Southern Maryland National Heritage Area Act

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2024 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 20, 2022 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources AN ACT To establish the Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 HR 2024 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southern Maryland 2 National Heritage Area Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 6 ‘‘National Heritage Area’’ means the Southern 7 Maryland National Heritage Area established by sec- 8 tion 3(a). 9 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 10 ‘‘Local Coordinating Entity’’ means the local coordi- 11 nating entity for the National Heritage Area des- 12 ignated by this Act. 13 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage- 14 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 15 Heritage Area required under section 5(a). 16 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en- 17 titled ‘‘Southern Maryland National Heritage Area 18 Proposed Boundary’’, numbered 672/177,225, and 19 dated August 2021. 20 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 21 the Secretary of the Interior. 22 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 23 of Maryland. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 HR 2024 RFS SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND NA- 1 TIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Southern 3 Maryland National Heritage Area in the State of Mary- 4 land, to consist of land in St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles, 5 and Prince George’s Counties in the State, as generally 6 depicted on the map. 7 (b) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Tri-Coun- 8 ty Council for Southern Maryland shall serve as the local 9 coordinating entity for the National Heritage Area des- 10 ignated by subsection (a). 11 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 12 (a) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying out the 13 management plan for the National Heritage Area, the Sec- 14 retary acting through the Local Coordinating Entity may 15 use amounts made available under section 9— 16 (1) to make grants to the State or a political 17 subdivisions of the State, Indian Tribes, nonprofit 18 organizations, and other persons; 19 (2) to enter into cooperative agreements with, 20 or provide technical assistance to, the State or a po- 21 litical subdivision of the State, Indian Tribes, non- 22 profit organizations, and other interested parties; 23 (3) to hire and compensate staff, which shall in- 24 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 HR 2024 RFS and historical resources protection and heritage pro- 1 gramming; 2 (4) to obtain money or services from any 3 source, including any money or services that are pro- 4 vided under any other Federal law or program, pro- 5 vided that any money specifically authorized for Na- 6 tional Heritage areas shall be subject to a 50 per- 7 cent cost-share requirement; 8 (5) to contract for goods or services; and 9 (6) to undertake or be a catalyst for any other 10 activity that furthers the purposes of the National 11 Heritage Area and is consistent with the approved 12 management plan. 13 (b) DUTIES.—The Local Coordinating Entity shall— 14 (1) in accordance with section 5, prepare and 15 submit a management plan for the National Herit- 16 age Area to the Secretary; 17 (2) assist Federal agencies, the State or a polit- 18 ical subdivision of the State, Indian Tribes, regional 19 planning organizations, nonprofit organizations, and 20 other interested parties in carrying out the approved 21 management plan by— 22 (A) carrying out programs and projects 23 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 24 resource values in the National Heritage Area; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 HR 2024 RFS (B) establishing and maintaining interpre- 1 tive exhibits and programs in the National Her- 2 itage Area; 3 (C) developing recreational, interpretive, 4 and educational opportunities in the National 5 Heritage Area; 6 (D) increasing public awareness of, and 7 appreciation for, natural, historical, scenic, and 8 cultural resources of the National Heritage 9 Area; 10 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 11 and buildings in the National Heritage Area 12 that are consistent with the themes of the Na- 13 tional Heritage Area; 14 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap- 15 propriate signs identifying points of public ac- 16 cess and sites of interest are posted throughout 17 the National Heritage Area; and 18 (G) promoting a wide range of partner- 19 ships among the Federal Government, State, 20 Tribal, and local governments, organizations, 21 and individuals to further the purposes of the 22 National Heritage Area; 23 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 24 government, businesses, organizations, and individ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 HR 2024 RFS uals in the National Heritage Area in the prepara- 1 tion and implementation of the management plan; 2 (4) conduct meetings open to the public not less 3 frequently than semiannually regarding the develop- 4 ment and implementation of the management plan; 5 and 6 (5) for any year that Federal funds have been 7 appropriated to carry out this Act— 8 (A) submit to the Secretary an annual re- 9 port that describes the activities, expenses, and 10 income of the Local Coordinating Entity (in- 11 cluding grants to any other entities during the 12 year that the report is made); 13 (B) make available to the Secretary for 14 audit all records relating to the expenditure of 15 the funds and any matching funds; and 16 (C) encourage by appropriate means eco- 17 nomic viability that is consistent with the Na- 18 tional Heritage Area. 19 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL 20 PROPERTY.—The Local Coordinating Entity shall not use 21 Federal funds to acquire real property or any interest in 22 real property. