Steel Valley National Heritage Area Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2058 To establish the Steel Valley National Heritage Area in the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 18, 2021 Mr. RYAN (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. CARTWRIGHT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To establish the Steel Valley National Heritage Area in the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Steel Valley National 4 Heritage Area Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) Until the late 1970s, the Mahoning Valley 8 Steelmaking District was one of the five largest 9 steelmaking areas in the world, at times even larger 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2058 IH than Pittsburgh, and its mills produced the steel 1 that built America’s cities, supported its infrastruc- 2 ture, and strengthened its war efforts. 3 (2) Jobs in the steel industry attracted immi- 4 grants from Europe, Latin America, and the Middle 5 East, as well as thousands of African Americans 6 moving North as part of the Great Migration. While 7 these groups have interacted, become neighbors, and 8 intermarried over the decades, ethnic identities re- 9 main strong in this area. This has produced both a 10 strong sense of community and divisions that reflect 11 national patterns of conflict over class, race, eth- 12 nicity, and religion. 13 (3) The cultural legacy of the steel industry re- 14 mains long after many of the local mills shut down 15 in the institutions created by both working people 16 and civic and business leaders, ranging from ethnic 17 churches to adult education programs aimed at help- 18 ing immigrants learn English and gain citizenship to 19 the Butler Institute of America Art, the Youngstown 20 Symphony, several museums focused on the history 21 of the region, and a large city park that offers pro- 22 gramming in the arts, history, and outdoor activi- 23 ties. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2058 IH (4) The Mahoning Valley Steelmaking District 1 has a long history of labor and community activ- 2 ism— 3 (A) helping to create the United Steel- 4 workers of America, which enabled many work- 5 ers to achieve middle-class lives; 6 (B) organizing a significant community- 7 wide effort to keep the steel mills open after 8 shutdowns were announced in the late 1970s; 9 and 10 (C) developing a nationally and inter- 11 nationally recognized model for community- 12 based planning in response to the economic and 13 social challenges of deindustrialization, includ- 14 ing the Youngstown 2010 Plan and several on- 15 going grassroots neighborhood organizations 16 that have led important efforts to revitalize the 17 community. 18 (5) While many aspects of this community’s 19 history reflect the unique mix of the people who 20 came here and the history of industries in this Val- 21 ley, the story of the Mahoning Valley Steelmaking 22 District also reflects national patterns of industrial 23 growth and change, migration and immigration, and 24 cultural, civic, and labor organizing. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2058 IH SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 3 ‘‘local coordinating entity’’ means the Steel Valley 4 National Heritage Area Commission established by 5 section 5(a). 6 (2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage- 7 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the Na- 8 tional Heritage Area required under section 6. 9 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en- 10 titled ‘‘Steel Valley National Heritage Area’’ created 11 by the Congressional Research Service. 12 (4) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 13 ‘‘National Heritage Area’’ means the Steel Valley 14 National Heritage Area established by section 4(a). 15 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 16 the Secretary of the Interior. 17 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 18 of Ohio or the State of Pennsylvania, as appropriate. 19 SEC. 4. STEEL VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 21 State the Steel Valley National Heritage Area. 22 (b) BOUNDARIES.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Heritage Area 24 shall consist of land located in the Counties of 25 Trumbull and Mahoning in Ohio, and Mercer and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2058 IH Lawrence Counties in Pennsylvania, as generally de- 1 picted on the map. 2 (2) REVISION.—The boundaries of the National 3 Heritage Area established under paragraph (1) may 4 be revised if the revision is— 5 (A) proposed in the management plan; 6 (B) approved by the Secretary in accord- 7 ance with section 6; and 8 (C) placed on file in accordance with sub- 9 section (c). 10 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be on file 11 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of- 12 fices of— 13 (1) the National Park Service; and 14 (2) the local coordinating entity. 15 (d) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Steel Val- 16 ley National Heritage Area Commission shall be the local 17 coordinating entity for the National Heritage Area. 18 SEC. 5. STEEL VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA COM- 19 MISSION. 20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Steel 21 Valley National Heritage Area Commission. The purpose 22 of the local coordinating entity shall be— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2058 IH (1) to work with Federal, State, and local au- 1 thorities to develop and implement the management 2 plan; and 3 (2) to foster and enhance the integration of in- 4 dustrial steel and manufacturing-related historical, 5 cultural, educational, natural, scenic, and rec- 6 reational initiatives within the National Heritage 7 Area. 8 (b) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of implementing 9 the management plan, the Secretary, acting through the 10 local coordinating entity, may use amounts made available 11 under section 10 to— 12 (1) make grants to the State or a political sub- 13 division of the State, nonprofit organizations, and 14 other persons; 15 (2) assist others in developing educational, in- 16 formational, and interpretive programs and facilities; 17 (3) enter into cooperative agreements with, or 18 provide technical assistance to, the State or a polit- 19 ical subdivision of the State, nonprofit organizations, 20 and other interested parties; 21 (4) hire and compensate staff, which shall in- 22 clude individuals with expertise in historic preserva- 23 tion and restoration, cultural and natural resource 24 management, interpretive planning and museum 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2058 IH services, heritage and education programming, eco- 1 nomic and community development, labor and work- 2 ing-class studies, and tourism; 3 (5) establish such advisory groups as deemed 4 necessary; 5 (6) obtain money or services from any source, 6 including any money or services that are provided 7 under any other Federal law or program; 8 (7) contract for goods or services; and 9 (8) undertake to be a catalyst for any other ac- 10 tivity that— 11 (A) furthers the purposes of the National 12 Heritage Area; and 13 (B) is consistent with the approved man- 14 agement plan. 15 (c) DUTIES.