[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1296 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 363
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1296
[Report No. 106-207]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate portions of the lower Delaware River and associated
tributaries as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System.
_______________________________________________________________________
November 2, 1999
Reported with an amendment
Calendar No. 363
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1296
[Report No. 106-207]
To designate portions of the lower Delaware River and associated
tributaries as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 28, 1999
Mr. Daschle (for Mr. Lautenberg (for himself, Mr. Torricelli, Mr.
Santorum, and Mr. Specter)) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources
November 2, 1999
Reported by Mr. Murkowski, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate portions of the lower Delaware River and associated
tributaries as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Lower Delaware Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Congress finds that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Public Law 102-460 directed the Secretary of
the Interior, in cooperation and consultation with appropriate
Federal, State, regional, and local agencies, to conduct a
study of the eligibility and suitability of the lower Delaware
River for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers
System;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) during the study, the Lower Delaware Wild and
Scenic River Study Task Force and the National Park Service
prepared a river management plan for the study area entitled
``Lower Delaware River Management Plan'' and dated August 1997,
which establishes goals and actions that will ensure long-term
protection of the river's outstanding values and compatible
management of land and water resources associated with the
river; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) after completion of the study, 24
municipalities along segments of the Delaware River eligible
for designation passed resolutions supporting the Lower
Delaware River Management Plan, agreeing to take action to
implement the goals of the plan, and endorsing designation of
the river.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. DESIGNATION.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C.
1274(a)) is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) by designating the first undesignated
paragraph following paragraph 156, pertaining to Elkhorn Creek
and enacted by Public Law 104-208, as paragraph 157;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) by designating the second undesignated
paragraph following paragraph 156, pertaining to the Clarion
River, Pennsylvania, and enacted by Public Law 104-314, as
paragraph 158;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) by designating the third undesignated
paragraph following paragraph 156, pertaining to the Lamphrey
River, New Hampshire, and enacted by Public Law 104-333, as
paragraph 159;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) by striking the fourth undesignated paragraph
following paragraph 156, pertaining to Elkhorn Creek and
enacted by Public Law 104-333; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(160) Lower delaware river and associated
tributaries, new jersey and pennsylvania.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) Segments.--The 65.6 miles of river
segments in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, consisting
of--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) the segment from river mile
193.8 to the northern border of the city of
Easton, Pennsylvania (approximately 10.5 miles,
16.9 kilometers), to be administered by the
Secretary of the Interior as a recreational
river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) the segment from a point
just south of the Gilbert Generating Station to
a point just north of the Point Pleasant
Pumping Station (approximately 14.2 miles, 22.8
kilometers), to be administered by the
Secretary of the Interior as a recreational
river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) the segment from the point
just south of the Point Pleasant Pumping
Station to a point 1,000 feet north of the
Route 202 bridge (approximately 6.3 miles, 10.1
kilometers), to be administered by the
Secretary of the Interior as a recreational
river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) the segment from a point
1,750 feet south of the Route 202 bridge to the
southern border of the town of New Hope,
Pennsylvania (approximately 1.9 miles, 3.0
kilometers), to be administered by the
Secretary of the Interior as a recreational
river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(v) the segment from the
southern boundary of the town of New Hope,
Pennsylvania, to the town of Washington
Crossing, Pennsylvania (approximately 6 miles,
9.7 kilometers), to be administered by the
Secretary of the Interior as a recreational
river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(vi) Tinicum Creek
(approximately 14.7 miles, 23.7 kilometers), to
be administered by the Secretary of the
Interior as a scenic river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(vii) Tohickon Creek from the
Lake Nockamixon Dam to the Delaware River
(approximately 10.7 miles, 17.2 kilometers), to
be administered by the Secretary of the
