[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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