I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2986 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 19, 2009 Mr. Moran of Virginia (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Connolly of Virginia, Mr. Wittman, Ms. Edwards of Maryland, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. Hoyer) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Act of May 29, 1930 (Chapter 354; 46 Stat. 482; commonly known as the Capper-Cramton Act), to authorize a grant program to preserve resources in the National Capital region, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the National Capital Region Land Conservation Act of 2009.

2.

Authorization of grant program

The Act of May 29, 1930 (Chapter 354; 46 Stat. 482; commonly known as the Capper-Cramton Act), is amended by adding at the end the following:

7.

Grant program to preserve resources in the National Capital region

(a)

Establishment

Out of amounts appropriated to carry out this section, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, is authorized to make grants to covered States and covered local governments to assist the acquisition of lands and interests therein that affect or are within the National Capital region and that will be used for any of the following purposes: (1)Parks. (2)Open space. (3)Green space corridors that link public lands, lands subject to conservation restrictions, or a combination of such lands. (4)Agriculture. (5)Forests. (6)Fish and wildlife habitat. (7)Watershed protection. (8)Historic preservation. (9)Sensitive environmental area protection. (10)Public recreation. (b)

Restriction to certain uses

The Secretary shall require that, for each grant under subsection (a), any land or interest therein acquired through the assistance of such grant may not be used for a purpose other than a purpose described in subsection (a). (c)

Grant determinations

In determining whether to make a grant under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider the following: (1)How the proposed acquisition furthers local and regional planning and policy objectives. (2)The amount of non-Federal funding to be provided for the proposed acquisition. (3)The relationship of the proposed acquisition to other public lands and conservation areas. (4)The relative need of an area for the proposed acquisition due to such area’s limited or lacking quality or quantity of protected resources. (5)Any impending threat to the resource under consideration for protection by the proposed acquisition. (d)

Matching requirement

Grants under subsection (a) shall be in an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the acquisition such grant will assist, which includes costs relating to purchase price, appraisal, survey, title clearance, and closing. The non-Federal share of such cost may be in cash or in kind. (e)

Applicable laws

Acquisitions assisted by a grant under subsection (a) shall be in accord with the laws of the applicable covered State, including any requirements for appraisal and acceptable title. (f)

Title and management of lands

Title to lands and interests therein acquired with the assistance of a grant under subsection (a) shall be held by the covered State or covered local government making the acquisition. Management responsibilities for the lands and interests may be delegated to nonprofit organizations on such terms and conditions deemed by the title holder to be in the public interest. (g)

Relationship to other Federal funding

The authority of the Secretary to make grants under subsection (a) is in addition to any other authority provided to acquire lands and interests therein for related purposes, except that Federal funds provided under any other authority may not be used for the non-Federal share required under subsection (d). (h)

Planning grants

The Secretary is authorized to make grants to covered States, covered local governments, and nonprofit organizations for the purpose of planning and evaluating acquisitions eligible for a grant under subsection (a). The sum of the amounts of grants made under this subsection in a fiscal year may not exceed 5 percent of the amount of funds appropriated to carry out this section in the fiscal year. (i)

Administrative costs

Not more than 2 percent of the amount of funds appropriated to carry out this section in a fiscal year may be used for administrative costs. (j)

Relationship to other provisions of this Act

No requirement of this Act, except a requirement under this section, applies to an activity under this section. (k)

Definitions

In this section, the following definitions apply: (1)

Covered local government

The term covered local government means a political subdivision of a covered State. (2)

Covered State

The term covered State means each of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, including any department or agency thereof. (3)

National Capital region

The term National Capital region means the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV Metropolitan Statistical Area as such Area is defined by the Office of Management and Budget’s OMB Bulletin No. 09–01, dated November 20, 2008, and as such Area may be revised by the Office of Management and Budget from time to time. (4)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service. (l)

Authorization of appropriations

To carry out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

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