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 HR 2024 RFS SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 2 date of enactment of this Act, the Local Coordinating En- 3 tity shall submit to the Secretary for approval a proposed 4 management plan for the National Heritage Area. 5 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 6 (1) incorporate an integrated and cooperative 7 approach for the protection, enhancement, and inter- 8 pretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, 9 and recreational resources of the National Heritage 10 Area; 11 (2) take into consideration Federal, State, local, 12 and Tribal plans and treaty rights; 13 (3) include— 14 (A) an inventory of— 15 (i) the resources located in the Na- 16 tional Heritage Area; and 17 (ii) any other property in the National 18 Heritage Area that— 19 (I) is related to the themes of the 20 National Heritage Area; and 21 (II) should be preserved, re- 22 stored, managed, or maintained be- 23 cause of the significance of the prop- 24 erty; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 HR 2024 RFS (B) comprehensive policies, strategies, and 1 recommendations for the conservation, funding, 2 management, and development of the National 3 Heritage Area; 4 (C) a description of activities that the Fed- 5 eral Government, State, Tribal, and local gov- 6 ernments, private organizations, and individuals 7 have agreed to carry out to protect the natural, 8 historical, cultural, scenic, and recreational re- 9 sources of the National Heritage Area; 10 (D) a program of implementation for the 11 management plan by the Local Coordinating 12 Entity that includes a description of— 13 (i) actions to facilitate ongoing col- 14 laboration among partners to promote 15 plans for resource protection, restoration, 16 and construction; and 17 (ii) specific commitments for imple- 18 mentation that have been made by the 19 Local Coordinating Entity or any unit of 20 government, organization, or individual for 21 the first 5 years of operation; 22 (E) the identification of sources of funding 23 for carrying out the management plan; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 HR 2024 RFS (F) analysis and recommendations for 1 means by which Federal, State, local, and Trib- 2 al programs, including the role of the National 3 Park Service in the National Heritage Area, 4 may best be coordinated to carry out this Act; 5 and 6 (G) an interpretive plan for the National 7 Heritage Area; and 8 (4) recommend policies and strategies for re- 9 source management that consider and detail the ap- 10 plication of appropriate land and water management 11 techniques, including the development of intergov- 12 ernmental and interagency cooperative agreements 13 to protect the natural, historical, cultural, edu- 14 cational, scenic, and recreational resources of the 15 National Heritage Area. 16 (c) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management plan is 17 not submitted to the Secretary by the date that is 3 years 18 after the date of enactment of the Act, the Local Coordi- 19 nating Entity shall be ineligible to receive additional fund- 20 ing under this Act until the date on which the Secretary 21 approves the management plan. 22 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT 23 PLAN.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 HR 2024 RFS (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 1 after the date of receipt of the management plan 2 under this section, the Secretary, in consultation 3 with State and Tribal governments, shall approve or 4 disapprove the management plan. 5 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 6 whether to approve the management plan, the Sec- 7 retary shall consider whether— 8 (A) the Local Coordinating Entity is rep- 9 resentative of the diverse interests of the Na- 10 tional Heritage Area, including Federal, State, 11 Tribal, and local governments, natural and his- 12 toric resource protection organizations, edu- 13 cational institutions, businesses, and rec- 14 reational organizations; 15 (B) the Local Coordinating Entity has af- 16 forded adequate opportunity, including public 17 hearings, for public and governmental involve- 18 ment in the preparation of the management 19 plan; and 20 (C) the resource protection and interpreta- 21 tion strategies contained in the management 22 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 23 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 24 the National Heritage Area. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 HR 2024 RFS (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 1 Secretary disapproves the management plan under 2 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 3 (A) advise the Local Coordinating Entity 4 in writing of the reasons for the disapproval; 5 (B) make recommendations for revisions to 6 the management plan; and 7 (C) not later than 180 days after the re- 8 ceipt of any proposed revision of the manage- 9 ment plan from the Local Coordinating Entity, 10 approve or disapprove the proposed revision. 11 (4) AMENDMENTS.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap- 13 prove or disapprove each amendment of the 14 management plan that the Secretary determines 15 make a substantial change to the management 16 plan. 17 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—The Local Coordi- 18 nating Entity shall not use Federal funds au- 19 thorized by this Act to carry out any amend- 20 ment to the management plan until the Sec- 21 retary has approved the amendment. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 HR 2024 RFS SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au- 2 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan- 3 cial assistance under any other law. 4 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 5 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 6 may have an impact on the National Heritage Area is en- 7 couraged to consult and coordinate the activities with the 8 Secretary and the Local Coordinating Entity to the max- 9 imum extent practicable. 10 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 11 Act— 12 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu- 13 lations authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed- 14 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen- 15 cy; 16 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man- 17 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 18 the boundaries of the National Heritage Area; or 19 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 20 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed- 21 eral agency. 22 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC- 23 TIONS. 24 Nothing in this Act— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:59 Jul 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2024.RFS H2024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 HR 2024 RFS (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 1 (whether public or private), including the right to re- 2 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro- 3 gram, or activity conducted within the National Her- 4 itage Area; 5 (2) requires any property owner— 6 (A) to permit public access (including ac- 7 cess by Federal, State, or local agencies) to the 8 property of the property owner; or 9 (B) to modify public access or use of prop- 10 erty of the property owner under any other 11 Federal, State, or local law; 12 (3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 13 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author- 14 ity of any Federal, State, Tribal, or local agency; 15 (4) conveys any land use or other regulatory 16 authority to the Local Coordinating Entity; 17 ( [Text truncated for display. 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