Susquehanna National Heritage Area Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 262 To establish the Susquehanna National Heritage Area in the State of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 4, 2019 Mr. SMUCKER (for himself and Mr. PERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To establish the Susquehanna National Heritage Area in the State of Pennsylvania, 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 ‘‘Susquehanna National 4 Heritage Area Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 8 Area’’ means the Susquehanna National Heritage 9 Area established by section 3(a). 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 262 IH (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 4(a). 4 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage- 5 ment plan’’ means the plan developed by the local 6 coordinating entity under section 5(a). 7 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 8 the Secretary of the Interior. 9 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 10 of Pennsylvania. 11 SEC. 3. SUSQUEHANNA NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Sus- 13 quehanna National Heritage Area in the State. 14 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall include 15 Lancaster and York Counties, Pennsylvania. 16 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY. 17 (a) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Susque- 18 hanna Heritage Corporation, a nonprofit organization es- 19 tablished under the laws of the State, shall be the local 20 coordinating entity for the Heritage Area. 21 (b) AUTHORITIES OF LOCAL COORDINATING ENTI- 22 TY.—The local coordinating entity may, for purposes of 23 preparing and implementing the management plan— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 262 IH (1) prepare reports, studies, interpretive exhib- 1 its and programs, historic preservation projects, and 2 other activities recommended in the management 3 plan for the Heritage Area; 4 (2) make grants to the State, political subdivi- 5 sions of the State, nonprofit organizations, and 6 other persons; 7 (3) enter into cooperative agreements with the 8 State, political subdivisions of the State, nonprofit 9 organizations, and other organizations; 10 (4) hire and compensate staff; 11 (5) obtain funds or services from any source, 12 including funds and services provided under any 13 Federal program or law, in which case the Federal 14 share of the cost of any activity assisted using Fed- 15 eral funds provided for National Heritage Areas 16 shall not be more than 50 percent; and 17 (6) contract for goods and services. 18 (c) DUTIES OF LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—To 19 further the purposes of the Heritage Area, the local co- 20 ordinating entity shall— 21 (1) prepare a management plan for the Herit- 22 age Area in accordance with section 5; 23 (2) give priority to the implementation of ac- 24 tions, goals, and strategies set forth in the manage- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 262 IH ment plan, including assisting units of government 1 and other persons in— 2 (A) carrying out programs and projects 3 that recognize and protect important resource 4 values in the Heritage Area; 5 (B) encouraging economic viability in the 6 Heritage Area in accordance with the goals of 7 the management plan; 8 (C) establishing and maintaining interpre- 9 tive exhibits in the Heritage Area; 10 (D) developing heritage-based recreational 11 and educational opportunities for residents and 12 visitors in the Heritage Area; 13 (E) increasing public awareness of and ap- 14 preciation for the natural, historic, and cultural 15 resources of the Heritage Area; 16 (F) restoring historic buildings that are— 17 (i) located in the Heritage Area; and 18 (ii) related to the themes of the Herit- 19 age Area; and 20 (G) installing throughout the Heritage 21 Area clear, consistent, and appropriate signs 22 identifying public access points and sites of in- 23 terest; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 262 IH (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 1 government, businesses, tourism officials, private 2 property owners, and nonprofit groups within the 3 Heritage Area in developing and implementing the 4 management plan; 5 (4) conduct public meetings at least semiannu- 6 ally regarding the development and implementation 7 of the management plan; and 8 (5) for any fiscal year for which Federal funds 9 provided for National Heritage Areas are expended 10 for the Heritage Area— 11 (A) submit to the Secretary an annual re- 12 port that describes— 13 (i) the accomplishments of the local 14 coordinating entity; 15 (ii) the expenses and income of the 16 local coordinating entity; and 17 (iii) the entities to which the local co- 18 ordinating entity made any grants; 19 (B) make available for audit all records re- 20 lating to the expenditure of the Federal funds 21 and any matching funds; and 22 (C) require, with respect to all agreements 23 authorizing the expenditure of Federal funds by 24 other organizations, that the receiving organiza- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 262 IH tions make available for audit all records relat- 1 ing to the expenditure of the Federal funds. 2 (d) PROHIBITION ON ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP- 3 ERTY.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The local coordinating entity 5 shall not use Federal funds provided for National 6 Heritage Areas to acquire real property or any inter- 7 est in real property. 8 (2) OTHER SOURCES.—Nothing in this Act pre- 9 cludes the local coordinating entity from using funds 10 from other sources for authorized purposes, includ- 11 ing the acquisition of real property or any interest 12 in real property. 13 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 15 date on which funds are first made available to carry out 16 this Act, the local coordinating entity shall prepare and 17 submit to the Secretary a management plan for the Herit- 18 age Area. 19 (b) CONTENTS.