What This Bill Does
This bill expands the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (a protected natural area) to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor. The bill aims to preserve geological features, paleontological resources (evidence of ancient life), biodiversity and cultural and archaeological sites in this region.
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Who It Affects
* The National Park Service (the federal agency managing national parks)
* Private property owners within the Rim of the Valley Unit boundary
* State and local governments in the region
* Water resource facilities and utility companies operating in the area
* Urban communities near the recreation area
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Key Provisions
* The Secretary of Interior must update the management plan for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area within 3 years to include the Rim of the Valley Unit as shown on a specific map dated September 2018. (Sec. 3(b))
* The Secretary may acquire private land within the Rim of the Valley Unit boundaries only through exchange, donation, or purchase from willing sellers. The Secretary cannot use eminent domain (the government's power to seize private property). (Sec. 3(b))
* The bill does not give the Secretary power to change property ownership, create liability for private property owners, require protective buffer zones around the unit, or limit utility and water facility operations within or near the unit. (Sec. 3(b))
* Utility facilities and water resource facilities must try to reasonably avoid or reduce their impact on the recreation area's resources. (Sec. 3(b))
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area's boundary will expand to officially include the Rim of the Valley Corridor as a new unit. The National Park Service will have authority to manage and potentially acquire land in this expanded area. The expansion must reflect the boundaries shown on a map numbered 638/147,723 and dated September 2018.
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Important Definitions
* **Utility facility**: Electric substations, communication towers, poles, lines, and related infrastructure
* **Water resource facility**: Irrigation systems, dams, reservoirs, flood control works, water treatment facilities, pipelines, wells, hydropower projects, and other water storage and delivery structures
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 2387
To adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation
Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 29, 2023
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. CHU, Mr.
GOMEZ, Mr. LIEU, and Mr. SHERMAN) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains
National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the
Valley Corridor, 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 ‘‘Rim of the Valley Cor-
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ridor Preservation Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds as follows:
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•HR 2387 IH
(1) The Santa Monica Mountains National
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Recreation Area was authorized as a unit of the Na-
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tional Park System on November 10, 1978.
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(2) The Santa Monica Mountains and the Rim
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of the Valley Corridor include—
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(A) nationally significant resources—
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(i) outstanding examples of geologic
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history, including the evolution of the
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Transverse Ranges Province;
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(ii) a diversity of well-preserved ma-
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rine and terrestrial paleontological re-
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sources; and
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(iii) high biodiversity, including out-
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standing examples of native grasslands,
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coastal sage scrub, chaparral, dry conif-
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erous forests, and alluvian fan sage scrub;
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and
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(B) nationally significant cultural re-
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sources that represent a wide range of themes
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related to human use and settlement in the re-
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gion—
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(i) high concentrations of archeo-
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logical resources that provide insight into
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more than 10,000 years of Native Amer-
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ican history; and
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•HR 2387 IH
(ii) landmarks that represent topics
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such as architecture, recreation, and space
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exploration.
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(3) Expanding the Santa Monica Mountains
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National Recreation Area would provide new oppor-
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tunities for the National Park Service to serve a
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broad range of urban communities, including many
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that are underrepresented in national parks and un-
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derserved by State and local parks.
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SEC. 3. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT; LAND ACQUISITION; AD-
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MINISTRATION.
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(a) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—Section 507(c)(1) of
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the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (16
13
U.S.C. 460kk(c)(1)) is amended in the first sentence by
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striking ‘‘, which shall’’ and inserting ‘‘ and generally de-
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picted as ‘Rim of the Valley Unit Proposed Addition’ on
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the map entitled ‘Rim of the Valley Unit—Santa Monica
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Mountains National Recreation Area’, numbered 638/
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147,723, and dated September 2018. Both maps shall’’.
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(b) RIM OF THE VALLEY UNIT.—Section 507 of the
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National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C.
21
460kk) is amended by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(u) RIM OF THE VALLEY UNIT.—(1) Not later than
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3 years after the date of the enactment of this subsection,
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the Secretary shall update the general management plan
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•HR 2387 IH
for the recreation area to reflect the boundaries designated
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on the map referred to in subsection (c)(1) as the ‘Rim
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of the Valley Unit’ (hereafter in the subsection referred
3
to as the ‘Rim of the Valley Unit’). Subject to valid exist-
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ing rights, the Secretary shall administer the Rim of the
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Valley Unit, and any land or interest in land acquired by
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the United States and located within the boundaries of
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the Rim of the Valley Unit, as part of the recreation area
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in accordance with the provisions of this section and appli-
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cable laws and regulations.
