[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1182 Reported in Senate (RS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 357
110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1182

                          [Report No. 110-159]

 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

                             April 20, 2007

   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

                           September 17, 2007

              Reported by Mr. Bingaman, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Quinebaug and Shetucket 
Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor Amendments Act of 
2007''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) during the 5 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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) significant historic structures have been 
        identified and restored under the programs carried out in the 
        Heritage Corridor;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) as part of the vision to sustain the 
        traditional land-based economy of the region, the Heritage 
        Corridor has--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) developed agritourism and continuing 
                education programs for the region; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) collected and analyzed data relating 
                to the vision;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) recreational tourism has been enhanced by the 
        many trails, greenways, river access, and interpretive projects 
        in the Heritage Corridor;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) each of the 35 municipal governments within 
        the Heritage Corridor has signed a voluntary and nonbinding 
        community compact in which governments--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) accept the goals and objectives of the 
                management plan for the Heritage Corridor; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) formalize the commitment of the 
                governments to balance conservation and growth and the 
                collective vision of the governments for the 
                watershed;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) during the past 11 years the Heritage Corridor 
        has consistently leveraged an average of $19 for every Federal 
        dollar invested in the Heritage Corridor;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) the Heritage Corridor has adopted, and is 
        implementing, a comprehensive plan, entitled ``The Trail to 
        2015, A Sustainability Plan for The Last Green Valley'', to 
        become self-sufficient by the year 2015; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) reauthorizing the Heritage Corridor would 
        leverage significant multiyear commitments and ensure self-
        sufficiency by 2015 for the programs and projects that are 
        fulfilling the mission of the Heritage Corridor.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. QUINEBAUG AND SHETUCKET RIVERS VALLEY NATIONAL 
              HERITAGE CORRIDOR.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (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, 2015''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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 ``$15,000,000''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers 
Valley National Heritage Corridor Amendments Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. 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, 2015''.
    (b) Evaluation; Report.--Section 106 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 adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(c) Evaluation; Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years before the date 
        on which authority for Federal funding terminates for the 
        Corridor, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) conduct an evaluation of the accomplishments 
                of the Corridor; and
                    ``(B) prepare a report in accordance with paragraph 
                (3).
            ``(2) Evaluation.--An evaluation conducted under paragraph 
        (1)(A) shall--
                    ``(A) assess the progress of the management entity 
                with respect to--
                            ``(i) accomplishing the purposes of this 
                        title for the Corridor; and
                            ``(ii) achieving the goals and objectives 
                        of the management plan for the Corridor;
                    ``(B) analyze the Federal, State, local, and 
                private investments in the Corridor to determine the 
                leverage and impact of the investments; and
                    ``(C) review the management structure, partnership 
                relationships, and funding of the Corridor for purposes 
                of identifying the critical components for 
                sustainability of the Corridor.
            ``(3) Report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Based on the evaluation 
                conducted under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall 
                prepare a report that includes recommendations for the 
                future role of the National Park Service, if any, with 
                respect to the Corridor.
                    ``(B) Required analysis.--If the report prepared 
                under subparagraph (A) recommends that Federal funding 
                for the Corridor be reauthorized, the report shall 
                include an analysis of--
                            ``(i) ways in which Federal funding for the 
                        Corridor may be reduced or eliminated; and
                            ``(ii) the appropriate time period 
                        necessary to achieve the recommended reduction 
                        or elimination.
                    ``(C) Submission to congress.--On completion of the 
                report, the Secretary shall submit the report to--
                            ``(i) the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                        Resources of the Senate; and
                            ``(ii) the Committee on Natural Resources 
                        of the House of Representatives.''.
    (c) 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 ``$15,000,000''.
                                                       Calendar No. 357

110th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 1182

                          [Report No. 110-159]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 17, 2007

                       Reported with an amendment