—The local coordinating entity shall— 16 (1) in accordance with section 6, prepare and 17 submit a management plan to the Secretary; 18 (2) assist units of local government, regional 19 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 20 in carrying out the approved management plan by— 21 (A) carrying out programs and projects 22 that recognize, preserve, and enhance the re- 23 maining elements of the original Mahoning Val- 24 ley Steel District; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2058 IH (B) establishing and maintaining visitor 1 centers, museums, and other interpretive exhib- 2 its and programs in the National Heritage 3 Area; 4 (C) developing recreational and educational 5 opportunities in the National Heritage Area; 6 (D) increasing public awareness of indus- 7 trial steel and manufacturing-related historical, 8 cultural, educational, natural, scenic, and rec- 9 reational resources and sites within the Na- 10 tional Heritage Area; 11 (E) identifying and restoring any historic 12 building, site, or district consistent with Na- 13 tional Heritage Area themes; 14 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and en- 15 vironmentally appropriate signs identifying 16 points of access and sites of interest are posted 17 throughout the National Heritage Area; and 18 (G) promoting a wide range of partner- 19 ships among governments, organizations, com- 20 munities, and individuals to further the Na- 21 tional Heritage Area; 22 (3) consider the interests and perspectives of di- 23 verse units of government, businesses, organizations, 24 communities, and individuals in the National Herit- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2058 IH age Area in the preparation and implementation of 1 the management plan; and 2 (4) encourage, by appropriate means, economic 3 viability that is consistent with the National Herit- 4 age Area. 5 (d) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL 6 PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity shall not use 7 Federal funds made available under section 10 to acquire 8 real property or any interest in real property. 9 (e) MEMBERSHIP.—The local coordinating entity 10 shall be composed of 23 members, as follows: 11 (1) The Secretary of the Interior, ex officio, or 12 the Secretary’s designee. 13 (2) Ten members, appointed by the Secretary 14 after consideration of recommendations submitted by 15 the Governor of the State and other appropriate offi- 16 cials, with knowledge and experience of the following 17 agencies or those agencies’ successors: the Ohio Arts 18 Council, the Ohio Development Services Agency, 19 Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Ohio 20 Office of Tourism, and the Ohio State Historic Pres- 21 ervation Office, the Pennsylvania Council on the 22 Arts, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Com- 23 mission, the Pennsylvania Department of Commu- 24 nity and Economic Development, and the Pennsyl- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2058 IH vania Department of Conservation and Natural Re- 1 sources. 2 (3) The remaining 12 members who reside 3 within the National Heritage Area and are geo- 4 graphically dispersed throughout the National Herit- 5 age Area shall be from government, institutions of 6 higher education, and public or private entities and 7 organizations with knowledge of historic preservation 8 and restoration, cultural and natural resource man- 9 agement, interpretive planning and museum services, 10 heritage and education programming, economic and 11 community development, labor and working-class 12 studies, and tourism. These members will be ap- 13 pointed by the Secretary as follows: 14 (A) Four members based on a rec- 15 ommendation from each Senator from the State 16 of Ohio and the State of Pennsylvania. 17 (B) Four members based on a rec- 18 ommendation from each Member of the House 19 of Representatives whose district shall encom- 20 pass the National Heritage Area. 21 (C) Four members who shall be residents 22 of any county constituting the National Herit- 23 age Area. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2058 IH (f) APPOINTMENTS AND VACANCIES.—Members of 1 the local coordinating entity other than ex officio members 2 shall be appointed for terms of 3 years. Of the original 3 appointments, 5 shall be for a term of 1 year, 5 shall be 4 for a term of 2 years, and 5 shall be for a term of 3 years. 5 Any member of the local coordinating entity appointed for 6 a definite term may serve after expiration of the term until 7 the successor of the member is appointed. Any member 8 appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remainder 9 of the term for which the predecessor was appointed. Any 10 vacancy on the local coordinating entity shall be filled in 11 the same manner in which the original appointment was 12 made. 13 (g) COMPENSATION.—Members of the local coordi- 14 nating entity shall receive no compensation for their serv- 15 ice on the local coordinating entity. Members of the local 16 coordinating entity, other than employees of the State, 17 while away from their homes or regular places of business 18 to perform services for the local coordinating entity, shall 19 be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 20 subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed 21 intermittently in Government service are allowed under 22 section 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 23 (h) ELECTION OF OFFICES.—The local coordinating 24 entity shall elect the chairperson and the vice chairperson 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 May 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2058.IH H2058 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2058 IH on an annual basis. The vice chairperson shall serve as 1 the chairperson in the absence of the chairperson. 2 (i) MEETINGS.—The local coordinating entity shall 3 conduct meetings open to the public at least semiannually 4 regarding the development and implementation of the 5 management plan. The local coordinating entity shall meet 6 at the call of the chairperson or 12 of its members. Notice 7 of meetings and agendas for the meeting shall be pub- 8 lished throughout the National Heritage Area. 9 (j) QUORUM AND VOTING.—Eleven members of the 10 local coordinating entity shall constitute a quorum but a 11 lesser number may hold hearings. [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]