[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3707 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3707

  To establish an American Heritage Areas Partnership Program in the 
                      Department of the Interior.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 22, 1993

 Mr. Vento (for himself, Mr. Hinchey, and Mr. Boucher) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish an American Heritage Areas Partnership Program in the 
                      Department of the Interior.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Heritage Areas Partnership 
Program Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of the American Heritage Areas Partnership Program 
are--
            (1) to recognize that the natural, historic, cultural, and 
        recreational resources of the United States represent the great 
        and diverse character of the Nation and are important thereto, 
        and that these resources must be guarded, preserved, and wisely 
        managed so they may be passed on to future generations;
            (2) to recognize that combinations of such resources as 
        they are geographically assembled and thematically related form 
        Heritage Areas which provide a unique framework for 
        understanding the historical, cultural and natural development 
        of the community and it surroundings;
            (3) to encourage linking such resources through greenways, 
        corridors, and trails;
            (4) to preserve these nationally important recreational, 
        cultural, historic, and natural resources which are worthy of 
        joint Federal and State designation and assistance, but which 
        may not qualify or be managed as units of the National Park 
        System;
            (5) to provide for appropriate partnerships between all 
        levels of government and the private sector which will preserve 
        those resources whose ownership is generally not national but 
        mostly State, local, and private, accommodate economic 
        viability and enhance the quality of life for our Nation's 
        present and future generations; and
            (6) to assist in the development of a framework to 
        preserve, conserve, and manage these resources, which will 
        include limited technical assistance from the United States 
        Government to States for developing and implementing operation 
        and management plans.

SEC. 3. HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established within the 
Department of the Interior the American Heritage Partnership Program.
    (b) General Authority.--In accordance with the purposes of this 
Act, the Secretary is authorized--
            (1) to evaluate combinations of resources best preserved, 
        interpreted, and managed as American Heritage Areas under a 
        partnership model;
            (2) to evaluate areas nominated for designation under 
        subsection (d) as American Heritage Areas in accordance with 
        the criteria established in subsection (c);
            (3) to advise States and their political subdivisions or 
        assigns as to appropriate methods of recognizing and preserving 
        thematically and geographically linked cultural, historic, 
        natural, and recreational resources;
            (4) to provide technical assistance for the purposes of 
        nominating areas for inclusion in the American Heritage Area 
        Program and to provide grants for developing management plans 
        for designated areas and for capital projects and improvements 
        pursuant to such management plans, in amounts not to exceed the 
        amounts specifically authorized by this Act; and
            (5) to enter into contractual agreements with States and 
        their political subdivisions or assigns specific to an American 
        Heritage Area designated by this Act to provide limited 
        technical assistance for the development and implementation of 
        management plans for American Heritage Areas.
    (c) Criteria.--Each American Heritage Area shall include, but not 
be limited to--
            (1) an assemblage of resources--natural, cultural, and 
        recreational--that include nationally significant resources 
        that together represent a distinctive aspect of American 
        heritage worthy of recognition, preservation, interpretation 
        and continuing use which are best managed as such, combining 
        partnerships among public and private entities, diverse and 
        noncontiguous resources and active communities;
            (2) resources with demonstrated national importance, such 
        as National Landmarks or distinctive properties listed on the 
        National Register of Historic Places;
            (3) resources representing concepts which have been 
        identified by the Thematic Framework of the National Park 
        Service; and
            (4) a variety of appropriate natural, recreational, 
        historic, and cultural resources and themes.
    (d) Conditions for Designation.--The Congress may designate an area 
as an American Heritage Area only after the following conditions are 
met:
            (1) The State in which the area to be considered is located 
        has nominated to the Secretary the area for inclusion in the 
        Program.
            (2) The Secretary has determined and reported to the 
        Congress that the area is suitable for inclusion in the 
        program, based on the criteria referred to in subsection (c) 
        and demonstrated strong commitment and interest by the State, 
        local and private organizations involved to operate and 
        maintain the area on a long-term basis and to provide 
        appropriate regulatory assistance in preserving the area.
    (e) Contractual Agreement for Federal and State Responsibilities.--
Upon designation of an American Heritage Area, the Secretary shall 
enter into a contractual agreement with the State for the purposes of 
establishing the respective Federal and State responsibilities for 
implementing a management plan for the area. The contractual agreement 
shall provide for, but not be limited to--
            (1) adequate opportunity for public involvement in 
        developing and implementing the plan;
            (2) appropriate assurances on the part of States and 
        localities that the plan will be implemented and followed;
            (3) adequate State and local regulatory and financial 
        actions which provide for appropriate preservation of the 
        resources to be included;
            (4) continuing oversight by the Secretary;
            (5) specific obligations of the United States Government, 
        including the amount of any technical assistance or grants to 
        be provided; and
            (6) specific State responsibilities, including the 
        financial commitment and administration.
    (f) Capital Projects.--(1) Application for funds for capital 
projects and improvements under this Act shall be submitted to the 
Secretary and shall include a description of how the project proposed 
to be funded will further the purposes of the American Heritage Area in 
which the project is located.
    (2) Funds made available pursuant to this Act for a capital project 
shall not exceed 50 percent of the total costs of the project to be 
funded.
    (3) In making such funds available, the Secretary shall give 
consideration to projects which provide a greater leverage of Federal 
funds. Any payment made shall be subject to an agreement that 
conversion, use, or disposal of the project so assisted for purposes 
contrary to the purposes of this Act, as determined by the Secretary, 
shall result in a right of the United States of reimbursement of all 
funds made available to such project or the proportion of the increased 
value of the project attributable to such funds as determined at the 
time of such conversion, use, or disposal, whichever is greater.
    (g) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall submit an annual report to 
Congress on the American Heritage Partnership Program. Such report 
shall include--
            (1) the number, amount, and recipients of any grants 
        provided by the Secretary and the nature of any technical 
        assistance provided pursuant to this Act;
            (2) a description of the areas nominated for the program;
            (3) the Secretary's recommendations for areas to be 
        designated by Congress, including areas which have been 
        nominated and those the Secretary has determined are eligible 
        but have not been nominated; and
            (4) the status of the implementation of contractual 
        agreements entered into by the Secretary under this program.
    (h) Authorizations of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated from the Historic Preservation Fund--
            (1) $500,000 annually for technical assistance pursuant to 
        subsection (b) for areas before their nomination, of which not 
        more than $50,000 in total may be made available for a specific 
        area;
            (2) $2,500,000 annually for the purposes authorized by 
        section 3(b)(1), of which not more than $250,000 in total may 
        be made available for a specific management plan under 
        subsections (b)(1) and (4); and
            (3) $10,000,000 annually for capital projects and 
        improvements carried out pursuant to an approved plan, of which 
        not more than $3,000,000 in total may be made available to any 
        one American Heritage Area.

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