of the State to manage fish 
        and wildlife, including the regulation of fishing and hunting 
        within the Heritage Area; or
            (6) creates any liability, or affects any liability under 
        any other law, of any private property owner with respect to 
        any person injured on the private property.

SEC. 9. EVALUATION; REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 3 years before the date on which 
authority for Federal funding terminates for the Corridor, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) conduct an evaluation of the accomplishments of the 
        Corridor; and
            (2) prepare a report in accordance with subsection (c).
    (b) Evaluation.--An evaluation conducted under subsection (a) 
shall--
            (1) assess the progress of the management entity with 
        respect to--
                    (A) accomplishing the purposes of this section for 
                the Corridor; and
                    (B) achieving the goals and objectives of the 
                approved management plan for the Corridor;
            (2) analyze the Federal, State, Tribal, local, and private 
        investments in the Corridor to determine the leverage and 
        impact of the investments; and
            (3) review the management structure, partnership 
        relationships, and funding of the Corridor for purposes of 
        identifying the critical components for sustainability of the 
        Corridor.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Based on the evaluation conducted under 
        subsection (b), the Secretary shall prepare a report that 
        includes recommendations for the future role of the National 
        Park Service, if any, with respect to the Corridor.
            (2) Required analysis.--If the report prepared under 
        subsection (a) recommends that Federal funding for the Heritage 
        Area be reauthorized, the report shall include an analysis of--
                    (A) ways in which Federal funding for the Corridor 
                may be reduced or eliminated; and
                    (B) the appropriate time period necessary to 
                achieve the recommended reduction or elimination.
            (3) Submission to congress.--On completion of the report, 
        the Secretary shall submit the report to--
                    (A) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
                of Representatives.

SEC. 10. FUNDING.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000, of which not more than $1,000,000 may be made available in 
any fiscal year.

SEC. 11. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.

    The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance under this 
section terminates on the date that is 15 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
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