—The management plan for the Her- 20 itage Area shall— 21 (1) include comprehensive policies, strategies, 22 and recommendations for the conservation, funding, 23 management, and development of the Heritage Area; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 262 IH (2) include a description of actions and commit- 1 ments that governments, private organizations, and 2 citizens will take to protect, enhance, and interpret 3 the natural, historic, scenic, and cultural resources 4 of the Heritage Area; 5 (3) describe a program of implementation for 6 the management plan that includes— 7 (A) performance goals and ongoing per- 8 formance evaluation; 9 (B) plans for resource protection, enhance- 10 ment and interpretation; and 11 (C) specific commitments for implementa- 12 tion that have been made by the local coordi- 13 nating entity or any government, organization, 14 business or individual; 15 (4) include an interpretative plan for the Herit- 16 age Area; 17 (5) take into consideration existing State, coun- 18 ty, and local plans; 19 (6) specify the existing and potential sources of 20 funding to protect, manage, and develop the Herit- 21 age Area; 22 (7) include an inventory of the natural, historic, 23 cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational re- 24 sources of the Heritage Area relating to the themes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 262 IH of the Heritage Area that should be preserved, re- 1 stored, managed, developed, or maintained; and 2 (8) include an analysis of, and recommenda- 3 tions for, ways in which Federal, State, and local 4 programs, may best be coordinated to further the 5 purposes of this Act, including recommendations for 6 the role of the National Park Service in the Heritage 7 Area. 8 (c) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT 9 PLAN.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 11 after the date on which the local coordinating entity 12 submits the management plan to the Secretary, the 13 Secretary shall approve or disapprove the proposed 14 management plan. 15 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining whether 16 to approve or disapprove the management plan, the 17 Secretary shall consider whether— 18 (A) the local coordinating entity is rep- 19 resentative of the diverse interests of the Herit- 20 age Area, including governments, natural and 21 historic resource protection organizations, edu- 22 cational institutions, businesses, and rec- 23 reational organizations; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 262 IH (B) the local coordinating entity has pro- 1 vided adequate opportunities (including public 2 meetings) for public and governmental involve- 3 ment in the preparation of the management 4 plan; 5 (C) the resource protection and interpreta- 6 tion strategies contained in the management 7 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 8 the natural, historic, and cultural resources of 9 the Heritage Area; and 10 (D) the management plan is supported by 11 the appropriate State and local officials, the co- 12 operation of which is needed to ensure the ef- 13 fective implementation of the State and local 14 aspects of the management plan. 15 (3) DISAPPROVAL AND REVISIONS.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary dis- 17 approves a proposed management plan, the Sec- 18 retary shall— 19 (i) advise the local coordinating entity, 20 in writing, of the reasons for the dis- 21 approval; and 22 (ii) make recommendations for revi- 23 sion of the proposed management plan. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 262 IH (B) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—The 1 Secretary shall approve or disapprove a revised 2 management plan not later than 180 days after 3 the date on which the revised management plan 4 is submitted. 5 (d) APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary 6 shall review and approve or disapprove substantial amend- 7 ments to the management plan in accordance with sub- 8 section (c). 9 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au- 11 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan- 12 cial assistance under any other law. 13 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 14 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 15 may have an impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged 16 to consult and coordinate the activities with the Secretary 17 and the local coordinating entity to the extent practicable. 18 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 19 Act— 20 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu- 21 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed- 22 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen- 23 cy; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 262 IH (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man- 1 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 2 the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or 3 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 4 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed- 5 eral agency. 6 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC- 7 TIONS. 8 Nothing in this Act— 9 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 10 (whether public or private), including the right to re- 11 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro- 12 gram, or activity conducted within the Heritage 13 Area; 14 (2) requires any property owner to permit pub- 15 lic access (including access by Federal, State, or 16 local agencies) to the property of the property 17 owner, or to modify public access or use of property 18 of the property owner under any other Federal, 19 State, or local law; 20 (3) alters any duly adopted land use regulation, 21 approved land use plan, or other regulatory author- 22 ity of any Federal, State, or local agency, or conveys 23 any land use or other regulatory authority to the 24 local coordinating entity; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 262 IH (4) authorizes or implies the reservation or ap- 1 propriation of water or water rights; 2 (5) affects the licensing or relicensing of facili- 3 ties by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 4 within the proposed Heritage Area or upstream or 5 downstream from the proposed Heritage Area on the 6 Susquehanna River, including FERC Project No. 7 405–104; 8 (6) diminishes the authority of the State to 9 manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of 10 fishing and hunting within the Heritage Area; or 11 (7) creates any liability, or affects any liability 12 under any other law, of any private property owner 13 with respect to any person injured on the private 14 property. 15 SEC. 8. EVALUATION; REPORT. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years before the 17 date specified under section 9, the Secretary shall— 18 (1) conduct an evaluation of the accomplish- 19 ments of the Heritage Area; and 20 (2) prepare a report in accordance with sub- 21 section (c). 22 (b) EVALUATION.—An evaluation conducted under 23 subsection (a)(1) shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H262.IH H262 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 262 IH (1) assess the progress of the local coordinating 1 entity with respect to— 2 (A) accomplishing the purposes of this Act 3 for the Heritage Area; and 4 (B) achieving the goals and objectives of 5 the approved management plan for the Heritage 6 Area; 7 (2) analyze the Federal, State, local, and pri- 8 vate investments [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]