[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H670-H671]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUDBURY, ASSABET, AND CONCORD WILD AND SCENIC RIVER ACT
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 193) to designate a portion of the Sudbury, Assabet, and
Concord Rivers as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 193
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 ``Sudbury, Assabet, and
Concord Wild and Scenic River Act''.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF SUDBURY, ASSABET, AND CONCORD SCENIC
AND RECREATIONAL RIVERS, MASSACHUSETTS.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Wild and Scenic River
Study Act (title VII of Public Law 101-628; 104 Stat. 4497)--
(A) designated segments of the Sudbury, Assabet, and
Concord Rivers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, totaling
29 river miles, for study and potential addition to the
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; and
(B) directed the Secretary of the Interior to establish the
Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers Study Committee (in this
section referred to as the ``Study Committee'') to advise the
Secretary in conducting the study and in the consideration of
management alternatives should the rivers be included in the
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
(2) The study determined the following river segments are
eligible for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System based on their free-flowing condition and outstanding
scenic, recreation, wildlife, cultural, and historic values:
(A) The 16.6-mile segment of the Sudbury River beginning at
the Danforth Street Bridge in the town of Framingham, to its
confluence with the Assabet River.
(B) The 4.4-mile segment of the Assabet River from 1,000
feet downstream from the Damon Mill Dam in the town of
Concord to the confluence with the Sudbury River at Egg Rock
in Concord.
(C) The 8-mile segment of the Concord River from Egg Rock
at the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers to the
Route 3 bridge in the town of Billerica.
(3) The towns that directly abut the segments, including
Framingham, Sudbury, Wayland, Lincoln, Concord, Bedford,
Carlisle, and Billerica, Massachusetts, have each
demonstrated their desire for National Wild and Scenic River
designation through town meeting votes endorsing designation.
(4) During the study, the Study Committee and the National
Park Service prepared a comprehensive management plan for the
segment, entitled ``Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Wild and
Scenic River Study, River Conservation Plan'' and dated March
16, 1995 (in this section referred to as the ``plan''), which
establishes objectives, standards, and action programs that
will ensure long-term protection of the rivers' outstanding
values and compatible management of their land and water
resources.
(5) The Study Committee voted unanimously on February 23,
1995, to recommend that the Congress include these segments
in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System for management
in accordance with the plan.
(b) Designation.--Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
``(160) Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers,
Massachusetts.--(A) The 29 miles of river segments in
Massachusetts, as follows:
``(i) The 14.9-mile segment of the Sudbury River beginning
at the Danforth Street Bridge in the town of Framingham,
downstream to the Route 2 Bridge in Concord, as a scenic
river.
``(ii) The 1.7-mile segment of the Sudbury River from the
Route 2 Bridge downstream to its confluence with the Assabet
River at Egg Rock, as a recreational river.
``(iii) The 4.4-mile segment of the Assabet River beginning
1,000 feet downstream from the Damon Mill Dam in the town of
Concord, to its confluence with the Sudbury River at Egg Rock
in Concord; as a recreational river.
``(iv) The 8-mile segment of the Concord River from Egg
Rock at the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers
downstream to the Route 3 Bridge in the town of Billerica, as
a recreational river.
``(B) The segments referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be
administered by the Secretary of the Interior in cooperation
with the SUASCO River Stewardship Council provided for in the
plan referred to in subparagraph (C) through cooperative
agreements under section 10(e) between the Secretary and the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its relevant political
subdivisions (including the towns of Framingham, Wayland,
Sudbury, Lincoln, Concord, Carlisle, Bedford, and Billerica).
``(C) The segments referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be
managed in accordance with the plan entitled `Sudbury,
Assabet and Concord Wild and Scenic River Study, River
Conservation Plan', dated March 16, 1995. The plan is deemed
to satisfy the requirement for a comprehensive management
plan under subsection (d) of this section.''.
