[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3190 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3190

          To establish the Oil Region National Heritage Area.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 1, 1999

 Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To establish the Oil Region National Heritage Area.

    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 ``Oil Region National Heritage Area 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Oil Region of Northwestern Pennsylvania, with 
        numerous sites and districts listed on the National Register of 
        Historic Places, and designated by the Governor of Pennsylvania 
        as one of the State Heritage Park Areas, is a region with 
        tremendous physical and natural resources and possesses a story 
        of State, national, and international significance.
            (2) The single event of Colonel Edwin Drake's drilling of 
        the world's first successful oil well in 1859 has affected the 
        industrial, natural, social, and political structures of the 
        modern world.
            (3) Six national historic districts are located within the 
        State Heritage Park boundary, in Emlenton, Franklin, Oil City, 
        and Titusville, as well as 17 separate National Register sites.
            (4) The Allegheny River, which was designated as a 
        component of the national wild and scenic rivers system in 1992 
        by Public Law 102-271, traverses the Oil Region and connects 
        several of its major sites, as do some of the river's 
        tributaries such as Oil Creek, French Creek, and Sandy Creek.
            (5) The unspoiled rural character of the Oil Region 
        provides many natural and recreational resources, scenic 
        vistas, and excellent water quality for people throughout the 
        United States to enjoy.
            (6) Remnants of the oil industry, visible on the landscape 
        to this day, provide a direct linkage to the past for visitors, 
        as do the historic valley settlements, riverbed settlements, 
        plateau developments, farmlands, and industrial landscapes.
            (7) The Oil Region also represents a cross-section of 
        American history associated with Native Americans, frontier 
        settlements, the French and Indian War, African-Americans and 
        the Underground Railroad, and immigration of Swedish and Polish 
        individuals, among others.
            (8) Involvement by the Federal Government will serve to 
        enhance the efforts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, local 
        subdivisions of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, volunteer 
        organizations, and private businesses, to promote the cultural, 
        national, and recreational resources of the region in order to 
        fulfill their full potential.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to enhance a cooperative 
management framework to assist the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, its 
units of local government, and area citizens in retaining, enhancing, 
and interpreting the significant features of the lands, water, and 
structures of the Oil Region, in a manner consistent with positive 
economic impact and development for the benefit and inspiration of 
present and future generations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and 
the United States.

SEC. 3. OIL REGION NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

    (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established the Oil Region 
National Heritage Area (in this Act referred to as the ``Heritage 
Area'').
    (b) Boundaries.--The Heritage Area shall be comprised of all or 
parts of the counties of Venango and Crawford in Pennsylvania, 
determined pursuant to the compact under section 4.
    (c) Management Entity.--The management entity for the Heritage Area 
shall be the Oil Heritage Region, Inc., the locally based private, 
nonprofit management corporation which will oversee the development of 
the Oil Region National Heritage Park, as described in the ``Plan for 
the Oil Region Heritage Park'', dated March 1994 (in this Act referred 
to as the ``management entity'').

SEC. 4. COMPACT.

    To carry out the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of the 
Interior (in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall enter 
into a compact with the management entity. The compact shall include 
information relating to the objectives and management of the area, 
including each of the following:
            (1) A delineation of the boundaries of the Heritage Area.
            (2) A discussion of the goals and objectives of the 
        Heritage Area, including an explanation of the proposed 
        approach to conservation and interpretation and a general 
        outline of the protection measures committed to by the 
        Secretary and management entity.

SEC. 5. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF MANAGEMENT
              ENTITY.

