National Heritage Area Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1316 To authorize a National Heritage Area Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Mr. TONKO (for himself and Mr. MCKINLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To authorize a National Heritage Area Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘National Heritage Area Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. National Heritage Area System. Sec. 4. National Heritage Area System management. Sec. 5. Study areas. Sec. 6. Local coordinating entities. Sec. 7. Property owners and regulatory protections. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1316 IH Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 9. Statutory clarification. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The term ‘‘feasibility 3 study’’ means a study conducted by the Secretary, 4 or conducted by one or more other interested parties 5 and reviewed and approved by the Secretary, in ac- 6 cordance with the criteria and processes required by 7 section 5, to determine whether a study area meets 8 the criteria to be designated by Federal statute as 9 a National Heritage Area. 10 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 11 means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, na- 12 tion, pueblo, village, or other community the name 13 of which is included on the list most recently pub- 14 lished by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to 15 section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian 16 Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 17 (3) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 18 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the entity des- 19 ignated by Federal statute to— 20 (A) carry out, in partnership with other in- 21 dividuals and entities, the management plan for 22 a National Heritage Area; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1316 IH (B) operate a National Heritage Area, in- 1 cluding through the implementation of projects 2 and programs among diverse partners in a Na- 3 tional Heritage Area. 4 (4) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage- 5 ment plan’’ means the management plan for a Na- 6 tional Heritage Area required under this Act. 7 (5) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 8 ‘‘National Heritage Area’’ means— 9 (A) each National Heritage Area, National 10 Heritage Corridor, Natural Preservation Com- 11 mission, National Heritage Canalway, National 12 Heritage Route, Heritage Corridor, Cultural 13 Heritage Corridor, Heritage Partnership, and 14 National Heritage Partnership, the Shenandoah 15 Valley Battlefields National Historic District, 16 or other area designated by Federal statute 17 with the explicit purpose of establishing a na- 18 tional heritage area designated by Congress be- 19 fore or on the date of enactment of this Act; 20 and 21 (B) each National Heritage Area des- 22 ignated by Federal statute after the date of en- 23 actment of this Act, unless the law designating 24 the area exempts that area from the National 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1316 IH Heritage Area System by specific reference to 1 this Act. 2 (6) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA SYSTEM.—The 3 term ‘‘National Heritage Area System’’ means the 4 system of National Heritage Areas established by 5 this Act. 6 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 7 the Secretary of the Interior. 8 (8) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 9 means a specific geographic area that is the subject 10 of a feasibility study under section 5. 11 (9) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 12 government’’ means the governing body of an Indian 13 Tribe. 14 SEC. 3. NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA SYSTEM. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to recognize certain 16 areas of the United States that tell nationally significant 17 stories and to conserve, enhance, and interpret the areas’ 18 natural, historic, scenic, and cultural resources that to- 19 gether illustrate significant aspects of our country’s herit- 20 age, there is established a National Heritage Area System 21 through which the Secretary may provide technical and 22 financial assistance to local coordinating entities to sup- 23 port the establishment, development, and continuity of 24 National Heritage Areas. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1316 IH (b) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA SYSTEM.—The Na- 1 tional Heritage Area System shall be composed of all Na- 2 tional Heritage Areas. 3 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO THE NATIONAL PARK SYS- 4 TEM.— 5 (1) RELATIONSHIP TO NATIONAL PARK 6 UNITS.—The Secretary shall encourage participation 7 and assistance by any unit of the National Park 8 System located near or encompassed by any Na- 9 tional Heritage Area in local initiatives for that Na- 10 tional Heritage Area that conserve and interpret re- 11 sources consistent with an approved management 12 plan for the National Heritage Area. 13 (2) APPLICABILITY OF LAWS.—National Herit- 14 age Areas shall not be— 15 (A) considered to be units of the National 16 Park System; or 17 (B) subject to the authorities applicable to 18 units of the National Park System. 19 SEC. 4. NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA SYSTEM MANAGEMENT. 20 (a) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 22 a National Heritage Area is included in the National 23 Heritage Area System outlined by this Act, the local 24 coordinating entity of the National Heritage Area 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1316 IH shall submit to the Secretary for approval a manage- 1 ment plan for the National Heritage Area. 2 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan 3 shall— 4 (A) incorporate an integrated and coopera- 5 tive approach for the protection, enhancement, 6 and interpretation of the natural, cultural, his- 7 toric, scenic, and recreational resources of the 8 National Heritage Area; 9 (B) be developed using a comprehensive 10 planning approach that includes— 11 (i) opportunities for stakeholders, in- 12 cluding community members, local and re- 13 gional governments, Tribal governments, 14 businesses, nonprofit organizations, and 15 other interested parties— 16 (I) to be involved in the planning 17 process; and 18 (II) to review and comment on 19 draft management plans; and 20 (ii) documentation of the planning 21 and public participation processes, includ- 22 ing a description of— 23 (I) the means by which the man- 24 agement plan was prepared; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1316 IH (II) the stakeholders involved in 1 the process; and 2 (III) the timing and method of 3 stakeholder