Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5989 To establish the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 27, 2020 Ms. SEWELL of Alabama (for herself, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. ADER- HOLT, and Mrs. ROBY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To establish the Alabama Black Belt 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 ‘‘Alabama Black Belt 4 National Heritage Area Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.—The term 8 ‘‘National Heritage Area’’ means the Alabama Black 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5989 IH Belt National Heritage Area established by section 1 3. 2 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The term 3 ‘‘Local Coordinating Entity’’ means the manage- 4 ment entity for the National Heritage Area des- 5 ignated by section 3. 6 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage- 7 ment plan’’ means the management plan for the 8 Heritage Area required under section 5. 9 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en- 10 titled Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area Boundary. 11 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 12 the Secretary of the Interior. 13 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 14 of Alabama. 15 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ALABAMA BLACK BELT 16 NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Alabama 18 Black Belt National Heritage Area in the State of Ala- 19 bama, to consist of land in Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Choc- 20 taw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, 21 Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, 22 Sumter, Washington, and Wilcox counties in the State, as 23 generally depicted within the management plan. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5989 IH (b) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.—The Center for 1 the Study of the Black Belt at the University of West Ala- 2 bama shall be the local coordinating entity for the Na- 3 tional Heritage Area designated by section 5. 4 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 5 (a) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying out the 6 management plan for the National Heritage Area des- 7 ignated by section 3, the Secretary, acting through the 8 local coordinating entity, may use amounts made available 9 under section 9— 10 (1) to make grants to the State or a political 11 subdivision of the State, Indian Tribes, nonprofit or- 12 ganizations, and other persons; 13 (2) to enter into cooperative agreements with, 14 or provide technical assistance to, the State or a po- 15 litical subdivision of the State, Indian Tribes, non- 16 profit organizations, and other interested parties; 17 (3) to hire and compensate staff, which shall in- 18 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 19 and historical resources protection, and heritage pro- 20 gramming; 21 (4) to obtain money or services from any source 22 including any money or services that are provided 23 under any other Federal law or program; 24 (5) to contract for goods or services; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5989 IH (6) to undertake to be a catalyst for any other 1 activity that furthers the National Heritage Area 2 and is consistent with the approved management 3 plan. 4 (b) DUTIES.—The local coordinating entity for the 5 National Heritage Area designated by section 3 shall— 6 (1) in accordance with section 5, prepare and 7 submit a management plan for the National Herit- 8 age Area to the Secretary; 9 (2) assist Federal agencies, the State or a polit- 10 ical subdivision of the State, Indian Tribes, regional 11 planning organizations, nonprofit organizations and 12 other interested parties in carrying out the approved 13 management plan by— 14 (A) carrying out programs and projects 15 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 16 resource values in the National Heritage Area; 17 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre- 18 tive exhibits and programs in the National Her- 19 itage Area; 20 (C) developing recreational and educational 21 opportunities in the National Heritage Area; 22 (D) increasing public awareness of, and 23 appreciation for, natural, historical, scenic, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5989 IH cultural resources of the National Heritage 1 Area; 2 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 3 and buildings in the National Heritage Area 4 that are consistent with National Heritage Area 5 themes; 6 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap- 7 propriate signs identifying points of public ac- 8 cess and sites of interest are posted throughout 9 the National Heritage Area; and 10 (G) promoting a wide range of partner- 11 ships among the Federal Government, State, 12 Tribal, and local governments, organizations, 13 and individuals to further the National Herit- 14 age Area; 15 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 16 government, businesses, organizations, and individ- 17 uals in the National Heritage Area in the prepara- 18 tion and implementation of the management plan; 19 (4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 20 semiannually regarding the development and imple- 21 mentation of the management plan; 22 (5) for any year that Federal funds have been 23 received under this subsection— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5989 IH (A) submit to the Secretary an annual re- 1 port that describes the activities, expenses, and 2 income of the local coordinating entity (includ- 3 ing grants to any other entities during the year 4 that the report is made); 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 (6) encourage by appropriate means economic 15 viability that is consistent with the National Herit- 16 age 