[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H14796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  REPORT ON FARMINGTON RIVER PURSUANT TO WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT--
            MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood) laid before the House the 
following message from the President of the United States; which was 
read and, together with the accompanying papers, without objection, 
referred to the Committee on Resources:

To the Congress of the United States:
  I take pleasure in transmitting the enclosed report for the 
Farmington River in the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The 
report and my recommendations are in response to the provisions of the 
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Public Law 90-542, as amended. The 
Farmington River Study was authorized by Public Law 99-590.
  The study was conducted by the National Park Service, with invaluable 
assistance from a congressionally mandated study committee. The 
National Park Service determined that the 11-mile study segment in 
Massachusetts and the 14-mile study segment in Connecticut were 
eligible for designation based upon their free-flowing character and 
recreational, fish, wildlife and historic values.
  The 14-mile Connecticut segment of the river has already been 
designated as a Wild and Scenic River pursuant to Public Law 103-313, 
August 26, 1994. The purpose of this transmittal is to inform the 
Congress that, although eligible for designation, I do not recommend 
that the Massachusetts segment be designated at this time due to lack 
of support by the towns adjoining it. If at some future date the towns 
should change their position and the river has retained its present 
characteristics, the Congress could reconsider the issue. Also, for 3 
years from the date of this transmittal, the Massachusetts segment will 
remain subject to section 7(b) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. 
Section 7(b) prohibits licensing of projects by the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission and Federal or federally assisted water resource 
development projects that would have a direct and adverse effect on the 
values for which the river might be designated. Finally, the report 
includes the Upper Farmington River Management Plan that is referenced 
in Public Law 103-313 as the plan by which the designated river will be 
managed.
  The plan demonstrated a true partnership effort of the type that we 
believe will be increasingly necessary if we are to have affordable 
protection of our environment in the future.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, December 13, 1995.

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