involvement; 4 (C) include— 5 (i) an inventory of— 6 (I) the resources located in the 7 National Heritage Area; and 8 (II) any other property in the 9 National Heritage Area that— 10 (aa) is related to the themes 11 of the National Heritage Area; 12 and 13 (bb) should be preserved, re- 14 stored, managed, or maintained 15 because of the significance of the 16 property; 17 (ii) comprehensive policies, strategies 18 and recommendations for the conservation, 19 funding, management, and development of 20 the National Heritage Area; 21 (iii) a description of actions that the 22 Federal, Tribal, State, and local govern- 23 ments, private organizations, and individ- 24 uals have agreed to take to protect the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1316 IH natural, historical, cultural, scenic, and 1 recreational resources of the National Her- 2 itage Area; 3 (iv) a program of implementation for 4 the management plan by the local coordi- 5 nating entity that includes a description 6 of— 7 (I) actions to facilitate ongoing 8 collaboration among partners to pro- 9 mote plans for resource protection, 10 restoration, and construction; and 11 (II) specific commitments for im- 12 plementation that have been made by 13 the local coordinating entity or any 14 government, organization, or indi- 15 vidual for the first 5 years of oper- 16 ation; 17 (v) the identification of sources of 18 funding for carrying out the management 19 plan; 20 (vi) analysis and recommendations for 21 means by which Federal, Tribal, State, 22 and local programs, including the role of 23 the National Park Service in the National 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1316 IH Heritage Area, may best be coordinated to 1 carry out this subsection; and 2 (vii) an interpretive plan for the Na- 3 tional Heritage Area; and 4 (D) recommend policies and strategies for 5 resource management that consider and detail 6 the application of appropriate land and water 7 management techniques, including the develop- 8 ment of intergovernmental and interagency co- 9 operative agreements to protect the natural, 10 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec- 11 reational resources of the National Heritage 12 Area. 13 (3) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirements in para- 14 graph (2) shall not apply to management plans in 15 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 16 (b) EVALUATIONS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year before 18 the authorization for Federal funding expires for a 19 National Heritage Area, the Secretary shall— 20 (A) conduct an evaluation of the accom- 21 plishments of that National Heritage Area; and 22 (B) prepare and submit a report detailing 23 the evaluation required by subparagraph (A) 24 to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1316 IH (i) the Committee on Natural Re- 1 sources of the House of Representatives; 2 and 3 (ii) the Committee on Energy and 4 Natural Resources of the Senate. 5 (2) EVALUATION COMPONENTS.—An evaluation 6 prepared under paragraph (1) shall— 7 (A) assess the progress of the local coordi- 8 nating entity with respect to— 9 (i) accomplishing the purposes of the 10 authorizing legislation for the National 11 Heritage Area; and 12 (ii) achieving the goals and objectives 13 of the approved management plan for the 14 National Heritage Area; 15 (B) analyze the Federal, Tribal, State, 16 local, and private investments in the National 17 Heritage Area to assess the impact of the in- 18 vestments; and 19 (C) review the management structure, 20 partnership relationships, and funding of the 21 National Heritage Area. 22 (3) RESULTS OF EVALUATION.—Based upon 23 the evaluation under paragraph (1), the Secretary 24 shall prepare a report with recommendations for the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1316 IH National Park Service’s continued role, if any, with 1 respect to the National Heritage Area. If the report 2 recommends that Federal funding for the National 3 Heritage Area be— 4 (A) continued, the report shall include an 5 analysis of— 6 (i) ways in which Federal funding for 7 the National Heritage Area may be re- 8 duced or eliminated over time; 9 (ii) the appropriate time period nec- 10 essary to achieve the recommended reduc- 11 tion or elimination; and 12 (iii) justification for the continued 13 funding in light of other National Park 14 Service core responsibilities and priorities; 15 or 16 (B) eliminated, the report shall include a 17 description of potential impacts on conserva- 18 tion, interpretation, and sustainability of the 19 National Heritage Area. 20 (4) UPDATES; ADDITIONAL EVALUATIONS.— 21 (A) UPDATES.—The Secretary may satisfy 22 the requirement under paragraph (1) for a Na- 23 tional Heritage Area by updating an evaluation 24 that was completed for that National Heritage 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1316 IH Area not more than 5 years before another 1 evaluation would otherwise be required under 2 paragraph (1). 3 (B) ADDITIONAL EVALUATIONS.—The Sec- 4 retary may conduct additional evaluations as 5 the Secretary deems appropriate. 6 (c) COORDINATION.—The head of any Federal agen- 7 cy planning to conduct activities that may have an impact 8 on a designated National Heritage Area is encouraged to 9 consult and coordinate these activities with the Secretary 10 and the local coordinating entity to the maximum extent 11 practicable. 12 SEC. 5. STUDY AREAS. 13 (a) FEASIBILITY STUDIES.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may carry out 15 or certify a study to assess the suitability and feasi- 16 bility of designating a specific geographic area as a 17 National Heritage Area to be included in the Na- 18 tional Heritage Area System. 19 (2) PREPARATION.—The feasibility study shall 20 be carried out— 21 (A) by the Secretary in consultation with 22 Tribal, State, and local historic preservation of- 23 ficers, State and local historical societies, State 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1316.IH H1316 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1316 IH and local tourism offices, and other appropriate 1 organizations and governmental agencies; or 2 (B) by interested individuals or entities, if 3 the Secretary certifies that the completed study 4 meets the requirements of paragraph (4). 5 (3) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 1 year 6 after receiving a study carried out by interested indi- 7 viduals or entities under paragraph (2)(B) the Sec- 8 retary shall review and certify whether the study 9 meets the requirements of paragraph (4). 10 (4) REQUIREMENTS.—A study under paragraph 11 (1) shall include analysis, documentation, and deter- 12 mination on whether the study area— 13 (A) has [Text truncated for display. 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