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 of enactment of this Act, the local coordinating entity 24 of the National Heritage Area designated by section 3 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5989 IH shall submit to the Secretary for approval a proposed 1 management plan for the National 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 National Heritage 7 Area; 8 (2) take into consideration Federal, State, local, 9 and Tribal plans and treaty rights; 10 (3) include— 11 (A) an inventory of— 12 (i) the resources located in the Na- 13 tional Heritage Area; and 14 (ii) any other property in the National 15 Heritage Area that— 16 (I) is related to the themes of the 17 National 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 conservation, funding, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5989 IH management, and development of the National 1 Heritage Area; 2 (C) a description of actions that the Fed- 3 eral Government, State, Tribal, and local gov- 4 ernments, private organizations, and individuals 5 have agreed to take to protect the natural, his- 6 torical, cultural, scenic, and recreational re- 7 sources of the National Heritage Area; 8 (D) a program of implementation for the 9 management plan by the local coordinating en- 10 tity 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 govern- 18 ment, organization, or individual for the 19 first 5 years of operation; 20 (E) the identification of sources of funding 21 for carrying out the management plan; 22 (F) analysis and recommendations for 23 means by which Federal, State, local, and Trib- 24 al programs, including the role of the National 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5989 IH Park Service in the National Heritage Area, 1 may best be coordinated to carry out this sub- 2 section; and 3 (G) an interpretive plan for the National 4 Heritage Area; and 5 (4) recommend policies and strategies for re- 6 source management that consider and detail the ap- 7 plication of appropriate land and water management 8 techniques, including the development of intergov- 9 ernmental and interagency cooperative agreements 10 to protect the natural, historical, cultural, edu- 11 cational, scenic, and recreational resources of the 12 National 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 of enactment of this Act, the local coordi- 16 nating entity shall be ineligible to receive additional fund- 17 ing under this Act until the date on which the Secretary 18 receives and approves the management plan. 19 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT 20 PLAN.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 22 after the date of receipt of the management plan 23 under section 5, the Secretary, in consultation with 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5989 IH State and Tribal governments, shall approve or dis- 1 approve 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 Na- 7 tional Heritage Area, including Federal, State, 8 Tribal, and local governments, natural and his- 9 toric resource protection organizations, edu- 10 cational 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 National 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 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5989 IH (A) advise the local coordinating entity in 1 writing of the reasons for the disapproval; 2 (B) make recommendations for revisions to 3 the management plan; and 4 (C) not later than 180 days after the re- 5 ceipt of any proposed revision of the manage- 6 ment plan from the local coordinating entity, 7 approve or disapprove the proposed revision. 8 (4) AMENDMENTS.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap- 10 prove or disapprove each amendment to the 11 management plan that the Secretary determines 12 make a substantial change to the management 13 plan. 14 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—The local coordi- 15 nating entity shall not use Federal funds au- 16 thorized by this subsection to carry out any 17 amendments to the management plan until the 18 Secretary has approved the amendments. 19 SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects the au- 21 thority of a Federal agency to provide technical or finan- 22 cial assistance under any other law. 23 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—The head 24 of any Federal agency planning to conduct activities that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5989 IH may have an impact on a National Heritage Area des- 1 ignated by section 3 is encouraged to consult and coordi- 2 nate the activities with the Secretary and the local coordi- 3 nating entity to the maximum extent practicable. 4 (c) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 5 Act— 6 (1) modifies, alters, or amends any law or regu- 7 lation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Fed- 8 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agen- 9 cy; 10 (2) limits the discretion of a Federal land man- 11 ager to implement an approved land use plan within 12 the boundaries of a National Heritage Area des- 13 ignated by section 3; or 14 (3) modifies, alters, or amends any authorized 15 use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a Fed- 16 eral agency. 17 SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY AND REGULATORY PROTEC- 18 TIONS. 19 Nothing in this Act— 20 (1) abridges the rights of any property owner 21 (whether public or private), including the right to re- 22 frain from participating in any plan, project, pro- 23 gram, or activity conducted within a National Herit- 24 age Area designated by section 3; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Feb 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5989.IH H5989 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 5989 IH (2) requires [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]