Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5853 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 11, 2020 Mr. MCEACHIN (for himself, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. MURPHY of North Caro- lina, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, and Mrs. LURIA) introduced the following 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 Great Dismal Swamp 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 ‘‘Great Dismal Swamp 4 National Heritage Area Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5853.IH H5853 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5853 IH (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 1 Area’’ means the Great Dismal Swamp National 2 Heritage Area. 3 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 4 the Secretary of the Interior. 5 (3) STATES.—The term ‘‘States’’ means the 6 States of Virginia and North Carolina. 7 (4) STUDY AREA.—The term ‘‘study area’’ 8 means— 9 (A) the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, 10 Portsmouth, and Suffolk in the State of Vir- 11 ginia; 12 (B) Isle of Wight County in the State of 13 Virginia; 14 (C) Camden, Currituck, Gates, and 15 Pasquotank counties in the State of North 16 Carolina; and 17 (D) any other areas in the States that— 18 (i) have heritage aspects that are 19 similar to the areas described in subpara- 20 graphs (A), (B), or (C); and 21 (ii) are adjacent to, or in the vicinity 22 of, those areas. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5853.IH H5853 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5853 IH SEC. 3. STUDY. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 2 with State and local organizations and governmental agen- 3 cies, Tribal governments, non-profit organizations, and 4 other appropriate entities, shall conduct a study to assess 5 the suitability and feasibility of designating the study area 6 as a National Heritage Area, to be known as the ‘‘Great 7 Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area’’. 8 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall include anal- 9 ysis, documentation, and determinations on whether the 10 study area— 11 (1) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and 12 cultural resources that— 13 (A) represent distinctive aspects of the 14 people and cultures of the United States; 15 (B) are worthy of recognition, conserva- 16 tion, interpretation, and continuing use; and 17 (C) would be best managed— 18 (i) through partnerships among public 19 and private entities; and 20 (ii) by linking diverse and sometimes 21 noncontiguous resources and active com- 22 munities; 23 (2) reflects traditions, customs, beliefs, and 24 folklife that are a valuable part of the story of the 25 United States; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5853.IH H5853 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5853 IH (3) provides outstanding opportunities— 1 (A) to conserve natural, historic, cultural, 2 or scenic features; and 3 (B) for recreation and education; 4 (4) contains resources that— 5 (A) are important to any identified themes 6 of the study area; and 7 (B) retain a degree of integrity capable of 8 supporting interpretation; 9 (5) includes residents, business interests, non- 10 profit organizations, and State, local, and Tribal 11 governments, and other appropriate entities that— 12 (A) are involved in the planning of the 13 Heritage Area; 14 (B) have developed a conceptual financial 15 plan that outlines the roles of all participants in 16 the Heritage Area, including the Federal Gov- 17 ernment; and 18 (C) have demonstrated support for the des- 19 ignation of the Heritage Area; 20 (6) has a potential management entity to work 21 in partnership with the individuals and entities de- 22 scribed in paragraph (5) to develop the Heritage 23 Area while encouraging State and local economic ac- 24 tivity; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5853.IH H5853 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5853 IH (7) has a conceptual boundary map that is sup- 1 ported by the public. 2 SEC. 4. REPORT. 3 Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds 4 are first made available to carry out this Act, the Sec- 5 retary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Re- 6 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com- 7 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 8 a report that describes— 9 (1) the findings of the study under section 3; 10 and 11 (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the 12 Secretary. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5853.IH H5853 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS