1.This Act may be cited as the
Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area
Act
.
2.In this Act:
(1)The term Heritage Area means the Buffalo Bayou
National Heritage Area, established in this Act.
(2)The term management entity means the
management entity for the Heritage Area designated by this Act.
(3)The term management plan means the management
plan for the Heritage Area required under this Act.
(4)The
term map means the map entitled Buffalo Bayou National
Heritage Area Proposed Boundary
, numbered T11/101,592, and dated March
2010.
(5)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(6)The
term State means the State of Texas.
3.Buffalo Bayou
National Heritage Area
(a)There
is established in the State the Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area.
(b)The
Heritage Area shall consist of areas included in the map in Harris County,
Texas.
(c)A
map of the Heritage Area shall be—
(1)included in the
management plan; and
(2)on file and
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park
Service.
(d)The management entity for the Heritage Area shall be the
Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area Corporation.
4.
(a)For
purposes of carrying out the management plan, the Secretary, acting through the
management entity, may use amounts made available under this Act to—
(1)make grants to the
State or a political subdivision of the State, nonprofit organizations, and
other persons;
(2)enter into
cooperative agreements with, or provide technical assistance to, the State or a
political subdivision of the State, nonprofit organizations, and other
interested parties;
(3)hire and
compensate staff, which shall include individuals with expertise in natural,
cultural, and historical resources protection, and heritage programming;
(4)obtain money or
services from any source including any that are provided under any other
Federal law or program;
(5)contract for goods
or services; and
(6)undertake to be a
catalyst for any other activity that furthers the Heritage Area and is
consistent with the approved management plan.
(b)The
management entity shall—
(1)in accordance with
section 5, prepare and submit a management plan for the Heritage Area to the
Secretary;
(2)assist units of
local government, regional planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations
in carrying out the approved management plan by—
(A)carrying out
programs and projects that recognize, protect, and enhance important resource
values in the Heritage Area;
(B)establishing and
maintaining interpretive exhibits and programs in the Heritage Area;
(C)developing
recreational and educational opportunities in the Heritage Area;
(D)increasing public
awareness of, and appreciation for, natural, historical, scenic, and cultural
resources of the Heritage Area;
(E)protecting and
restoring historic sites and buildings in the Heritage Area that are consistent
with Heritage Area themes;
(F)ensuring that
clear, consistent, and appropriate signs identifying points of public access,
and sites of interest are posted throughout the Heritage Area; and
(G)promoting a wide
range of partnerships among governments, organizations, and individuals to
further the Heritage Area;
(3)consider the
interests of diverse units of government, businesses, organizations, and
individuals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and implementation of the
management plan;
(4)conduct meetings
open to the public at least semiannually regarding the development and
implementation of the management plan;
(5)for any year that
Federal funds have been received under this Act—
(A)submit an annual
report to the Secretary that describes the activities, expenses, and income of
the management entity (including grants to any other entities during the year
that the report is made);
(B)make available to
the Secretary for audit all records relating to the expenditure of the funds
and any matching funds; and
(C)require, with
respect to all agreements authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by other
organizations, that the organizations receiving the funds make available to the
Secretary for audit all records concerning the expenditure of the funds;
and
(6)encourage by
appropriate means economic viability that is consistent with the Heritage
Area.
(c)Prohibition on
the acquisition of real propertyThe management entity shall not
use Federal funds made available under this Act to acquire real property or any
interest in real property.
(d)The Federal share
of the cost of any activity carried out using any assistance made available
under this Act shall be 50 percent.
5.
(a)Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the management entity shall submit to the Secretary for approval a
proposed management plan for the Heritage Area.
(b)The
management plan shall—
(1)incorporate an
integrated and cooperative approach for the protection, enhancement, and
interpretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, and recreational
resources of the Heritage Area;
(2)take into
consideration State and local plans;
(3)include—
(A)an inventory
of—
(i)the
resources located in the core area described in section 4(b); and
(ii)any
other property in the core area that—
(I)is related to the
themes of the Heritage Area; and
(II)should be
preserved, restored, managed, or maintained because of the significance of the
property;
(B)comprehensive
policies, strategies, and recommendations for conservation, funding,
management, and development of the Heritage Area;
(C)a description of
actions that governments, private organizations, and individuals have agreed to
take to protect the natural, historical, and cultural resources of the Heritage
Area;
(D)a program of
implementation for the management plan by the management entity that includes a
description of actions to facilitate ongoing collaboration among partners
to—
(i)promote plans for
resource protection, restoration, and construction; and
(ii)specific
commitments for implementation that have been made by the management entity or
any government, organization, or individual for the first 5 years of
operation;
(E)the identification
of sources of funding for carrying out the management plan;
(F)analysis and
recommendations for means by which local, State, and Federal programs,
including the role of the National Park Service in the Heritage Area, may best
be coordinated to carry out this Act; and
(G)an interpretive
plan for the Heritage Area; and
(4)recommend policies
and strategies for resource management that consider and detail the application
of appropriate land and water management techniques, including the development
of intergovernmental and interagency cooperative agreements to protect the
natural, historical, cultural, educational, scenic, and recreational resources
of the Heritage Area.
(c)If
a proposed management plan is not submitted to the Secretary by the date that
is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the management entity shall
be ineligible to receive additional funding under this Act until the date that
the Secretary receives and approves the management plan.
