[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1477 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1477

 To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a portion of the 
    Columbia River as a recreational river, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 29, 1997

 Mr. Dicks (for himself, Mr. Adam Smith of Washington, Mr. Blumenauer, 
  Mr. McDermott, Mr. DeFazio, and Ms. Furse) introduced the following 
         bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a portion of the 
    Columbia River as a recreational river, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
             (1) the 50-mile Handford Reach is the last free-flowing 
        nontidal segment of the Columbia River in the United States and 
        has been preserved in a relatively natural condition because of 
        its location within the Hanford Nuclear Reservation;
            (2) in 1988, Congress, in Public Law 100-605 (102 Stat. 
        3043), called for an analysis of protection alternatives for 
        the Hanford Reach and a report to Congress by the Secretary of 
        the Interior, who concluded in the Hanford Reach Final 
        Environmental Impact Statement dated June 1994 that the Hanford 
        Reach should be designated as a recreational river under the 
        Wild and Scenic Rivers Act;
            (3) the Hanford Reach is a vital migration corridor for 
        anadromous fish and contains some of the most productive 
        spawning areas in the Northwest United States, producing an 
        estimated 80 percent of the Columbia Basin's fall chinook 
        salmon and healthy runs of naturally spawning steelhead trout, 
        sturgeon, and other highly valued fish species;
            (4) the Hanford Reach provides important habitat for 
        wintering and migrating waterfowl, bald eagles, deer, elk, and 
        a diversity of other wildlife, including numerous Federal and 
        State-listed threatened and endangered plant and animal 
        species, some of which are found nowhere else;
            (5) the White Bluffs and pristine conditions of the Hanford 
        Reach offer scenic beauty, opportunities for solitude, and 
        recreation, including hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, 
        swimming, and wildlife observation, in close proximity to the 
        Tri-Cities area of the State of Washington;
            (6) the Hanford Reach and its salmon runs have been 
        important to mid-Columbia Native Americans for subsistence, 
        cultural, and religious purposes for more than 10,000 years, 
        and there are 150 registered archaeological sites in the area;
            (7) the southern shore of the Hanford Reach chronicles the 
        history of the Manhattan Project, defense nuclear production 
        during the cold war, and early Euro-American settlement of the 
        area;
            (8) the White Bluffs and adjacent shoreline areas are a 
        significant paleontological resource and are rich with fossils 
        remains from the Pliocene period;
            (9) protection of the Hanford Reach as a national wild and 
        scenic river can enhance local revenues from outdoor recreation 
        and increase economic investment in the Tri-Cities area by 
        highlighting the quality of life and natural amenities of the 
        area;
            (10) economic activities along the river corridor in 
        existence on the date of enactment of this Act, such as 
        agriculture, power production and transmission, and water 
        withdrawal, are compatible with the recreational classification 
        of the river, and the classification made by this Act cannot be 
changed except by a subsequent Act of Congress;
            (11) designation of the Hanford Reach as a wild and scenic 
        river can facilitate, and make less costly, the remediation of 
        contaminated areas of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation by 
        determining future land use within the river corridor and 
        helping to ensure the Federal commitment to the cleanup of the 
        Hanford Site;
            (12) the Hanford Reach has special significance as an 
        outdoor laboratory and classroom and offers a singular 
        opportunity for government agencies, tribes, and community 
        organizations to develop a partnership around an education and 
        interpretation program focused on the area's unique natural and 
        human history;
            (13) the Columbia River shore immediately downstream of the 
        Hanford Reach in the Tri-Cities area currently contains miles 
        of high, steep levees which create a sterile gauntlet through 
        which migrating anadromous fish must pass, and that flow 
        controls on the Columbia River have reduced the need for levees 
        of this height;
            (14) modifying levees in the Tri-Cities area could 
        significantly improve the habitat value of this transition area 
        to the Hanford Reach for fish and wildlife, decrease mortality 
        of migratory fish and waterfowl, and have the additional 
        benefits of improving rivershore access, recreation, and 
        aesthetics; and
            (15) local jurisdictions in the Tri-Cities area have 
        expressed interest in a partnership with the Army Corps of 
        Engineers and other agencies to study rivershore restoration in 
        the Tri-Cities area and develop a plan of action.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to protect the natural, cultural, scenic, and 
        recreational resources of the Hanford Reach of the Columbia 
        River;
            (2) to encourage education and interpretation of the 
        Hanford Reach; and
            (3) to restore and enhance the natural habitat of the 
        rivershore immediately downstream of the Hanford Reach in the 
        vicinity of the Tri-Cities area of the State of Washington.

SEC. 3. COLUMBIA RIVER NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC RIVER.

    Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(____) Hanford reach, columbia river, washington.--The river 
segment from river mile 346.5 to river mile 396, Hanford Reach, 
Columbia River, Washington, as a recreational river, subject to the 
following:
                    ``(A) No privately owned land.--Only public land 
                adjacent to the river segment, and no privately owned 
                land, may be included in the river segment.
                    ``(B) Management.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary of the 
                        Interior shall manage the river segment as a 
                        recreational river in accordance with the 
                        National Wildlife Refuge System Administration 
                        Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), this 
                        Act, and other applicable law.
                            ``(ii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in 
                        this Act or any other law authorizes the 
                        Secretary of the Interior or any other 
                        governmental officer to alter the 
                        classification of the river segment as a 
                        recreational river.
                    ``(C) Development of plan.--In developing and 
                periodically revising a plan for the management of the 
river segment, the Secretary of the Interior shall--
                            ``(i) consult with--
                                    ``(I) affected Indian tribes;
                                    ``(II) the State of Washington;
                                    ``(III) the Secretary of Energy;
                                    ``(IV) governments of local 
                                jurisdictions adjacent to the river 
                                segment; and
                                    ``(V) and advisory council composed 
                                of the chairperson of the county 
                                commissions for Benton County, Franklin 
                                County, and Grant County, Washington, 
                                and four citizens selected by the 
                                Governor of Washington from those 
                                counties to represent environmental, 
                                recreational, cultural, and other 
                                stakeholder interests;
                            ``(ii) provide opportunity for public 
                        participation;
                            ``(iii) develop a strategy for acquiring 
                        private land in the area defined by the 
                        applicable environmental impact statement by 
                        purchase, conservation easement, lease, or 
                        donation on a willing-seller basis only;
                            ``(iv) recognize recreation as an 
                        outstandingly remarkable value of the 
                        designated area and give recreation a high 
                        management priority, along with protection of 
                        natural, cultural, and scenic resources;
                            ``(v) coordinate and cooperate with State, 
                        local, and tribal governments and other 
                        entities in the development and implementation 
                        of educational and interpretive programs 
                        related to the Hanford Reach; and
                            ``(vi) determine how--
                                    ``(I) a Hanford Reach educational 
                                and interpretive center with 
                                appropriate exhibit, conference, and 
                                support facilities can be constructed 
                                or be incorporated into a compatible 
                                community facility;
                                    ``(II) interpretive education 
                                efforts can be coordinated with local 
                                governments and public school districts 
                                in the region; and
                                    ``(III) recreational tourism 
                                efforts associated with the Hanford 
                                Reach can be coordinated through a 
                                community-based visitor and convention 
                                bureau.
                    ``(D) Access corridors.--Access corridors in 
                existence on the date of enactment of this paragraph 
                shall be retained.
                    ``(E) Rules of construction.--The designation of 
                the river segment shall not be construed as--
                            ``(i) prohibiting or approving relicensing 
                        of any hydroelectric facility by the Federal 
                        Energy Regulatory Commission;
                            ``(ii) affecting any law, agreement, plan, 
                        or policy in effect on the date of enactment of 
                        this paragraph regarding water rights or 
                        instream flows on the river segment;
                            ``(iii) prohibiting the operation or 
                        maintenance of any energy, transmission, water 
                        intake, or water outfall facility in existence 
                        on the date of enactment of this paragraph;
                            ``(iv) prohibiting the modification, 
                        repair, or replacement of any energy, 
                        transmission, water intake, or water outfall 
                        facility so long as there is no 
substantial impact on the natural, cultural, or scenic resources of the 
river segment and adjacent land area;
                            ``(v) establishing or imposing remediation 
                        requirements more restrictive than those that 
                        would apply but for this paragraph;
                            ``(vi) prohibiting construction of 
                        temporary facilities essential to the 
                        remediation and restoration of contaminated 
                        areas within the viewshed of the river segment; 
                        or
                            ``(vii) relieving the Secretary of Energy 
                        from any obligation or other liability at the 
                        Hanford Nuclear Reservation under the 
                        Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
                        Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
                        U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the Solid Waste Disposal 
Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), and other applicable law or imposing any 
such obligation or other liability on the Secretary of the Interior.
                    ``(F) Rivershore restoration and enhancement.--The 
                Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of 
                Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers, in 
                cooperation and coordination with the heads of other 
                relevant Federal agencies and State and local 
                governments, shall develop a comprehensive plan of 
                improvement for restoration and enhancement of fish and 
                wildlife habitat, recreation, river access, and overall 
                aesthetics of the levees and other rivershore areas 
                downstream of the river segment in the Tri-Cities area 
                of the State of Washington.
                    ``(G) Section 1135 projects.--The Secretary of the 
                Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers of the Army 
                Corps of Engineers--
                            ``(i) subject to receipt of a statement of 
                        interest from the non-Federal interests for the 
                        following projects, shall, not later than 180 
                        days after the date of enactment of this 
                        paragraph, complete a preliminary restoration 
                        plan under section 1135 of the Water Resources 
                        Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2309a) for 
                        each of--
                                    ``(I) a portion of the rivershore 
                                of Clover Island and a portion of the 
                                levee immediately upstream of Clover 
                                Island;
                                    ``(II) the rivershore immediately 
                                upstream of the portion described in 
                                subclause (I) in the city of Kennewick, 
                                Washington, to United States Route 395 
                                bridge;
                                    ``(III) the levee modified in 1994 
                                between road 39 and the United States 
                                Route 395 bridge in Franklin County, 
                                Washington; and
                                    ``(IV) the levee between the United 
                                States Route 395 bridge to the area 
                                immediately downstream of the 10th 
                                Avenue bridge in the city of Pasco, 
                                Washington;
                            ``(ii) shall consider each of the projects 
                        described in subclauses (I), (II), (III), and 
                        (IV) of clause (i) to be a separate project for 
                        purposes of the program under section 1135 of 
                        the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 
                        U.S.C. 2309a); and
                            ``(iii) subject to receipt of necessary 
                        commitments from the non-Federal interests for 
                        the projects, shall, not later than 18 months 
                        after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 
                        complete a project modification report for each 
                        of the projects.''.
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