Interior as a scenic river; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(viii) Paunacussing Creek in
Solebury Township (approximately 3 miles, 4.8
kilometers), to be administered by the
Secretary of the Interior as a recreational
river.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) Administration.--The segments shall
be administered by the Secretary of the Interior as a
component of the National Park System.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) Management of segments.--The
segments shall be managed--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) in accordance with the river
management plan entitled `Lower Delaware River
Management Plan' and dated August 1997,
(referred to in this paragraph as the
`management plan'), prepared by the Lower
Delaware Wild and Scenic River Study Task Force
and the National Park Service, which
establishes goals and actions that will ensure
long-term protection of the river's outstanding
values and compatible management of land and
water resources associated with the river;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) in cooperation with
appropriate Federal, State, regional, and local
agencies, including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) the New Jersey
Department of Environmental
Protection;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(II) the Pennsylvania
Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(III) the Delaware and
Lehigh Navigation Canal Heritage
Corridor Commission;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(IV) the Delaware and
Raritan Canal Commission; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(V) the Delaware River
Greenway Partnership.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) Satisfaction of requirements for
plan.--The management plan shall be considered to
satisfy the requirements for a comprehensive management
plan under subsection (d).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(E) Federal role.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) Restrictions on water
resource projects.--In determining under
section 7(a) whether a proposed water resources
project would have a direct and adverse effect
on the value for which a segment is designated
as part of the national wild and scenic rivers
system, the Secretary shall consider the extent
to which the project is consistent with the
management plan.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) Cooperative agreements.--
Any cooperative agreements entered into under
section 10(e) relating to any of the segments
shall--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) be consistent with
the management plan; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(II) may include
provisions for financial or other
assistance from the United States to
facilitate the long-term protection,
conservation, and enhancement of the
segments.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) Support for
implementation.--The Secretary may provide
technical assistance, staff support, and
funding to assist in the implementation of the
management plan.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(F) Land management.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) In general.--The Secretary
may provide planning, financial, and technical
assistance to local municipalities to assist in
the implementation of actions to protect the
natural, economic, and historic resources of
the segments.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) Plan requirements.--After
adoption of recommendations made in section III
of the management plan, the zoning ordinances
of the municipalities bordering the segments
shall be considered to satisfy the standards
and requirements under section 6(c).</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(G) Additional segments.--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(i) In general.--In this
subparagraph, the term `additional segment'
means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) the segment from the
Delaware Water Gap to the Toll Bridge
connecting Columbia, New Jersey, and
Portland, Pennsylvania (approximately
9.2 miles, 14.8 kilometers), which, if
made part of the national wild and
scenic river system in accordance with
this subparagraph, shall be
administered by the Secretary as a
recreational river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(II) the segment from
the Erie Lackawanna railroad bridge to
the southern tip of Dildine Island
(approximately 3.6 miles, 5.8
kilometers), which, if made part of the
national wild and scenic river system
in accordance with this subparagraph,
shall be administered by the Secretary
as a recreational river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(III) the segment from
the southern tip of Mack Island to the
northern border of the town of
Belvidere, New Jersey (approximately 2
miles, 3.2 kilometers), which, if made
part of the national wild and scenic
river system in accordance with this
subparagraph, shall be administered by
the Secretary as a recreational
river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(IV) the segment from
the southern border of the town of
Phillipsburg, New Jersey, to a point
just north of Gilbert Generating
Station (approximately 9.5 miles, 15.2
kilometers), which, if made part of the
national wild and scenic river system
in accordance with this subparagraph,
shall be administered by the Secretary
