[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1629 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1629

    To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
 resource study of the archeological site and surrounding land of the 
  New Philadelphia town site in the State of Illinois, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 6, 2009

  Mr. Burris introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
 resource study of the archeological site and surrounding land of the 
  New Philadelphia town site in the State of Illinois, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``New Philadelphia, Illinois, Study 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Frank McWhorter, an enslaved man, bought his freedom 
        and the freedom of 15 family members by mining for crude niter 
        in Kentucky caves and processing the mined material into 
        saltpeter;
            (2) New Philadelphia, founded in 1836 by Frank McWhorter, 
        was the first town established by a free African-American 
        before the Civil War;
            (3) the first railroad constructed in the area of New 
        Philadelphia bypassed New Philadelphia, which led to the 
        decline of New Philadelphia; and
            (4) the New Philadelphia site--
                    (A) is covered by farmland; and
                    (B) does not contain any original buildings of the 
                town or the McWhorter farm and home that are visible 
                above ground.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (2) Study area.--The term ``Study Area'' means the New 
        Philadelphia archeological site and the surrounding land in the 
        State of Illinois.

SEC. 4. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a special resource study of 
the Study Area.
    (b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) evaluate the national significance of the Study Area;
            (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
        designating the Study Area as a unit of the National Park 
        System;
            (3) consider other alternatives for preservation, 
        protection, and interpretation of the Study Area by--
                    (A) Federal, State, or local governmental entities; 
                or
                    (B) private and nonprofit organizations;
            (4) consult with--
                    (A) interested Federal, State, or local 
                governmental entities;
                    (B) private and nonprofit organizations; or
                    (C) any other interested individuals; and
            (5) identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition, 
        development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance 
        associated with the alternatives considered under paragraph 
        (3).
    (c) Applicable Law.--The study required under subsection (a) shall 
be conducted in accordance with section 8 of Public Law 91-383 (16 
U.S.C. 1a-5).
    (d) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds 
are first made available for the study under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a report containing--
            (1) the results of the study; and
            (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.
                                 <all>