Northern Neck National Heritage Area Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2296 To establish the Northern Neck National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 24, 2021 Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To establish the Northern Neck 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Neck Na- 4 tional Heritage Area Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 8 Area’’ means the Northern Neck National Heritage 9 Area established by section 3(a). 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2296 IS (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 1 ‘‘Local Coordinating Entity’’ means the local coordi- 2 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 3 section 3(c). 4 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage- 5 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 6 Heritage Area prepared under section 5(a). 7 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en- 8 titled ‘‘Northern Neck National Heritage Area Fea- 9 sibility Study’’, as included on page 87 of the feasi- 10 bility study prepared by the National Park Service 11 entitled ‘‘Northern Neck National Heritage Area 12 Feasibility Study’’ and dated June 2020. 13 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of the Interior. 15 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 16 of Virginia. 17 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NORTHERN NECK NATIONAL 18 HERITAGE AREA. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the State 20 the Northern Neck National Heritage Area, as depicted 21 on the map, to be administered in accordance with this 22 Act. 23 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall include 24 land between the Potomac River and Rappahannock River 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2296 IS of the eastern coastal region of the State, including King 1 George, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and 2 Westmoreland Counties, the boundaries of which are de- 3 picted on the map. 4 (c) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Northern 5 Neck Tourism Commission, a working committee of the 6 Northern Neck Planning District Commission, shall serve 7 as the local coordinating entity for the Heritage Area. 8 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 9 (a) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying out the 10 management plan, the Secretary (acting through the Local 11 Coordinating Entity) may use amounts made available 12 under section 9— 13 (1) to make grants to the State, political sub- 14 divisions of the State, Indian Tribes, nonprofit orga- 15 nizations, and other entities; 16 (2) to enter into cooperative agreements with, 17 or provide technical assistance to, the State, political 18 subdivisions of the State, Indian Tribes, nonprofit 19 organizations, and other interested persons; 20 (3) to hire and compensate staff, which shall in- 21 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 22 and historical resources protection and heritage pro- 23 gramming; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2296 IS (4) to obtain money or services from any 1 source, including any money or services that are pro- 2 vided under any other Federal law or program; 3 (5) to contract for goods or services; and 4 (6) to undertake any other activity that— 5 (A) furthers the purposes of the Heritage 6 Area; and 7 (B) is consistent with the approved man- 8 agement plan. 9 (b) DUTIES.—The Local Coordinating Entity shall— 10 (1) assist Federal agencies, the State, political 11 subdivisions of the State, Indian Tribes, regional 12 planning organizations, nonprofit organizations, and 13 other interested persons in carrying out the ap- 14 proved management plan by— 15 (A) carrying out programs and projects 16 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 17 resource values in the Heritage Area; 18 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre- 19 tive exhibits and programs in the Heritage 20 Area; 21 (C) developing recreational and educational 22 opportunities in the Heritage Area; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2296 IS (D) increasing public awareness of, and 1 appreciation for, natural, historical, scenic, and 2 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 3 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 4 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 5 consistent with the themes of the Heritage 6 Area; 7 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap- 8 propriate signs identifying points of public ac- 9 cess and sites of interest are posted throughout 10 the Heritage Area; and 11 (G) promoting a wide range of partner- 12 ships among the Federal Government, State, 13 Tribal, and local governments, organizations, 14 and individuals to further the purposes of the 15 Heritage Area; 16 (2) consider the interests of diverse units of 17 government, businesses, organizations, and individ- 18 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im- 19 plementation of the management plan; 20 (3) conduct meetings open to the public not less 21 frequently than semiannually regarding the develop- 22 ment and implementation of the management plan; 23 (4) for any year that Federal funds have been 24 received under this subsection— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2296 IS (A) submit to the Secretary an annual re- 1 port that describes the activities, expenses, and 2 income of the Local Coordinating Entity (in- 3 cluding grants to any other entities during the 4 period covered by the report); 5 (B) make available to the Secretary for 6 audit all records relating to the expenditure of 7 the funds and any matching funds; and 8 (C) require, with respect to all agreements 9 authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by 10 other organizations, that the organizations re- 11 ceiving the funds make available to the Sec- 12 retary for audit all records concerning the ex- 13 penditure of the funds; and 14 (5) encourage, by appropriate means and con- 15 sistent with the purposes of the Heritage Area, the 16 economic viability of the Heritage Area. 17 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL 18 PROPERTY.—The Local Coordinating Entity shall not use 19 Federal funds made available under section 9 to acquire 20 real property or any interest in real property. 