Bill 110-S-289 — Public Lands / National Parks
Subject: Public lands and natural resources

Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Act - (Sec. 3) Establishes the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area comprising the 175 mile-region following the Route 15 corridor and certain surrounding areas through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. Designates the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership as the management entity for the Area. Requires the board of trustees of the Partnership to include representatives from a broad cross-section of individuals, agencies, organizations, states, and governments that: (1) are partners of the Partnership; and (2) will oversee the development and implementation of the management plan. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Partnership to use funds made available under this Act to prepare, update, and implement the management plan, including for making grants to, and entering into cooperative agreements with, states and their political subdivisions, private organizations, non-profit organizations or any other person. Requires the Partnership to develop a management plan for the Area that presents strategies and recommendations for conservation, funding, management, and development of the Area. Specifies conditions that the Partnership shall ensure before submitting the management plan to the Secretary of the Interior for approval, including that: (1) the Commonwealth of Virginia, the States of Maryland and West Virginia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and any political subdivision thereof that would be affected by the management plan, receives a copy of such plan; and (2) at least one public hearing is conducted by the Partnership at a location within the Area in each congressional district included in whole or in part in the Area to review and receive comments on the management plan. Prohibits: (1) the Partnership from using federal funds received under this Act to acquire real property or any interest in real property; and (2) any state or local subdivision of a state from using any federal funds received pursuant to this Act to acquire any interest in real property by condemnation or otherwise. (Sec. 5) Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the States of Maryland and West Virginia, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to approve or disapprove a management plan submitted under section 4 not later than 180 days after receiving the plan and, in considering the plan, to take into consideration specified criteria. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary, as specified, to provide technical and financial assistance to the Partnership to carry out its duties under this Act. Instructs the Secretary, as a condition of providing financial assistance to the Partnership, to require the recipient to provide matching funds in an amount equal to the amount of financial assistance provided by the Secretary. States that recipient matching funds: (1) shall be derived from non-federal sources; and (2) may be made in the form of in-kind contributions of goods and services fairly valued. (Sec. 7) Specifies this Act's effect with regard to: (1) the activities of other federal entities; and (2) private property and certain related regulatory protections. (Sec. 9) Requires the Secretary to evaluate and report to specified congressional committees on the accomplishments of the Area by no later than three years before date on which the authority for federal funding terminates for the Area. (Sec. 10) Prohibits anything in this Act from precluding the Partnership from using federal funds available under Acts other than this Act for the purposes for which those funds were authorized. (Sec. 11) Bars the Secretary from making any grant or providing any other financial assistance under this Act after the expiration of the 15-year period beginning on the date that funds are first made available for this Act. (Sec. 12) Authorizes appropriations. Limits: (1) the amount authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act to $1 million for any fiscal year; and (2) the total amounts that may be appropriated to carry out this Act to $10 million.