[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 38 (Tuesday, April 12, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: April 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
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GREAT FALLS PRESERVATION AND REDEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1994
Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3498) to establish the Great Falls Historic District, and for
other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3498
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 ``Great Falls Preservation and
Redevelopment Act of 1994''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) the Great Falls Historic District in the State of New
Jersey is an area of historical significance as an early site
of planned industrial development, and has remained largely
intact, including architecturally significant structures;
(2) the Great Falls Historic District is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places and has been designated
a National Historic Landmark;
(3) the Great Falls Historic District is within a half hour
drive of New York City, and within two hours of Philadelphia,
Hartford, New Haven, and Wilmington;
(4) the District was originally established by the Society
of Useful Manufactures, an organization whose leaders
included a number of historically renowned individuals,
including Alexander Hamilton; and
(5) the Great Falls Historic District has been the subject
of a number of studies which have shown that the District
possesses a combination of historic significance and natural
beauty worthy of and uniquely situated for preservation and
redevelopment.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to preserve and interpret for
the educational and inspirational benefit of the public, the
contribution to our national heritage of certain historic and
cultural lands, waterways and edifices of the Great Falls
Historic District with emphasis on harnessing this unique
urban environment for its educational and recreational value,
as well as to enhance economic and cultural redevelopment
within the District.
SEC. 4. GREAT FALLS HISTORIC DISTRICT.
(a) Establishment.--There is hereby established in the city
of Paterson in the county of Passaic in the State of New
Jersey the Great Falls Historic District.
(b) Boundaries.--The boundaries of the District shall be
the boundaries as specified for the Great Falls Historic
District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to enter into
cooperative agreements in accordance with this
Act. In expending moneys appropriated pursuant to this Act,
the Secretary may make grants to and enter into cooperative
agreements with State or local government agencies or
nonprofit entities for each of the following:
(1) The preparation of a plan for the development of
historic, architectural, natural, cultural, and interpretive
resources within the District. The plan shall include each of
the following:
(A) An evaluation of--
(i) the existing condition of historic and architectural
resources; and
(ii) the environmental and flood hazard conditions within
the District.
(B) Recommendations for--
(i) rehabilitating, reconstructing, and adaptively reusing
such historic and architectural resources;
(ii) preserving viewsheds, focal points, and streetscapes;
(iii) establishing gateways to the District;
(iv) establishing and maintaining parks and public spaces;
(v) restoring, improving, and developing raceways and
adjacent areas;
(vi) developing public parking areas;
(vii) improving pedestrian and vehicular circulation within
the District;
(viii) improving security within the District, with an
emphasis on preserving historically significant structures
from arson; and
(ix) establishing a visitor's center.
(2) Implementation of projects approved by the Secretary
pursuant to the Plan.
(b) Restoration, Maintenance, and Interpretation.--The
Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with the
owners of properties within the District of historical or
cultural significance as determined by the Secretary,
pursuant to which the Secretary may mark, interpret, improve,
restore, and provide technical assistance with respect to the
preservation and interpretation of such properties. Such
agreements shall contain, but need not be limited to,
provisions that the Secretary shall have the right of access
at reasonable times to public portions of the property for
interpretive and other purposes, and that no changes or
alterations shall be made in the property except by mutual
agreement.
(c) Capital Projects.--(1) Application for funds for
capital projects and improvements under this Act shall be
submitted to the Secretary and shall include a description of
how the project proposed to be funded will further the
purposes of the District.
(2) In making such funds available, the Secretary shall
give consideration to projects which provide a greater
leverage of Federal funds. Any payment made shall be subject
to an agreement that conversion, use, or disposal of the
project so assisted for purposes contrary to the purposes of
this Act, as determined by the Secretary, shall result in a
right of the United States of reimbursement of all funds made
available to such project or the proportion of the increased
value of the project attributable to such funds as determined
at the time of such conversion, use, or disposal, whichever
is greater.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act--
(1) The term ``District'' means the Great Falls Historic
District established by section 4.
(2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Interior.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to
carry out this Act not more than--
(1) $3,000,000 for capital projects;
(2) $250,000 for planning; and
(3) $50,000 for technical assistance.
Funds made available pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) shall
not exceed 50 percent of the total costs of the project to be
funded. The authority to expend funds under this Act shall
expire 5 years from the date of enactment.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mazzoli). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento] will be recognized for 20 minutes,
and the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen] will be recognized for 20
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento].
general leave
Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on
the bill, H.R. 3498.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3498, which establishes the Great Falls Historic
District in Paterson, NJ was introduced by congressman Herb Klein on
November 10, 1993, and was favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by the Committee on Natural Resources on March 23,
1994.
Paterson, NJ, near the Great Falls of the Passaic River, was one of
the country's first manufacturing centers. Impressed by the potential
of the Great Falls as an energy source, and committed to demonstrating
the profitability of manufacturing in America rather than depending on
foreign goods, Alexander Hamilton had founded the Society of Useful
Manufacturers [SUM] in 1791 to implement planning and growth in
Paterson, NJ. With the simultaneous development of the raceway system
to harness the river's power, Paterson became an early site of
industrial development, generating such products as the Colt revolver,
the Rogers steam locomotive, Wright Aeronautic engines and the first
practical submarine.
In fiscal year 1992, $4.2 million was appropriated through the
National Park Service construction budget for Paterson, NJ's Great
Falls Historic District. While the Great Falls Historic District is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has been
designated a national historic landmark, this area is neither a unit
nor an affiliated area of the National Park System; further
appropriations require specific authorization.
