[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2387 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2387
To adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National
Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 29, 2023
Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Chu, Mr.
Gomez, Mr. Lieu, and Mr. Sherman) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National
Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, 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 ``Rim of the Valley Corridor
Preservation Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area was
authorized as a unit of the National Park System on November
10, 1978.
(2) The Santa Monica Mountains and the Rim of the Valley
Corridor include--
(A) nationally significant resources--
(i) outstanding examples of geologic
history, including the evolution of the
Transverse Ranges Province;
(ii) a diversity of well-preserved marine
and terrestrial paleontological resources; and
(iii) high biodiversity, including
outstanding examples of native grasslands,
coastal sage scrub, chaparral, dry coniferous
forests, and alluvian fan sage scrub; and
(B) nationally significant cultural resources that
represent a wide range of themes related to human use
and settlement in the region--
(i) high concentrations of archeological
resources that provide insight into more than
10,000 years of Native American history; and
(ii) landmarks that represent topics such
as architecture, recreation, and space
exploration.
(3) Expanding the Santa Monica Mountains National
Recreation Area would provide new opportunities for the
National Park Service to serve a broad range of urban
communities, including many that are underrepresented in
national parks and underserved by State and local parks.
SEC. 3. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT; LAND ACQUISITION; ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Boundary Adjustment.--Section 507(c)(1) of the National Parks
and Recreation Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 460kk(c)(1)) is amended in the
first sentence by striking ``, which shall'' and inserting `` and
generally depicted as `Rim of the Valley Unit Proposed Addition' on the
map entitled `Rim of the Valley Unit--Santa Monica Mountains National
Recreation Area', numbered 638/147,723, and dated September 2018. Both
maps shall''.
(b) Rim of the Valley Unit.--Section 507 of the National Parks and
Recreation Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 460kk) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(u) Rim of the Valley Unit.--(1) Not later than 3 years after the
date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall update
the general management plan for the recreation area to reflect the
boundaries designated on the map referred to in subsection (c)(1) as
the `Rim of the Valley Unit' (hereafter in the subsection referred to
as the `Rim of the Valley Unit'). Subject to valid existing rights, the
Secretary shall administer the Rim of the Valley Unit, and any land or
interest in land acquired by the United States and located within the
boundaries of the Rim of the Valley Unit, as part of the recreation
area in accordance with the provisions of this section and applicable
laws and regulations.
``(2) The Secretary may acquire non-Federal land within the
boundaries of the Rim of the Valley Unit only through exchange,
donation, or purchase from a willing seller. Nothing in this subsection
authorizes the use of eminent domain to acquire land or interests in
land.
``(3) Nothing in this subsection or the application of the
management plan for the Rim of the Valley Unit shall be construed to--
``(A) modify any provision of Federal, State, or local law
with respect to public access to or use of non-Federal land;
``(B) create any liability, or affect any liability under
any other law, of any private property owner or other owner of
non-Federal land with respect to any person injured on private
property or other non-Federal land;
``(C) affect the ownership, management, or other rights
relating to any non-Federal land (including any interest in any
non-Federal land);
``(D) require any local government to participate in any
program administered by the Secretary;
``(E) alter, modify, or diminish any right, responsibility,
power, authority, jurisdiction, or entitlement of the State,
any political subdivision of the State, or any State or local
agency under existing Federal, State, and local law (including
regulations);
``(F) require the creation of protective perimeters or
buffer zones, and the fact that certain activities or land can
be seen or heard from within the Rim of the Valley Unit shall
not, of itself, preclude the activities or land uses up to the
boundary of the Rim of the Valley Unit;
``(G) require or promote use of, or encourage trespass on,
lands, facilities, and rights-of-way owned by non-Federal
entities, including water resource facilities and public
utilities, without the written consent of the owner;
``(H) affect the operation, maintenance, modification,
construction, or expansion of any water resource facility or
utility facility located within or adjacent to the Rim of the
Valley Unit;
``(I) terminate the fee title to lands or customary
operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement activities on
or under such lands granted to public agencies that are
authorized pursuant to Federal or State statute;
``(J) interfere with, obstruct, hinder, or delay the
exercise of any right to, or access to any water resource
facility or other facility or property necessary or useful to
access any water right to operate any public water or utility
system;
``(K) require initiation or reinitiation of consultation
with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service under, or the
application of provisions of, the Endangered Species Act of
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), or division A of
subtitle III of title 54, United States Code, concerning any
action or activity affecting water, water rights or water
management or water resource facilities within the Rim of the
Valley Unit; or
``(L) limit the Secretary's ability to update applicable
fire management plans, which may consider fuels management
strategies including managed natural fire, prescribed fires,
non-fire mechanical hazardous fuel reduction activities, or
post-fire remediation of damage to natural and cultural
resources.
``(4) The activities of a utility facility or water resource
facility shall take into consideration ways to reasonably avoid or
reduce the impact on the resources of the Rim of the Valley Unit.
``(5) For the purpose of paragraph (4)--
``(A) the term `utility facility' means electric
substations, communication facilities, towers, poles, and
lines, ground wires, communications circuits, and other
structures, and related infrastructure; and
``(B) the term `water resource facility' means irrigation
and pumping facilities; dams and reservoirs; flood control
facilities; water conservation works, including debris
protection facilities, sediment placement sites, rain gauges,
and stream gauges; water quality, recycled water, and pumping
facilities; conveyance distribution systems; water treatment
facilities; aqueducts; canals; ditches; pipelines; wells;
hydropower projects; transmission facilities; and other
ancillary facilities, groundwater recharge facilities, water
conservation, water filtration plants, and other water
diversion, conservation, groundwater recharge, storage, and
carriage structures.''.
<all>