[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3158 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3158
To designate the Cherokee Overhill Territory in Polk, McMinn, Monroe,
and Meigs Counties in Tennessee as a National Heritage Area.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 30, 2005
Mr. Duncan (for himself and Mr. Wamp) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate the Cherokee Overhill Territory in Polk, McMinn, Monroe,
and Meigs Counties in Tennessee as a National Heritage Area.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) Heritage area.--The term ``Heritage Area'' means the
Cherokee Overhill Territory National Heritage Area established
in section 3(a).
(2) Management entity.--The term ``management entity''
means the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association, or its
successor entity.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The National Park Service has defined a National
Heritage Area as ``a place designated by the United States
Congress where natural, cultural, historic, and recreational
resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally distinctive
landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by
geography.''.
(2) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, 24
National Heritage Areas have been designated by Congress to
commemorate, conserve, and promote such irreplaceable cultural
landscapes.
(3) National Heritage Area designations encourages
residents, government agencies, nonprofit groups, and private
partners to collaboratively plan and implement programs and
projects that recognize, preserve, and celebrate many of
America's defining landscapes without compromising traditional
local control over and use of such landscapes.
(4) National Heritage Area designations include limited
technical assistance and financial assistance from the National
Park Service, primarily through planning and interpretive
assistance and expertise and by connecting the management
entity of the National Heritage Area with other Federal
agencies.
(5) Federal financial assistance provides valuable seed
money that covers basic expenses, such as staffing, and
leverages other money from State, local, and private sources by
means of dollar-for-dollar match requirements.
(6) Polk, McMinn, Monroe, and Meigs Counties (which
collectively comprise an area known as the ``Cherokee Overhill
Territory'') qualify as a distinctive landscape that is rich in
cultural, natural, and historic sites and resources that
reflect the State and Nation's Native American peoples and
heritage, early frontier settlement by the British, and the
Industrial Revolution in the Southern Mountains.
(7) The Overhill region's fascinating heritage is revealed
by unique sites and resources, including--
(A) Fort Loudoun, built in 1756 as one of the
earliest British fortifications on the western
frontier, which played a significant role in helping
Great Britain secure the trans-Appalachian region from
France during the Seven Years War before surrendering
to Cherokee attack in 1760;
(B) Fort Armistead, founded in 1832 to stop
intrusion by gold prospectors on Cherokee land and
finally serving as a camp for more than 3,000 Cherokee
deportees on the Trail of Tears;
(C) the Unicoi Turnpike, a National Millennium
Flagship Trail that was used as an artery of trade
before written history, was later improved to become
the first direct wagon road connection across the
Southern Appalachians in 1813, and served as the first
leg of the journey for deported Cherokees on the Trail
of Tears in 1838;
(D) Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, the only tribally
owned museum in Tennessee and the site of the
birthplace of Sequoyah, creator of the Cherokee
Syllabary;
(E) the Old Line Railroad, an historic railroad
built in 1890 to serve the copper mines in Polk County,
with historic structures on the line that include the
Hiwassee Loop, the third longest rail loop in the
world;
(F) Blythe Ferry, the site of a major encampment on
the Trail of Tears, where over 9,000 Cherokee people
camped before crossing the Tennessee River on the way
to Oklahoma;
(G) the restored Burra Burra copper mine, a State-
owned historic industrial site and museum;
(H) the Ocoee Powerhouses and Flume line;
(I) the awe inspiring natural resources that
include the Tellico, Hiwassee, Ocoee, Conasauga, and
Tennessee Rivers, several lakes, the spectacular
Cherohala Skyway, the Ocoee Scenic Byway (providing
fishing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, birding, nature
photography, boating, hiking, and more);
(J) and numerous historic downtowns.
(8) The designation of the Cherokee Overhill Territory as a
National Heritage Area would enable local governments and
nonprofits to access Federal and other funding to maintain,
develop, interpret, and promote the distinct qualities that
integrate the area and make it special.
(9) Such National Heritage Area designation would also
greatly enhance cultural and educational opportunities and
promote tourism in the region.
