Finger Lakes National Heritage Area Study Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 825 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 28, 2019 Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. TONKO, Mr. COLLINS of New York, Mr. MORELLE, and Ms. STEFANIK) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of desig- nating certain land as the Finger Lakes National Herit- age 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 ‘‘Finger Lakes National 4 Heritage Area Study Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H825.IH H825 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 825 IH (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 1 Area’’ means the Finger Lakes National Heritage 2 Area. 3 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 4 the Secretary of the Interior. 5 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 6 of New York. 7 (4) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 8 means— 9 (A) the counties in the State of Cayuga, 10 Chemung, Cortland, Livingston, Monroe, Onon- 11 daga, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, 12 Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, and Yates; and 13 (B) any other areas in the State that— 14 (i) have heritage aspects that are 15 similar to the areas described in subpara- 16 graph (A); and 17 (ii) are adjacent to, or in the vicinity 18 of, those areas. 19 SEC. 3. STUDY. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 21 with State and local historic preservation officers, State 22 and local historical societies, State and local tourism of- 23 fices, and other appropriate organizations and govern- 24 mental agencies, shall conduct a study to assess the suit- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H825.IH H825 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 825 IH ability and feasibility of designating the study area as a 1 National Heritage Area, to be known as the ‘‘Finger 2 Lakes National Heritage Area’’. 3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall include anal- 4 ysis, documentation, and determinations on whether the 5 study area— 6 (1) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and 7 cultural resources that— 8 (A) represent distinctive aspects of the her- 9 itage of the United States; 10 (B) are worthy of recognition, conserva- 11 tion, interpretation, and continuing use; and 12 (C) would be best managed— 13 (i) through partnerships among public 14 and private entities; and 15 (ii) by linking diverse and sometimes 16 noncontiguous resources and active com- 17 munities; 18 (2) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, and 19 folklife that are a valuable part of the story of the 20 United States; 21 (3) provides outstanding opportunities— 22 (A) to conserve natural, historic, cultural, 23 or scenic features; and 24 (B) for recreation and education; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H825.IH H825 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 825 IH (4) contains resources that— 1 (A) are important to any identified themes 2 of the study area; and 3 (B) retain a degree of integrity capable of 4 supporting interpretation; 5 (5) includes residents, business interests, non- 6 profit organizations, and State and local govern- 7 ments that— 8 (A) are involved in the planning of the 9 Heritage Area; 10 (B) have developed a conceptual financial 11 plan that outlines the roles of all participants in 12 the Heritage Area, including the Federal Gov- 13 ernment; and 14 (C) have demonstrated support for the des- 15 ignation of the Heritage Area; 16 (6) has a potential management entity to work 17 in partnership with the individuals and entities de- 18 scribed in paragraph (5) to develop the Heritage 19 Area while encouraging State and local economic ac- 20 tivity; 21 (7) could impact the rights of private property 22 owners with respect to their private property; and 23 (8) has a conceptual boundary map that is sup- 24 ported by the public. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H825.IH H825 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 825 IH SEC. 4. REPORT. 1 Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds 2 are first made available to carry out this Act, the Sec- 3 retary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Re- 4 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com- 5 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 6 a report that describes— 7 (1) the findings of the study under section 3; 8 and 9 (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the 10 Secretary. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:13 Feb 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H825.IH H825 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS