St. Croix National Heritage Area Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5747 To establish the St. Croix National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 3, 2020 Ms. PLASKETT (for herself, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, and Mr. SAN NICOLAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To establish the St. Croix 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 ‘‘St. Croix National 4 Heritage Area Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 8 Area’’ means the St. Croix National Heritage Area 9 established by subsection (b)(1). 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5747 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 subsection (b)(4). 4 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage- 5 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 6 Heritage Area required under subsection (d). 7 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en- 8 titled ‘‘Proposed St. Croix National Heritage Area’’ 9 and dated llllllll. 10 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of the Interior. 12 (6) ST. CROIX.—The term ‘‘St. Croix’’ means 13 St. Croix, Virgin Islands of the United States. 14 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the Vir- 15 gin Islands of the United States. 16 (b) ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.— 17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 18 the State the St. Croix National Heritage Area. 19 (2) CONCEPTUAL BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage 20 Area shall consist of the island of St. Croix. 21 (3) MAP.—A map of the Heritage Area shall 22 be— 23 (A) included in the management plan; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5747 IH (B) on file and available for public inspec- 1 tion in the appropriate offices of the National 2 Park Service. 3 (4) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The local coordinating 5 entity for the Heritage Area shall be the Virgin 6 Islands State Historic Preservation Office. 7 (B) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—The 8 Virgin Islands State Historic Preservation Of- 9 fice shall consult with a broad cross section of 10 public, private, and nongovernmental sectors in- 11 cluding businesses, individuals, agencies, and 12 organizations that were involved in the planning 13 and development of the Heritage Area before 14 the date of the enactment of this Act. 15 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 16 (1) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying 17 out the management plan, the Secretary, acting 18 through the local coordinating entity, may use 19 amounts made available under this section to— 20 (A) make grants to the State or a subdivi- 21 sion of the State, nonprofit organizations, and 22 other persons; 23 (B) enter into cooperative agreements 24 with, or provide technical assistance to, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5747 IH State or a subdivision of the State, nonprofit 1 organizations, and other interested parties; 2 (C) hire and compensate staff, which shall 3 include individuals with expertise in natural, 4 cultural, and historical resources protection, 5 and heritage programming; 6 (D) obtain money or services from any 7 source including any that are provided under 8 any other Federal law or program; 9 (E) contract for goods or services; and 10 (F) undertake to be a catalyst for any 11 other activity that furthers the Heritage Area 12 and is consistent with the approved manage- 13 ment plan. 14 (2) DUTIES.—The local coordinating entity 15 shall— 16 (A) in accordance with subsection (d), pre- 17 pare and submit a management plan for the 18 Heritage Area to the Secretary; 19 (B) assist units of local government, re- 20 gional planning organizations, and nonprofit or- 21 ganizations in carrying out the approved man- 22 agement plan by— 23 (i) carrying out programs and projects 24 that recognize, protect, and enhance im- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5747 IH portant resource values in the Heritage 1 Area; 2 (ii) establishing and maintaining in- 3 terpretive exhibits and programs in the 4 Heritage Area; 5 (iii) developing recreational and edu- 6 cational opportunities in the Heritage 7 Area; 8 (iv) increasing public awareness of, 9 and appreciation for, natural, historical, 10 scenic, and cultural resources of the Herit- 11 age Area; 12 (v) protecting and restoring historic 13 sites and buildings in the Heritage Area 14 that are consistent with Heritage Area 15 themes; 16 (vi) ensuring that clear, consistent, 17 and appropriate signs identifying points of 18 public access, and sites of interest are 19 posted throughout the Heritage Area; and 20 (vii) promoting a wide range of part- 21 nerships among governments, organiza- 22 tions, and individuals to further the Herit- 23 age Area; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5747 IH (C) consider the interests of diverse units 1 of government, businesses, organizations, and 2 individuals in the Heritage Area in the prepara- 3 tion and implementation of the management 4 plan; 5 (D) conduct meetings open to the public at 6 least semiannually regarding the development 7 and implementation of the management plan; 8 (E) for any year that Federal funds have 9 been received under this section— 10 (i) submit an annual report to the 11 Secretary that describes the activities, ex- 12 penses, and income of the local coordi- 13 nating entity (including grants to any 14 other entities during the year that the re- 15 port is made); 16 (ii) make available to the Secretary 17 for audit all records relating to the expend- 18 iture of the funds and any matching funds; 19 and 20 (iii) require, with respect to all agree- 21 ments authorizing expenditure of Federal 22 funds by other organizations, that the or- 23 ganizations receiving the funds make avail- 24 able to the Secretary for audit all records 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5747 IH concerning the expenditure of the funds; 1 and 2 (F) encourage by appropriate means eco- 3 nomic viability that is consistent with the Herit- 4 age Area. 5 (3) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF 6 REAL PROPERTY.—The local coordinating entity 7 shall not use Federal funds made available under 8 this section to acquire real property or any interest 9 in real property. 10 (d) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 12 the date of enactment of this Act, the local coordi- 13 nating entity shall submit to the Secretary for ap- 14 proval a proposed management plan for the Heritage 15 Area. 16 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan 17 shall— 18 (A) incorporate an integrated and coopera- 19 tive approach for the protection, enhancement, 20 and interpretation of the natural, cultural, his- 21 toric, scenic, and recreational resources of the 22 Heritage Area; 23 (B) take into consideration State plans; 24 (C) include— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5747 IH (i) an inventory of— 1 (I) the resources located in the 2 core area described in subsection 3 (b)(2); and 4 (II) any other property in the 5 core area that— 6 (aa) is related to the themes 7 of the Heritage Area; and 8 (bb) should be preserved, re- 9 stored, managed, or maintained 10 because of the significance of the 11 property; 12 (ii) describe comprehensive policies, 13 goals, strategies and recommendations for 14 telling the story of the heritage of the area 15 covered by the designation and encour- 16 aging long-term resource protection, en- 17 hancement, interpretation, funding, man- 18 agement, and development; 19 (iii) a description of actions that gov- 20 ernments, private organizations, and indi- 21 viduals have agreed to take to protect the 22 natural, historical and cultural resources of 23 the Heritage Area; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5747 IH (iv) a program of implementation for 1 the management plan by the local coordi- 2 nating entity that includes a description 3 of— 4 (I) actions to facilitate ongoing 5 collaboration among partners to pro- 6 mote plans for resource protection, 7 restoration, and construction; and 8 (II) specific commitments for im- 9 plementation that have been made by 10 the local coordinating entity or any 11 government, organization, or indi- 12 vidual for the first 5 years of oper- 13 ation; 14 (v) the identification of sources of 15 funding for carrying out the management 16 plan; 17 (vi) analysis and recommendations for 18 means by which State and Federal pro- 19 grams may best be coordinated to carry 20 out this section; and 21 (vii) a business plan that describes the 22 role, operation, financing, and functions of 23 the local coordinating entity and of each of 24 the major activities contained in the man- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5747 IH agement plan and provides adequate assur- 1 ances that the local coordinating entity has 2 the partnerships and financial and other 3 resources necessary to implement the man- 4 agement plan for the National Heritage 5 Area; and 6 (D) recommend policies and strategies for 7 resource management that consider and detail 8 the application of appropriate land and water 9 management techniques, including the develop- 10 ment of intergovernmental and interagency co- 11 operative agreements to protect the natural, 12 historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and rec- 13 reational resources of the Heritage Area. 14 (3) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management 15 plan is not submitted to the Secretary by the date 16 that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this 17 Act, the local coordinating entity shall be ineligible 18 to receive additional funding under this section until 19 the date that the Secretary receives and approves 20 the management plan. 21 (4) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGE- 22 MENT PLAN.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 24 days after the date of receipt of the manage- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5747 IH ment plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary, 1 in consultation with the State, shall approve or 2 disapprove the management plan. 3 (B) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In deter- 4 mining whether to approve the management 5 plan, the Secretary shall consider whether— 6 (i) the local coordinating entity is rep- 7 resentative of the diverse interests of the 8 Heritage Area; 9 (ii) the local coordinating entity has 10 afforded adequate opportunity, including 11 public hearings, for public and govern- 12 mental involvement in the preparation of 13 the management plan; and 14 (iii) the resource protection and inter- 15 pretation strategies contained in the man- 16 agement plan, if implemented, would ade- 17 quately protect the natural, historical, and 18 cultural resources of the Heritage Area. 19 (C) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If 20 the Secretary disapproves the management plan 21 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 22 (i) advise the local coordinating entity 23 in writing of the reasons for the dis- 24 approval; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5747 IH (ii) make recommendations for revi- 1 sions to the management plan; and 2 (iii) not later than 180 days after the 3 receipt of any proposed revision of the 4 management plan from the local coordi- 5 nating entity, approve or disapprove the 6 proposed revision. 7 (D) AMENDMENTS.— 8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 9 approve or disapprove each amendment to 10 the management plan that the Secretary 11 determines make a substantial change to 12 the management plan. 13 (ii) USE OF FUNDS.—The local co- 14 ordinating entity shall not use Federal 15 funds authorized by this section to carry 16 out any amendments to the management 17 plan until the Secretary has approved the 18 amendments. 19 (e) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGEN- 20 CIES.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section af- 22 fects the authority of a Federal agency to provide 23 technical or financial assistance under any other law. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 5747 IH (2) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The 1 head of any Federal agency planning to conduct ac- 2 tivities that may have an impact on the Heritage 3 Area is encouraged to consult and coordinate the ac- 4 tivities with the Secretary and the local coordinating 5 entity to the maximum extent practicable. 6 (3) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in 7 this section— 8 (A) modifies, alters, or amends any law or 9 regulation authorizing a Federal agency to 10 manage Federal land under the jurisdiction of 11 the Federal agency; 12 (B) limits the discretion of a Federal land 13 manager to implement an approved land use 14 plan within the boundaries of the Heritage 15 Area; or 16 (C) modifies, alters, or amends any author- 17 ized use of Federal land under the jurisdiction 18 of a Federal agency. 19 (f) PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC- 20 TIONS.—Nothing in this section— 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 23:32 Feb 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5747.IH H5747 pamtmann [Text truncated for display. 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