(10) Because it is imperative that future generations
understand and appreciate the complex and ever evolving
interrelationship between people and land, it is imperative
that the Cherokee Overhill Territory be designated a National
Heritage Area.
SEC. 3. CHEROKEE OVERHILL TERRITORY AREA.
(a) Establishment.--There is hereby established the Cherokee
Overhill Territory National Heritage Area.
(b) Boundaries.--The boundaries of the Heritage Area shall include
all of those lands in the Cherokee Overhill Territory in Polk, McMinn,
Monroe, and Meigs Counties in Tennessee as depicted on the map titled
``___________'', numbered _______ and dated ________. The map shall be
on file in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. The
Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register, as
soon as practical after the date of the enactment of this Act, a
detailed description and map of the boundaries established under this
subsection.
(c) Management Entity.--The management entity for the Heritage Area
shall be the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association.
SEC. 4. COMPACT.
To carry out the purposes of this Act, 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 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 use funds made available under this Act for purposes of preparing,
updating, and implementing the management plan developed under
subsection (b). Such purposes may include--
(1) making grants to, and entering into cooperative
agreements with, States and their political subdivisions,
private organizations, or any other person;
(2) hiring and compensating staff; and
(3) undertaking initiatives that advance the purposes of
the Heritage Area.
(b) Management Plan.--The management entity shall develop a
management plan for the Heritage Area that--
(1) presents comprehensive strategies and recommendations
for conservation, funding, management, and development of the
Heritage Area;
(2) takes into consideration existing State, county, and
local plans and involves residents, public agencies, and
private organizations working in the Heritage Area;
(3) includes a description of actions that units of
government and private organizations have agreed to take to
protect the resources of the Heritage Area;
(4) specifies the existing and potential sources of funding
to protect, manage, and develop the Heritage Area;
(5) includes 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;
(6) describes 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;
(7) lists any revisions to the boundaries of the Heritage
Area proposed by the management entity and requested by the
affected local government; and
(8) includes an interpretation plan for the Heritage Area.
(c) Deadline; Termination of Funding.--
(1) Deadline.--The management entity shall submit the
management plan to the Secretary within 2 years after the funds
are made available for this Act.
(2) Termination of funding.--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.
(d) Duties of Management Entity.--The management entity shall--
(1) give priority to implementing actions set forth in the
compact and management plan;
(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;
(E) ensuring that clear signs identifying access
points and sites of interest are put in place
throughout the Heritage Area; and
(F) carrying out other actions that the management
entity determines to be advisable to fulfill the
purposes of this Act;
(3) encourage by appropriate means economic viability in
the Heritage Area consistent with the goals of the management
plan;
(4) consider the interests of diverse governmental,
business, and nonprofit groups within the Heritage Area; and
(5) for any year in which Federal funds have been provided
to implement the management plan under subsection (b)--
(A) conduct public meetings at least annually
regarding the implementation of the management plan;
(B) submit an annual report to the Secretary
setting forth accomplishments, expenses and income, and
each person to which any grant was made by the
management entity in the year for which the report is
made; and
(C) 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.
(e) Prohibition on the Acquisition of Real Property.--The
management entity may not use Federal funds received under this Act to
acquire real property or an interest in real property.
SEC. 6. DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY.
(a) Technical and Financial Assistance.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Overall assistance.--The Secretary may, upon
the request of the management entity, and subject to
the availability of appropriations, provide technical
and financial assistance to the management entity to
carry out its duties under this Act, including updating
and implementing a management plan that is submitted
under section 5(b) and approved by the Secretary and,
prior to such approval, providing assistance for
initiatives.
(B) Other assistance.--If the Secretary has the
resources available to provide technical assistance to
the management entity to carry out its duties under
this Act (including updating and implementing a
management plan that is submitted under section 5(b)
and approved by the Secretary and, prior to such
approval, providing assistance for initiatives), upon
the request of the management entity the Secretary
shall provide such assistance on a reimbursable basis.
This subparagraph does not preclude the Secretary from
providing nonreimbursable assistance under subparagraph
(A).
