[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 574 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 574

 To amend the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage 
 Corridor Act of 1994 to increase the authorization of appropriations 
  and modify the date on which the authority of the Secretary of the 
                   Interior terminates under the Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 9, 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage 
 Corridor Act of 1994 to increase the authorization of appropriations 
  and modify the date on which the authority of the Secretary of the 
                   Interior terminates under the Act.

    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 ``Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers 
Valley National Heritage Corridor Amendments Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) thousands of individuals, hundreds of nonprofit 
        organizations, businesses, and local and regional 
        organizations, 35 towns, and 2 States have worked to preserve 
        and enhance the significant natural, historic, cultural, and 
        scenic resources of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley 
        National Heritage Corridor, an area which is commonly known as 
        ``The Last Green Valley'';
            (2) the Green Valley Institute, a partnership between the 
        University of Connecticut and the cooperative extension system 
        of the University of Massachusetts, has significantly improved 
        the information base available to the primarily volunteer 
        municipal officers that are responsible for making land use and 
        natural resource conservation decisions with respect to The 
        Last Green Valley;
            (3) during the 3 years preceding the date of enactment of 
        this Act, the Green Valley Institute was recognized with a 
        total of 8 State or national awards for public education;
            (4) significant historic structures have been identified 
        and restored under the programs carried out in the Heritage 
        Corridor;
            (5) museums, attractions, landscapes, and businesses in the 
        Heritage Corridor have been assembled into cohesive 
        interpretive projects that tell the stories of The Last Green 
        Valley for residents and tourists;
            (6) as part of the vision to sustain the traditional land-
        based economy of the region, the Heritage Corridor has--
                    (A) developed agritourism and continuing education 
                programs for the region; and
                    (B) collected and analyzed data relating to the 
                vision;
            (7) recreational tourism has been enhanced by the many 
        trails, greenways, river access, and interpretive projects in 
        the Heritage Corridor;
            (8) 8 of the 35 municipal governments within the Heritage 
        Corridor have signed a voluntary and nonbinding community 
        compact in which governments--
                    (A) accept the goals and objectives of the 
                management plan for the Heritage Corridor; and
                    (B) formalize the commitment of the governments to 
                balance conservation and growth and the collective 
                vision of the governments for the watershed;
            (9) during the past 10 years the Heritage Corridor has 
        consistently leveraged an average of $16 for every Federal 
        dollar invested in the Heritage Corridor; and
            (10) reauthorizing the Heritage Corridor would leverage 
        significant multiyear commitments towards self-sufficiency for 
        the programs and projects that are fulfilling the mission of 
        the Heritage Corridor.

SEC. 3. QUINEBAUG AND SHETUCKET RIVERS VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE 
              CORRIDOR.

    (a) Termination of Authority.--Section 106(b) of the Quinebaug and 
Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor Act of 1994 (16 
U.S.C. 461 note; Public Law 103-449) is amended by striking ``September 
30, 2009'' and inserting ``September 30, 2027''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 109(a) of the 
Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor Act of 
1994 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; Public Law 103-449) is amended by striking 
``$10,000,000'' and inserting ``$20,000,000''.
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