H.R. 3498, as reported by the committee, establishes the Great Falls
Historic District and authorizes the Secretary to enter into
cooperative agreements and to make grants to State, local or non-profit
entities for the evaluation of the District's resources, the
development of recommendations for their preservation, and the
implementation of such recommendations. The amendment limits future
appropriations to $3 million for development, $250,000 for planning and
$50,000 for technical assistance. Both planning and development
projects require a 50 percent match for Federal funds.
As most of my colleagues know, I am committed to enacting legislation
addressing these types of geographically and thematically united areas,
which include significant resources worthy of preservation and
conservation, but are not appropriate for designation as units of the
National Park Service. Given the increasing number of such proposals, I
believe we must establish a consistent, effective process by which they
are evaluated and designated, so that scarce National Park Service
dollars are used effectively to only fund authorized, worthy projects.
In this instance, funds have already been appropriated and expended,
and plans have already been drafted for further National Park Service
involvement. At this point, I believe we must establish clear authority
and limits on further funding for these areas so that the National Park
Service budget does not become increasingly burdened by open-ended
appropriations for areas which are not owned or operated by the
National Park Service. I believe the bill, as amended, provides for
appropriated assistance to Paterson while limiting further National
Park Service involvement, and I urge my colleagues' support.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3498. The Great Falls
Historical District in Paterson, NJ, is an area of national historical
importance and that is the very reason the area is already designated
as a National Historic Landmark District. At the subcommittee hearing
on November 16, 1993 the Park Service testimony stated:
We recommend against the enactment of either H.R. 1104 or
the proposed substitute (H.R. 3498). The National Park
Service is already fulfilling an appropriate preservation
assistance role in the historic district of Paterson * * *.
It is important to point out first that the Great Falls
Historic District has already been federally designated.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3498 simply represents a vehicle for channeling
even more Federal dollars to this area. As the Park Service testified,
we are already spending Federal dollars in this area through the Park
Service and they are fulfilling an appropriated preservation role in
Paterson. The Park Service simply cannot afford further mandates that
will stretch their resources even thinner.
I appreciate Chairman Vento's efforts to fix this legislation and I
agree with many of his ideas. However, the $3 million authorized for
capital projects is excessive and some of the authorities granted the
Park Service go too far. We already have approximately 2,000 National
Historic Landmarks and we cannot afford to increase the funding and the
presence by the National Park Service at each of these sites. Local
areas of historic or natural interest simply need to start looking for
local input and local dollars. The Park Service has already been
providing assistance to the Paterson area since 1976 and there is no
need to increase that presence.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Klein], the principal sponsor of the
bill whom I have already commended for this good work.
Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Speaker, it is my sincere honor to represent the
Eighth District of New Jersey, which is home to one of the truly unique
areas in our great Nation. There are many areas of natural beauty
throughout the United States, and many areas of unique cultural
significance. But no single area brings together these two
characteristics as splendidly as does the Great Falls District of
Paterson, NJ.
In 1791, Alexander Hamilton and others founded an industrial venture
known as the Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures
[SUM]. This society was the practical embodiment of the theory Hamilton
espoused in his Report on Manufactures, that the establishment of
American industries was the best way to fortify American independence.
Under Hamilton's guidance, the SUM acquired land surrounding the Great
Falls of the Passaic River in order to supply power to various mills
and factories through a 2\1/2\-mile system of raceways. Much of the
original raceway is still standing, but in extreme disrepair.
As for natural beauty, the appeal of the Great Falls is obvious.
Where else in urban America can one find a waterfall of such magnitude?
For those who do not know, the Great Falls is the second largest
waterfall east of the Mississippi. The Great Falls is a magnificent
sight which, unfortunately, is an underpublicized and underutilized
scenic resource.
The preservation of the area's heritage and natural beauty have the
potential to stimulate a larger economic recovery in this economically
hard-hit region. This bill would not only give the Great Falls district
the appropriate national recognition, it would provide for the
significant historic restoration and capital improvements needed to
make the area a magnet for tourism and stimulate the local economy.
Past studies have shown that redevelopment of the Great Falls would
serve as a linchpin to a larger revitalization plan. Although it is
included in the National Register of Historic Places, this is hardly
sufficient for an area as unique and notable as the Great Falls.
H.R. 3498 does not ask the Park Service to be responsible for the
entire redevelopment of Paterson. This bill will provide the funds
needed to carry out the specialized assistance that is needed to
protect and preserve the unique structures and waterways of the Great
Falls. Areas of great need, such as the middle and lower raceway,
surface demolition and cleanup of ATP site, and restoration of other
historic properties like the Ronitix Complex, Hamilton Mill, and Sandoz
Complex, require resources that cannot be mustered solely on the local
or State level.
H.R. 3498 has been carefully crafted to conform to the concerns of
the Natural Resources Committee and the National Park Service. It has
the support of the Clinton administration, the entire New Jersey
congressional delegation, the city of Paterson, the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey, and the Paterson Historical Society.
Let me conclude by thanking Chairman Vento and Chairman Miller, for
their consideration. I also want to thank the staff for their
assistance in perfecting this legislation. Their guidance has been
indispensable in creating a quality piece of legislation. Also, I want
to thank the many people in the National Parks Service, both in
Washington and in the regional office in Philadelphia, for their advice
in how best to proceed with the work that needs to be done, and I look
forward to working with them in the future to ensure that this unique
national resource is preserved for future generations.
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Mr. Speaker, I urge support for H.R. 3498.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I urge
support for this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mazzoli). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento] that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3498, as amended.
The question was taken.
Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion and on
H.R. 3770 will be postponed until tomorrow.
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