(2) Priority.--In assisting the management entity, the
Secretary shall give priority to actions that assist in the--
(A) implementation of the management plan;
(B) provision of educational assistance and advice
regarding land and water management techniques to
conserve the significant natural resources of the
region;
(C) development and application of techniques
promoting the preservation of cultural and historic
properties;
(D) preservation, restoration, and reuse of
publicly and privately owned historic buildings;
(E) design and fabrication of a wide range of
interpretive materials based on the management plan,
including guide brochures, visitor displays, audio-
visual and interactive exhibits, and educational
curriculum materials for public education; and
(F) implementation of initiatives prior to approval
of the management plan.
(3) Documentation of structures.--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 Tennessee shall approve or
disapprove a management plan submitted under this Act not later than 90
days after receiving such plan. In approving the plan, the Secretary
shall take into consideration the following criteria:
(1) The extent to which the management plan adequately
preserves and protects the natural, cultural, and historical
resources of the Heritage Area.
(2) The level of public participation in the development of
the management plan.
(3) The extent to which the board of directors of the
management entity is representative of the local government and
a wide range of interested organizations and citizens.
(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 management 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 and approve
amendments to the management plan under section 5(b) that make
substantial changes. Funds appropriated under this Act may not be
expended to implement such changes until the Secretary approves the
amendments.
(e) Effect of Inaction.--If the Secretary does not approve or
disapprove a management plan, revision, or change within 90 days after
it is submitted to the Secretary, then such management plan, revision,
or change shall be deemed to have been approved by the Secretary.
SEC. 7. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL ENTITIES.
Any Federal entity conducting or supporting activities directly
affecting the Heritage Area shall--
(1) consult with the Secretary and the management entity
with respect to such activities;
(2) cooperate with the Secretary and the management entity
in carrying out their duties under this Act and, to the maximum
extent practicable, coordinate such activities with the
carrying out of such duties; and
(3) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct or support
such activities in a manner that the management entity
determines shall not have an adverse effect on the Heritage
Area.
SEC. 8. SUNSET.
The Secretary may not make any grant or provide any assistance
under this Act after the expiration of the 15-year period beginning on
the date that funds are first made available for this Act.
SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.
(a) Notification and Consent of Property Owners Required.--No
privately owned property shall be preserved, conserved, or promoted by
the management plan for the Heritage Area until the owner of that
private property has been notified in writing by the management entity
and has given written consent for such preservation, conservation, or
promotion to the management entity.
(b) Landowner Withdraw.--Any owner of private property included
within the boundary of the Heritage Area shall have their property
immediately removed from the boundary by submitting a written request
to the management entity.
SEC. 10. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.
(a) Access to Private Property.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to--
(1) require any private property owner to allow public
access (including Federal, State, or local government access)
to such private property; or
(2) modify any provision of Federal, State, or local law
with regard to public access to or use of private property.
(b) Liability.--Designation of the Heritage Area shall not be
considered to create any liability, or to have any effect on any
liability under any other law, of any private property owner with
respect to any persons injured on such private property.
(c) Recognition of Authority to Control Land Use.--Nothing in this
Act shall be construed to modify the authority of Federal, State, or
local governments to regulate land use.
(d) Participation of Private Property Owners in Heritage Area.--
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the owner of any
private property located within the boundaries of the Heritage Area to
participate in or be associated with the Heritage Area.
(e) Effect of Establishment.--The boundaries designated for the
Heritage Area represent the area within which Federal funds
appropriated for the purpose of this Act may be expended. The
establishment of the Heritage Area and its boundaries shall not be
construed to provide any nonexisting regulatory authority on land use
within the Heritage Area or its viewshed by the Secretary, the National
Park Service, or the management entity.
SEC. 11. USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FROM OTHER SOURCES.
Nothing in this Act shall preclude the management entity from
using Federal funds available under Acts other than this Act for the
purposes for which those funds were authorized.
SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out 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.
SEC. 13. CONDITIONS ON AUTHORIZATION.
This Act shall have no force or effect on and after the date (after
the date of the enactment of this Act) on which a Federal law, rule, or
regulation is enacted that--
(1) restricts land use within the boundaries of the
Heritage Areas; or
(2) authorizes any taking of private property within the
boundaries of the Heritage Area.
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