    (a) Authorities of the Management Entity.--The management entity 
may, for purposes of preparing and implementing the management plan 
developed under subsection (b), use funds made available through this 
Act for the following:
            (1) To make loans and grants to, and enter into cooperative 
        agreements with States and their political subdivisions, 
        private organizations, or any other person.
            (2) To hire and compensate staff.
    (b) Management Plan.--
            (1) In general.--The management entity shall develop a 
        management plan for the Heritage Area that--
                    (A) presents comprehensive recommendations for the 
                Heritage Area's conservation, funding, management, and 
                development;
                    (B) takes into consideration existing State, 
                county, and local plans and involve residents, public 
                agencies, and private organizations working in the 
                Heritage Area;
                    (C) includes actions to be undertaken by units of 
                government and private organizations to protect the 
                resources of the Heritage Area; and
                    (D) specifies the existing and potential sources of 
                funding to protect, manage, and develop the Heritage 
                Area.
            (2) Required provisions.--The management plan shall include 
        the following:
                    (A) An inventory of the resources contained in the 
                Heritage Area, including a list of any property in the 
                Heritage Area that is related to the themes of the 
                Heritage Area and that should be preserved, restored, 
                managed, developed, or maintained because of its 
                natural, cultural, historic, recreational, or scenic 
                significance.
                    (B) A recommendation of policies for resource 
                management which considers and details application of 
                appropriate land and water management techniques, 
                including, but not limited to, the development of 
                intergovernmental and interagency cooperative 
                agreements to protect the Heritage Area's historical, 
                cultural, recreational, and natural resources in a 
                manner consistent with supporting appropriate and 
                compatible economic viability.
                    (C) A program for implementation of the management 
                plan by the management entity, including plans for 
                restoration and construction, and specific commitments 
                for that implementation that have been made by the 
                management entity and any other persons for the first 5 
                years of implementation.
                    (D) An analysis of ways in which local, State, and 
                Federal programs may best be coordinated to promote the 
                purposes of this Act.
                    (E) An interpretation plan for the Heritage Area.
            (3) Deadline; termination of funding.--
                    (A) The management entity shall submit the 
                management plan to the Secretary within 1 year after 
                the date of enactment of this Act.
                    (B) If a management plan is not submitted to the 
                Secretary in accordance with this subsection, the 
                management entity shall not qualify for Federal 
                assistance under this Act after the 1-year period 
                beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.
    (c) Duties of Management Entity.--The management entity shall--
            (1) give priority to implementing actions set forth in the 
        compact and management plan, including actions to assist units 
        of government, regional planning organizations, and nonprofit 
        organizations in preserving the Heritage Area;
            (2) assist units of government, regional planning 
        organizations, and nonprofit organizations in--
                    (A) establishing and maintaining interpretive 
                exhibits in the Heritage Area;
                    (B) developing recreational resources in the 
                Heritage Area;
                    (C) increasing public awareness of and appreciation 
                for the natural, historical, and architectural 
                resources and sites in the Heritage Area;
                    (D) the restoration of any historic building 
                relating to the themes of the Heritage Area; and
                    (E) ensuring that clear, consistent, and 
                environmentally appropriate signs identifying access 
                points and sites of interest are put in place 
                throughout the Heritage Area;
            (3) encourage by appropriate means economic viability in 
        the Heritage Area consistent with the goals of the plan;
            (4) consider the interests of diverse governmental, 
        business, and nonprofit groups within the Heritage Area;
            (5) conduct public meetings at least annually regarding the 
        implementation of the management plan;
            (6) submit substantial changes (including any increase of 
        more than 20 percent in the cost estimates for implementation) 
        to the management plan to the Secretary for the Secretary's 
        approval;
            (7) for any year in which Federal funds have been provided 
        to implement the management plan under subsection (b)--
                    (A) submit an annual report to the Secretary 
                setting forth its accomplishments, its expenses and 
                income, and each person to which any loan or grant was 
                made by the management entity in the year for which the 
                report is made; and
                    (B) require, for all agreements entered into by the 
                management entity authorizing expenditure of Federal 
                funds by any other person, that the person making the 
                expenditure make available to the management entity for 
                audit all records pertaining to the expenditure of such 
                funds.
    (d) Prohibition on the Acquisition of Real Property.--
            (1) In general.--The management entity may not use Federal 
        funds received under this Act to acquire real property or an 
        interest in real property.
            (2) Limitation.--Nothing in this Act shall preclude the 
        management entity from using Federal funds from other sources 
        for their authorized purposes.

SEC. 6. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

    (a) Technical and Financial Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may, upon request of the 
        management entity, provide technical and, subject to the 
        availability of appropriations, financial assistance to the 
        management entity to develop and implement a management plan 
        that is submitted under section 5(b) and approved by the 
        Secretary.
            (2) Priority.--In assisting the management entity, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to actions that in general assist 
        in--
                    (A) conserving the significant natural, historic, 
                and cultural resources that support the themes of the 
                management plan; and
                    (B) providing educational, interpretive, and 
                recreational opportunities consistent with the 
                resources and associated values of the Heritage Area.
            (3) Documentation of structures, etc.--The Secretary, 
        acting through the Historic American Building Survey and the 
        Historic American Engineering Record, shall conduct studies 
        necessary to document the industrial, engineering, building, 
        and architectural history of the Heritage Area.
    (b) Approval and Disapproval of Management Plans.--The Secretary, 
in consultation with the Governor of Pennsylvania, shall approve or 
disapprove a management plan submitted under this Act not later than 90 
days after receiving such plan.
    (c) Action Following Disapproval.--If the Secretary disapproves a 
management plan, the Secretary shall advise the management entity in 
writing of the reasons for the disapproval and shall make 
recommendations for revisions in the plan. The Secretary shall approve 
or disapprove a proposed revision within 90 days after the date it is 
submitted.
    (d) Approving Changes.--The Secretary shall review amendments to 
the management plan under section 5(b) that make substantial changes 
required to be submitted under section 5(c)(6). Funds appropriated 
under the authority of this Act may not be expended to implement such 
changes until the Secretary approves the amendments.

SEC. 7. SUNSET.

    The Secretary may not make any grant or provide any assistance 
under this Act after the expiration of the 10-year period beginning on 
the date the Secretary approves a management plan submitted under 
section 5(b).

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated under this 
Act--
            (1) not more than $1,000,000 for any fiscal year; and
            (2) Not more than a total of $10,000,000.
    (b) 50 Percent Match.--Financial assistance provided under this Act 
may not be used to pay more than 50 percent of the total cost of any 
activity carried out with that assistance.
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