21 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 23 date on which funds are first made available to carry out 24 this Act, the Local Coordinating Entity shall submit to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2296 IS the Secretary for approval a proposed management plan 1 for the Heritage Area. 2 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 3 (1) incorporate an integrated and cooperative 4 approach for the protection, enhancement, and inter- 5 pretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, 6 and recreational resources of the Heritage Area; 7 (2) take into consideration other applicable 8 Federal, State, local, and Tribal plans and treaty 9 rights; 10 (3) include— 11 (A) an inventory of— 12 (i) the resources located in the Herit- 13 age Area; and 14 (ii) any other property in the Heritage 15 Area that— 16 (I) is related to the themes of the 17 Heritage Area; and 18 (II) should be preserved, re- 19 stored, managed, or maintained be- 20 cause of the significance of the prop- 21 erty; 22 (B) comprehensive policies, strategies, and 23 recommendations for the conservation, funding, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2296 IS management, and development of the Heritage 1 Area; 2 (C) a description of activities that the Fed- 3 eral Government, State, Tribal, and local gov- 4 ernments, private organizations, and individuals 5 have agreed to carry out to protect the natural, 6 historical, cultural, scenic, and recreational re- 7 sources of the Heritage Area; 8 (D) a program of implementation for the 9 management plan by the Local Coordinating 10 Entity that includes a description of— 11 (i) actions to facilitate ongoing col- 12 laboration among partners to promote 13 plans for resource protection, restoration, 14 and construction; and 15 (ii) specific commitments for imple- 16 mentation that have been made by the 17 Local Coordinating Entity or any unit of 18 government, organization, or individual for 19 the first 5 years of operation of the Herit- 20 age Area; 21 (E) the identification of sources of funding 22 to implement the management plan; 23 (F) analysis and recommendations for 24 means by which Federal, State, local, and Trib- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2296 IS al programs (including the role of the National 1 Park Service in the Heritage Area) may carry 2 out the purposes of this Act; 3 (G) an interpretive plan for the Heritage 4 Area; and 5 (H) recommended policies and strategies 6 for resource management that consider and de- 7 tail the application of appropriate land and 8 water management techniques, including the de- 9 velopment of intergovernmental and interagency 10 cooperative agreements to protect the natural, 11 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec- 12 reational resources of the Heritage Area. 13 (c) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management plan is 14 not submitted to the Secretary by the date that is 3 years 15 after the date on which funds are first made available to 16 carry out this Act, the Local Coordinating Entity shall be 17 ineligible to receive additional funding under this Act until 18 the date on which the Secretary approves the management 19 plan. 20 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT 21 PLAN.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 23 after the date of receipt of the management plan 24 under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2296 IS with State and Tribal governments, shall approve or 1 disapprove the management plan. 2 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 3 whether to approve the management plan, the Sec- 4 retary shall consider whether— 5 (A) the Local Coordinating Entity is rep- 6 resentative of the diverse interests of the Herit- 7 age Area, including the Federal Government, 8 State, Tribal, and local governments, natural 9 and historic resource protection organizations, 10 educational institutions, businesses, and rec- 11 reational organizations; 12 (B) the Local Coordinating Entity has af- 13 forded adequate opportunity, including public 14 hearings, for public and governmental involve- 15 ment in the preparation of the management 16 plan; and 17 (C) the resource protection and interpreta- 18 tion strategies contained in the management 19 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 20 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 21 the Heritage Area. 22 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 23 Secretary disapproves the management plan under 24 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2296 IS (A) advise the Local Coordinating Entity 1 in writing of the reasons for the disapproval; 2 (B) make recommendations to the Local 3 Coordinating Entity for revisions to the man- 4 agement plan; and 5 (C) not later than 180 days after the re- 6 ceipt of any proposed revision of the manage- 7 ment plan from the Local Coordinating Entity, 8 approve or disapprove the proposed revision. 9 (4) AMENDMENTS.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap- 11 prove or disapprove each amendment of the 12 management plan that the Secretary determines 13 makes a substantial change to the management 14 plan. 15 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—The Local Coordi- 16 nating Entity shall not use Federal funds au- 17 thorized under section 9 to carry out any 18 amendment to the management plan until the 19 date on which the Secretary has approved the 20 amendment. 21 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au- 23 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan- 24 cial assistance under any other law. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2296 IS (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 1 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 2 may have an impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged 3 to consult and coordinate the activities with the Secretary 4 and the Local Coordinating Entity to the maximum extent 5 practicable. 6 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 7 Act— 8 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law (includ- 9 ing regulations) authorizing a Federal agency to 10 manage Federal land under the jurisdiction of the 11 Federal agency; 12 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man- 13 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 14 the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or 15 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 16 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed- 17 eral agency. 18 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC- 19 TIONS. 20 Nothing in this Act— 21 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 22 (whether public or private), including the right to re- 23 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Jul 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2296.IS S2296 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2296 IS gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage 1 Area; 2 (2) requires any property owner— 3 (A) to permit public access (including ac- 4 cess by Federal, State, or local agencies) to the 5 property of the property owner; or 6 (B) [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]