[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1387 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1387

 To provide for an update of the Cultural Heritage and Land Management 
 Plan for the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage 
  Corridor, to extend the authority of the John H. Chafee Blackstone 
 River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission, to authorize the 
undertaking of a special resource study of sites and landscape features 
within the Corridor, and to authorize additional appropriations for the 
                               Corridor.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 13, 2005

    Mr. Chafee (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Reed) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for an update of the Cultural Heritage and Land Management 
 Plan for the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage 
  Corridor, to extend the authority of the John H. Chafee Blackstone 
 River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission, to authorize the 
undertaking of a special resource study of sites and landscape features 
within the Corridor, and to authorize additional appropriations for the 
                               Corridor.

    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 ``John H. Chafee Blackstone River 
Valley National Heritage Corridor Reauthorization Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. JOHN H. CHAFEE BLACKSTONE RIVER VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE 
              CORRIDOR.

    (a) Commission Membership.--Section 3(b) of Public Law 99-647 (16 
U.S.C. 461 note) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``nineteen members'' and inserting ``25 
        members'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``six'' and inserting ``6''; and
                    (B) by striking ``Department of Environmental 
                Management Directors from Rhode Island and 
                Massachusetts'' and inserting ``the Director of the 
                Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and 
                the Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of 
                Environmental Affairs'';
            (3) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``four'' each place it appears and 
                inserting ``5''; and
                    (B) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon;
            (4) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) by striking ``two'' each place it appears and 
                inserting ``3''; and
                    (B) by striking the period and inserting ``; and''; 
                and
            (5) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
            ``(5) 1 representative of a nongovernmental organization 
        from Massachusetts and 1 from Rhode Island, to be appointed by 
        the Secretary, which have expertise in historic preservation, 
        conservation, outdoor recreation, cultural conservation, 
        traditional arts, community development, or tourism.''.
    (b) Quorum.--Section 3(f)(1) of Public Law 99-647 (16 U.S.C. 461 
note) is amended by striking ``Ten'' and inserting ``13''.
    (c) Update of Plan.--Section 6 of Public Law 99-647 (16 U.S.C. 461 
note) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Update of Plan.--(1) Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall update the plan 
under subsection (a).
    ``(2) In updating the plan under paragraph (1), the Commission 
shall take into account the findings and recommendations included in 
the Blackstone Sustainability Study conducted by the National Park 
Service Conservation Study Institute.''
    ``(3) The update shall include--
            ``(A) performance goals; and
            ``(B) an analysis of--
                    ``(i) options for preserving, enhancing, and 
                interpreting the resources of the Corridor;
                    ``(ii) the partnerships that sustain those 
                resources; and
                    ``(iii) the funding program for the Corridor.
    ``(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Secretary 
shall approve or disapprove any changes to the plan proposed in the 
update in accordance with subsection (b).
    ``(B) Minor revisions to the plan shall not be subject to the 
approval of the Secretary.''.
    (d) Extension of Commission.--Public Law 99-647 (16 U.S.C. 461 
note) is amended by striking section 7 and inserting the following:

``SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

    ``The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after 
the date of enactment of the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley 
National Heritage Corridor Reauthorization Act of 2005.''.
    (e) Special Resource Study.--Section 8 of Public Law 99-647 (16 
U.S.C. 461 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Special Resource Study.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a special 
        resource study of sites and associated landscape features 
        within the boundaries of the Corridor that contribute to the 
        understanding of the Corridor as the birthplace of the 
        industrial revolution in the United States.
            ``(2) Evaluation.--Not later than 3 years after the date on 
        which funds are made available to carry out this subsection, 
        the Secretary shall complete the study under paragraph (1) to 
        evaluate the possibility of--
                    ``(A) designating 1 or more site or landscape 
                feature as a unit of the National Park System; and
                    ``(B) coordinating and complementing actions by the 
                Commission, local governments, and State and Federal 
                agencies, in the preservation and interpretation of 
                significant resources within the Corridor.
            ``(3) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate the 
        Study with the Commission.
            ``(4) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
        which the study under paragraph (1) is completed, the Secretary 
        shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
        Resources of the Senate a report that describes--
                    ``(A) the findings of the study; and
                    ``(B) the conclusions and recommendations of the 
                Secretary.''.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 10 of Public Law 99-
647 (16 U.S.C. 461 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``$650,000'' and 
        inserting ``$1,000,000''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Development Funds.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out section 8(c) not more than $10,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2006 through 2016, to remain available until expended.
    ``(c) Special Resource Study.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out section 8(d).''.
                                 <all>