1.This Act may be cited as the
Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area
Act
.
2.
(a)Congress
finds the following:
(1)The Arabia
Mountain area contains a variety of natural, cultural, historical, scenic, and
recreational resources that together represent distinctive aspects of the
heritage of the United States that are worthy of recognition, conservation,
interpretation, and continuing use.
(2)The best methods
for managing the resources of the Arabia Mountain area would be through
partnerships between public and private entities that combine diverse resources
and active communities.
(3)Davidson-Arabia
Mountain Nature Preserve, a 535-acre park in DeKalb County, Georgia—
(A)protects granite
outcrop ecosystems, wetland, and pine and oak forests; and
(B)includes
federally-protected plant species.
(4)Panola Mountain,
a national natural landmark, located in the 860-acre Panola Mountain State
Conservation Park, is a rare example of a pristine granite outcrop.
(5)The
archaeological site at Miners Creek Preserve along the South River contains
documented evidence of early human activity.
(6)The city of
Lithonia, Georgia, and related sites of Arabia Mountain and Stone Mountain
possess sites that display the history of granite mining as an industry and
culture in Georgia, and the impact of that industry on the United
States.
(7)The community of
Klondike is eligible for designation as a National Historic District.
(8)The city of
Lithonia has 2 structures listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
(b)The
purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1)To recognize,
preserve, promote, interpret, and make available for the benefit of the public
the natural, cultural, historical, scenic, and recreational resources in the
area that includes Arabia Mountain, Panola Mountain, Miners Creek, and other
significant sites and communities.
(2)To assist the
State of Georgia and the counties of DeKalb, Rockdale, and Henry in the State
in developing and implementing an integrated cultural, historical, and land
resource management program to protect, enhance, and interpret the significant
resources within the heritage area.
3.For the purposes of this Act, the following
definitions apply:
(1)The term heritage area means the Arabia
Mountain National Heritage Area established by section 4.
(2)The term management entity means the Arabia
Mountain Heritage Area Alliance or a successor of the Arabia Mountain Heritage
Area Alliance.
(3)The term management plan means the management
plan for the heritage area developed under section 6.
(4)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(5)The
term State means the State of Georgia.
4.Arabia Mountain
National Heritage Area
(a)There
is established the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area in the State.
(b)The
heritage area shall consist of certain parcels of land in the counties of
DeKalb, Rockdale, and Henry in the State, as generally depicted
on the map entitled
The Preferred Concept
contained in the document entitled
Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area Feasibility Study
, dated
February 28, 2001
on the map entitled Arabia
Mountain National Heritage Area
, numbered AMNHA–80,000, and dated
October 2003.
(c)The map shall be on file and available for public inspection
in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
(d)The Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance shall be the
management entity for the heritage area.
5.Authorities and
duties of the management entity
(a)For
purposes of developing and implementing the management plan, the management
entity may—
(1)make grants to,
and enter into cooperative agreements with, the State, political subdivisions
of the State, and private organizations;
(2)hire and
compensate staff; and
(3)enter into
contracts for goods and services.
(b)
(1)
(A)The management entity shall develop and submit to the
Secretary the management plan.
(B)In
developing and implementing the management plan, the management entity shall
consider the interests of diverse governmental, business, and nonprofit groups
within the heritage area.
(2)The
management entity shall give priority to implementing actions described in the
management plan, including the following:
(A)Assisting units
of government and nonprofit organizations in preserving resources within the
heritage area.
(B)Encouraging local
governments to adopt land use policies consistent with the management of the
heritage area and the goals of the management plan.
(3)The management entity shall conduct public meetings at
least quarterly on the implementation of the management plan.
(4)For any year in which Federal funds have been made
available under this Act, the management entity shall submit to the Secretary
an annual report that describes the following:
(A)The
accomplishments of the management entity.
(B)The expenses and
income of the management entity.
(5)The
management entity shall—
(A)make available to
the Secretary for audit all records relating to the expenditure of Federal
funds and any matching funds; and
(B)require, with
respect to all agreements authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by other
organizations, that the receiving organizations make available to the Secretary
for audit all records concerning the expenditure of those funds.
(c)
(1)The management entity shall not use Federal funds made
available under this Act to acquire real property or an interest in real
property.
(2)Nothing in this Act precludes the management entity from
using Federal funds made available under other Federal laws for any purpose for
which the funds are authorized to be used.
6.