as a recreational river;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(V) Paulinskill River in
Knowlton Township (approximately 2.4
miles, 3.8 kilometers), which, if made
part of the national wild and scenic
river system in accordance with this
subparagraph, shall be administered by
the Secretary as a recreational river;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(VI) Cook's Creek
(approximately 3.5 miles, 5.6
kilometers), which, if made part of the
national wild and scenic river system
in accordance with this subparagraph,
shall be administered by the Secretary
as a scenic river.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(ii) Finding.--Congress finds
that each of the additional segments is
suitable for designation as a recreational
river or scenic river under this paragraph, if
there is adequate local support for the
designation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iii) Designation.--If the
Secretary finds that there is adequate local
support for designating any of the additional
segments as a recreational river or scenic
river--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(I) the Secretary shall
publish in the Federal Register a
notice of the designation of the
segment; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(II) the segment shall
thereby be designated as a recreational
river or scenic river, as the case may
be, under this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(iv) Criteria for local
support.--In determining whether there is
adequate local support for the designation of
an additional segment, the Secretary shall
consider, among other things, the preferences
of local governments expressed in resolutions
concerning designation of the
segment.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(H) Authorization of appropriations.--
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as
are necessary to carry out this paragraph.''.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) Public Law 102-460 directed the Secretary of the
Interior, in cooperation and consultation with appropriate
Federal, State, regional, and local agencies, to conduct a
study of the eligibility and suitability of the lower Delaware
River for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System:
(2) during the study, the Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic
River Study Task Force and the National Park Service prepared a
river management plan for the study area entitled ``Lower
Delaware River Management Plan'' and dated August 1997, which
establishes goals and actions that will ensure long-term
protection of the river's outstanding values and compatible
management of land and water resources associated with the
river; and
(3) after completion of the study, 24 municipalities along
segments of the Delaware River eligible for designation passed
resolutions supporting the Lower Delaware River Management
Plan, agreeing to take action to implement the goals of the
plan, and endorsing designation of the river.
SEC. 3 DESIGNATION.
Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a))
is amended--
(1) by designating the first undesignated paragraph
following paragraph 156, pertaining to Elkhorn Creek and
enacted by Public Law 104-208, as paragraph 157;
(2) by designating the second undesignated paragraph
following paragraph 156, pertaining to the Clarion River,
Pennsylvania, and enacted by Public Law 104-314, as paragraph
158;
(3) by designating the third undesignated paragraph
following paragraph 156, pertaining to the Lamprey River, New
Hampshire, and enacted by Public Law 104-333, as paragraph 159;
(4) by striking the fourth undesignated paragraph following
paragraph 156, pertaining to Elkhorn Creek and enacted by
Public Law 104-333; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(161) Lower delaware river and associated tributaries,
new jersey and pennsylvania.--(A) The 65.6 miles of river
segments in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, consisting of--
``(i) the segment from river mile 193.8 to the
northern border of the city of Easton, Pennsylvania
(approximately 10.5 miles), as a recreational river;
``(ii) the segment from a point just south of the
Gilbert Generating Station to a point just north of the
Point Pleasant Pumping Station (approximately 14.2
miles), as a recreational river;
``(iii) the segment from the point just south of
the Point Pleasant Pumping Station to a point 1,000
feet north of the Route 202 bridge (approximately 6.3),
as a recreational river;
``(iv) the segment from a point 1,750 feet south of
the Route 202 bridge to the southern border of the town
of New Hope, Pennsylvania (approximately 1.9), as a
recreational river;
``(v) the segment from the southern boundary of the
town of New Hope, Pennsylvania, to the town of
Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania (approximately 6
miles), as a recreational river;
``(vi) Tinicum Creek (approximately 14.7 miles), as
a scenic river;
``(vii) Tohickon Creek from the Lake Nockamixon Dam
to the Delaware River (approximately 10.7 miles), as a
scenic river; and
``(viii) Paunacussing Creek in Solebury Township
(approximately 3 miles), as a recreational river.
``(B) Administration.--The river segments referred to in
subparagraph (A) shall be administered by the Secretary of the
Interior. Notwithstanding section 10(c), the river segments
shall not be administered as part of the National Park
System.''.
SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT OF RIVER SEGMENTS.