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‘‘(2) The Secretary may acquire non-Federal land
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within the boundaries of the Rim of the Valley Unit only
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through exchange, donation, or purchase from a willing
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seller. Nothing in this subsection authorizes the use of
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eminent domain to acquire land or interests in land.
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‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection or the application of
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the management plan for the Rim of the Valley Unit shall
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be construed to—
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‘‘(A) modify any provision of Federal, State, or
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local law with respect to public access to or use of
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non-Federal land;
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‘‘(B) create any liability, or affect any liability
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under any other law, of any private property owner
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or other owner of non-Federal land with respect to
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•HR 2387 IH
any person injured on private property or other non-
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Federal land;
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‘‘(C) affect the ownership, management, or
3
other rights relating to any non-Federal land (in-
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cluding any interest in any non-Federal land);
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‘‘(D) require any local government to partici-
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pate in any program administered by the Secretary;
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‘‘(E) alter, modify, or diminish any right, re-
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sponsibility, power, authority, jurisdiction, or entitle-
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ment of the State, any political subdivision of the
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State, or any State or local agency under existing
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Federal, State, and local law (including regulations);
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‘‘(F) require the creation of protective perim-
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eters or buffer zones, and the fact that certain ac-
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tivities or land can be seen or heard from within the
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Rim of the Valley Unit shall not, of itself, preclude
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the activities or land uses up to the boundary of the
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Rim of the Valley Unit;
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‘‘(G) require or promote use of, or encourage
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trespass on, lands, facilities, and rights-of-way
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owned by non-Federal entities, including water re-
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source facilities and public utilities, without the writ-
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ten consent of the owner;
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‘‘(H) affect the operation, maintenance, modi-
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fication, construction, or expansion of any water re-
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•HR 2387 IH
source facility or utility facility located within or ad-
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jacent to the Rim of the Valley Unit;
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‘‘(I) terminate the fee title to lands or cus-
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tomary operation, maintenance, repair, and replace-
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ment activities on or under such lands granted to
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public agencies that are authorized pursuant to Fed-
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eral or State statute;
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‘‘(J) interfere with, obstruct, hinder, or delay
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the exercise of any right to, or access to any water
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resource facility or other facility or property nec-
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essary or useful to access any water right to operate
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any public water or utility system;
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‘‘(K) require initiation or reinitiation of con-
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sultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife
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Service under, or the application of provisions of, the
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Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
16
seq.), the National Environmental Policy Act of
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1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), or division A of sub-
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title III of title 54, United States Code, concerning
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any action or activity affecting water, water rights
20
or water management or water resource facilities
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within the Rim of the Valley Unit; or
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‘‘(L) limit the Secretary’s ability to update ap-
23
plicable fire management plans, which may consider
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fuels management strategies including managed nat-
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•HR 2387 IH
ural fire, prescribed fires, non-fire mechanical haz-
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ardous fuel reduction activities, or post-fire remedi-
2
ation of damage to natural and cultural resources.
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‘‘(4) The activities of a utility facility or water re-
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source facility shall take into consideration ways to rea-
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sonably avoid or reduce the impact on the resources of
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the Rim of the Valley Unit.
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‘‘(5) For the purpose of paragraph (4)—
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‘‘(A) the term ‘utility facility’ means electric
9
substations, communication facilities, towers, poles,
10
and lines, ground wires, communications circuits,
11
and other structures, and related infrastructure; and
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‘‘(B) the term ‘water resource facility’ means
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irrigation and pumping facilities; dams and res-
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ervoirs; flood control facilities; water conservation
15
works, including debris protection facilities, sediment
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placement sites, rain gauges, and stream gauges;
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water quality, recycled water, and pumping facilities;
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conveyance distribution systems; water treatment fa-
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cilities; aqueducts; canals; ditches; pipelines; wells;
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hydropower projects; transmission facilities; and
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other ancillary facilities, groundwater recharge facili-
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ties, water conservation, water filtration plants, and
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•HR 2387 IH
other water diversion, conservation, groundwater re-
1
charge, storage, and carriage structures.’’.
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Æ
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