(a)The management entity shall develop a management plan for
the heritage area that incorporates an integrated and cooperative approach to
protect, interpret, and enhance the natural, cultural, historical, scenic, and
recreational resources of the heritage area.
(b)The
management plan shall be based on the preferred concept in the document
entitled Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area Feasibility
Study
, dated February 28, 2001.
(c)Consideration
of other plans and actionsThe management plan shall—
(1)take into
consideration State and local plans; and
(2)involve
residents, public agencies, and private organizations in the heritage
area.
(d)The
management plan shall include the following:
(1)An inventory of
the resources in the heritage area, including—
(A)a list of
property in the heritage area that—
(i)relates to the
purposes of the heritage area; and
(ii)should be
preserved, restored, managed, or maintained because of the significance of the
property; and
(B)an assessment of
cultural landscapes within the heritage area.
(2)Provisions for
the protection, interpretation, and enjoyment of the resources of the heritage
area consistent with the purposes of this Act.
(3)An interpretation
plan for the heritage area.
(4)A program for
implementation of the management plan that includes—
(A)actions to be
carried out by units of government, private organizations, and public-private
partnerships to protect the resources of the heritage area; and
(B)the
identification of existing and potential sources of funding for implementing
the plan.
(5)A description and
evaluation of the management entity, including the membership and
organizational structure of the management entity.
(e)Submission to
Secretary for approval
(1)Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the management entity shall submit the management plan to the
Secretary for approval.
(2)Effect of
failure to submitIf a management plan is not submitted to the
Secretary by the date specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall not
provide any additional funding under this Act until such date as a management
plan for the heritage area is submitted to the Secretary.
(f)Approval and
disapproval of management plan
(1)Not later than 90 days after receiving the management
plan submitted under subsection (e), the Secretary, in consultation with the
State, shall approve or disapprove the management plan.
(2)Action
following disapproval
(A)If
the Secretary disapproves a management plan submitted under paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall—
(i)advise the
management entity in writing of the reasons for the disapproval;
(ii)make
recommendations for revisions to the management plan; and
(iii)allow the
management entity to submit to the Secretary revisions to the management
plan.
(B)Deadline for
approval of revisionNot later than 90 days after the date on
which a revision is submitted under subparagraph (A)(iii), the Secretary shall
approve or disapprove the revision.
(g)Revision of
management plan
(1)After approval by the Secretary of a management plan, the
management entity shall periodically—
(A)review the
management plan; and
(B)submit to the
Secretary, for review and approval by the Secretary, the recommendations of the
management entity for any revisions to the management plan that the management
entity considers to be appropriate.
(2)No funds made available under this Act shall be used to
implement any revision proposed by the management entity under paragraph (1)(B)
until the Secretary approves the revision.
7.Technical and
financial assistance
(a)At the request of the management entity, the Secretary
may provide technical and financial assistance to the heritage area to develop
and implement the management plan.
(b)In
providing assistance under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to
actions that facilitate—
(1)the conservation
of the significant natural, cultural, historical, scenic, and recreational
resources that support the purposes of the heritage area; and
(2)the provision of
educational, interpretive, and recreational opportunities that are consistent
with the resources and associated values of the heritage area.
8.Effect on
certain authority
(a)Occupational,
safety, conservation, and environmental regulationNothing in
this Act—
(1)imposes an
occupational, safety, conservation, or environmental regulation on the heritage
area that is more stringent than the regulations that would be applicable to
the land described in section 4(b) but for the establishment of the heritage
area by section 4; or
(2)authorizes a
Federal agency to promulgate an occupational, safety, conservation, or
environmental regulation for the heritage area that is more stringent than the
regulations applicable to the land described in section 4(b) as of the date of
enactment of this Act, solely as a result of the establishment of the heritage
area by section 4.
(b)Nothing in this Act—
(1)modifies,
enlarges, or diminishes any authority of the Federal Government or a State or
local government to regulate any use of land as provided for by law (including
regulations) in existence on the date of enactment of this Act; or
(2)grants powers of
zoning or land use to the management entity.
9.Authorization of
appropriations
(a)There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
Act $10,000,000, to remain available until expended, of which not more than
$1,000,000 may be used in any fiscal year.
(b)The Federal share of the cost of any project or activity
carried out using funds made available under this Act shall not exceed 50
percent.
10.The authority of the
Secretary to make any grant or provide any assistance under this Act shall
terminate on September 30, 2016.
February 16, 2005
Reported with an amendment