(A) Management of Segments.--The river segments designated in
section 3 shall be managed--
(1) in accordance with the river management plan entitled
``Lower Delaware River Management Plan'' and dated August 1997
(referred to as the ``management plan''), prepared by the Lower
Delaware Wild and Scenic River Study Task Force and the
National Park Service, which establishes goals and actions that
will ensure long-term protection of the river's outstanding
values and compatible management of land and water resources
associated with the river; and
(2) in cooperation with appropriate Federal, State,
regional, and local agencies, including--
(A) the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection;
(B) the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources;
(C) the Delaware and Lehigh Navigation Canal
Heritage Corridor Commission;
(D) the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission; and
(E) the Delaware River Greenway Partnership.
(b) Satisfaction of Requirements for Plan.--The management plan
shall be considered to satisfy the requirements for a comprehensive
management plan under subsection 3(d) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
(16 U.S.C. 1274(d)).
(c) Federal Role.--
(1) Restrictions on water resource projects.--In
determining under section 7(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act (16 U.S.C. 1278(a)) whether a proposed water resources
project would have a direct and adverse effect on the value for
which a segment is designated as part of the Wild and Scenic
Rivers System, the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall consider the extent to
which the project is consistent with the management plan.
(2) Cooperative agreements.--Any cooperative agreements
entered into under section 10(e) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act (16 U.S.C. 1281(e)) relating to any of the segments
designated by this Act shall--
(A) be consistent with the management plan; and
(B) may include provisions for financial or other
assistance from the United States to facilitate the
long-term protection, conservation, and enhancement of
the segments.
(3) Support for implementation.--The Secretary may provide
technical assistance, staff support, and funding to assist in
the implementation of the management plan.
(d) Land Management.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may provide planning,
financial, and technical assistance to local municipalities to
assist in the implementation of actions to protect the natural,
economic, and historic resources of the river segments
designated by this Act.
(2) Plan requirements.--After adoption of recommendations
made in section III of the management plan, the zoning
ordinances of the municipalities bordering the segments shall
be considered to satisfy the standards and requirements under
section 6(c) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C.
1277(c)).
(e) Additional Segments.--
(1) In general.--In this paragraph, the term ``additional
segment'' means--
(A) the segment from the Delaware Water Gap to the
Toll Bridge connecting Columbia, New Jersey, and
Portland, Pennsylvania (approximately 9.2 miles),
which, if made part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers
System in accordance with this paragraph, shall be administered by the
Secretary as a recreational river;
(B) the segment from the Erie Lackawanna railroad
bridge to the southern tip of Dildine Island
(approximately 3.6 miles), which, if made part of the
Wild and Scenic Rivers System in accordance with this
paragraph, shall be administered by the Secretary as a
recreational river;
(C) the segment from the southern tip of Mack
Island to the northern border of the town of Belvidere,
New Jersey (approximately 2 miles), which, if made part
of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System in accordance with
this paragraph, shall be administered by the Secretary
as a recreational river;
(D) the segment from the southern border of the
town of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, to a point just north
of Gilbert Generating Station (approximately 9.5 miles,
which, if made part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers
System in accordance with this paragraph, shall be
administered by the Secretary as a recreational river;
(E) Paulinskill River in Knowlton Township
(approximately 2.4 miles), which, if made part of the
Wild and Scenic Rivers System in accordance with this
paragraph, shall be administered by the Secretary as a
recreational river; and
(F) Cook's Creek (approximately 3.5 miles), which,
if made part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System in
accordance with this paragraph, shall be administered
by the Secretary as a scenic river.
(2) Finding.--Congress finds that each of the additional
segments is suitable for designation as a recreational river or
scenic river under this paragraph, if there is adequate local
support for the designation.
(3) Designation.--If the Secretary finds that there is
adequate local support for designating any of the additional
segments as a recreational river or scenic river--
(A) the Secretary shall publish in the Federal
Register a notice of the designation of the segment;
and
(B) the segment shall thereby be designated as a
recreational river or scenic river, as the case may be,
in accordance with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16
U.S.C. 1271 et seq.).
(4) Criteria for local support.--In determining whether
there is adequate local support for the designation of an
additional segment, the Secretary shall consider, among other
things, the preferences of local governments expressed in
resolutions concerning designation of the segment.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this Act.