(d)Approval or
disapproval of management plan
(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of receipt of the
management plan under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation with the
State, shall approve or disapprove the management plan.
(2)In determining whether to approve the management plan,
the Secretary shall consider whether—
(A)the management
entity is representative of the diverse interests of the Heritage Area,
including governments, natural and historic resource protection organizations,
educational institutions, businesses, and recreational organizations;
(B)the management
entity has afforded adequate opportunity, including public hearings, for public
and governmental involvement in the preparation of the management plan;
and
(C)the resource
protection and interpretation strategies contained in the management plan, if
implemented, would adequately protect the natural, historical, and cultural
resources of the Heritage Area.
(3)Action following
disapprovalIf the Secretary disapproves the management plan
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
(A)advise the
management entity in writing of the reasons for the disapproval;
(B)make
recommendations for revisions to the management plan; and
(C)not later than 180
days after the receipt of any proposed revision of the management plan from the
management entity, approve or disapprove the proposed revision.
(4)
(A)The Secretary shall approve or disapprove each amendment
to the management plan that the Secretary determines makes a substantial change
to the management plan.
(B)The management entity shall not use Federal funds
authorized by this Act to carry out any amendments to the management plan until
the Secretary has approved the amendments.
6.Relationship to
other Federal agencies
(a)Nothing in this Act affects the authority of a Federal
agency to provide technical or financial assistance under any other law.
(b)Consultation and
coordinationThe head of any Federal agency planning to conduct
activities that may have an impact on the Heritage Area is encouraged to
consult and coordinate the activities with the Secretary and the management
entity to the maximum extent practicable.
(c)Nothing in this
Act—
(1)modifies, alters,
or amends any law or regulation authorizing a Federal agency to manage Federal
land under the jurisdiction of the Federal agency;
(2)limits the
discretion of a Federal land manager to implement an approved land use plan
within the boundaries of the Heritage Area; or
(3)modifies, alters,
or amends any authorized use of Federal land under the jurisdiction of a
Federal agency.
7.Private property
protectionNothing in this
Act—
(1)abridges the
rights of any property owner (whether public or private), including the right
to refrain from participating in any plan, project, program, or activity
conducted within the Heritage Area;
(2)requires any
property owner to permit public access (including access by Federal, State, or
local agencies) to the property of the property owner, or to modify public
access or use of property of the property owner under any other Federal, State,
or local law;
(3)alters any duly
adopted land use regulation, approved land use plan, or other regulatory
authority of any Federal, State or local agency, or conveys any land use or
other regulatory authority to the management entity;
(4)authorizes or
implies the reservation or appropriation of water or water rights;
(5)diminishes the
authority of the State to manage fish and wildlife, including the regulation of
fishing and hunting within the Heritage Area; or
(6)creates any
liability, or affects any liability under any other law, of any private
property owner with respect to any person injured on the private
property.
8.
(a)Nothing in this Act is meant to modify the Rio Grande
Natural Area Act.
(b)Nothing
in this Act—
(1)amends, modifies,
or is in conflict with the Act of May 31, 1939 (53 Stat. 785, chapter
155);
(2)authorizes the
regulation of private land in the Heritage Area;
(3)authorizes the
imposition of any mandatory streamflow requirements;
(4)creates an express
or implied Federal reserved water right;
(5)imposes any
Federal water quality standard within or upstream of the Heritage Area that is
more restrictive than would be applicable had the Heritage Area not been
established; or
(6)prevents the State
of Texas from acquiring an instream flow through the Heritage Area under the
terms, conditions, and limitations of State law to assist in protecting the
natural environment to the extent and for the purposes authorized by State
law.
9.
(a)Not later than 3
years before the date on which authority for Federal funding terminates for the
Heritage Area, the Secretary shall—
(1)conduct an
evaluation of the accomplishments of the Heritage Area; and
(2)prepare a report
in accordance with subsection (c).
(b)An
evaluation conducted under subsection (a)(1) shall—
(1)assess the
progress of the management entity with respect to—
(A)accomplishing the
purposes of this Act for the Heritage Area; and
(B)achieving the
goals and objectives of the approved management plan for the Heritage
Area;
(2)analyze the
Federal, State, local, and private investments in the Heritage Area to
determine the leverage and impact of the investments; and
(3)review the
management structure, partnership relationships, and funding of the Heritage
Area for purposes of identifying the critical components for sustainability of
the Heritage Area.
(c)
(1)Based on the evaluation conducted under subsection
(a)(1), the Secretary shall prepare a report that includes recommendations for
the future role of the National Park Service, if any, with respect to the
Heritage Area.
(2)If the report prepared under paragraph (1) recommends
that Federal funding for the Heritage Area be reauthorized, the report shall
include an analysis of—
(A)ways in which
Federal funding for the Heritage Area may be reduced or eliminated; and
(B)the appropriate
time period necessary to achieve the recommended reduction or
elimination.
(3)On completion of the report, the Secretary shall submit
the report to—
(A)the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and
(B)the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.
10.Authorization of
appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $10,000,000, of which not
more than $1,000,000 may be made available for any fiscal year.
11.The authority of the
Secretary to provide assistance under this Act terminates on the date that is
15 years after the date that funds are first made available to carry out this
Act.