(c) Federal Role in Management.--(1) The Director of the
National Park Service or the Director's designee shall
represent the Secretary of the Interior in the implementation
of the plan, this section, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
with respect to each of the segments designated by the
amendment made by subsection (b), including the review of
proposed federally assisted water resources projects that
could have a direct and adverse effect on the values for
which the segment is established, as authorized under section
7(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1278(a)).
(2) Pursuant to sections 10(e) and section 11(b)(1) of the
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1281(e), 1282(b)(1)),
the Director shall offer to enter into cooperative agreements
with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, its relevant
political subdivisions, the Sudbury Valley Trustees, and the
Organization for the Assabet River. Such cooperative
agreements shall be consistent with the plan and may include
provisions for financial or other assistance from the United
States to facilitate the long-term protection, conservation,
and enhancement of each of the segments designated by the
amendment made by subsection (b).
(3) The Director may provide technical assistance, staff
support, and funding to assist in the implementation of the
plan, except that the total cost to the Federal Government of
activities to implement the plan may not exceed $100,000 each
fiscal year.
(4) Notwithstanding section 10(c) of the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1281(c)), any portion of a segment
designated by the amendment made by subsection (b) that is
not already within the National Park System shall not under
this section--
(A) become a part of the National Park System;
(B) be managed by the National Park Service; or
(C) be subject to regulations which govern the National
Park System.
(d) Water Resources Projects.--(1) In determining whether a
proposed water resources project would have a direct and
adverse effect on the values for which the segments
designated by the amendment made by subsection (b) were
included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the
Secretary of the Interior shall specifically consider the
extent to which the project is consistent with the plan.
(2) The plan, including the detailed Water Resources Study
incorporated by reference in the plan and such additional
analysis as may be incorporated in the future, shall serve as
the primary source of information regarding the flows needed
to maintain instream resources and potential compatibility
between resource protection and possible additional water
withdrawals.
(e) Land Management.--(1) The zoning bylaws of the towns of
Framingham, Sudbury, Wayland, Lincoln, Concord, Carlisle,
Bedford, and Billerica, Massachusetts, as in effect on the
date of enactment of this Act, are deemed to satisfy the
standards and requirements under section 6(c) of the Wild and
Scenic rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1277(c)). For the purpose of
that section, the towns are deemed to be ``villages'' and the
provisions of that section which prohibit Federal acquisition
of lands through condemnation shall apply.
(2) The United States Government shall not acquire by any
means title to land, easements, or other interests in land
along the segments designated by the amendment made by
subsection (b) or their tributaries for the purposes of
designation of the segments under the amendment. Nothing in
this section shall prohibit Federal acquisition of interests
in land along those segments or tributaries under other laws
for other purposes.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry
out this section not to exceed $100,000 for each fiscal year.
(g) Existing Undesignated Paragraphs; Removal of
Duplication.--Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
(16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking the first undesignated paragraph after
paragraph (156), relating to Elkhorn Creek, Oregon; and
(2) by designating the three remaining undesignated
paragraphs after paragraph (156) as paragraphs (157), (158),
and (159), respectively.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-
Barcelo) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 198, introduced by the gentleman from Massachusetts
[[Page H671]]
(Mr. Meehan), would amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by designating
a 29-mile segment of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts as part of the National Wild and Scenic
River System. The management of the rivers will follow the direction of
a cooperative agreement between the National Park Service and a local
River Stewardship Council. This bill makes it clear that Federal land
acquisition, including easements, is prohibited.
H.R. 193 would also authorize an appropriation to the Secretary of
the Interior to carry out the provisions of this bill. This
appropriation shall not exceed $100,000 per fiscal year.
Mr. Speaker, the amendment to this bill simply makes a technical
correction to the numbered sequence of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 193, introduced by the
gentleman from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan), would
designate segments of the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers totaling
29 miles in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as components of the
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Title VII of Public Law 101-628 authorized the study of these river
systems. The study has been completed, and the river systems were found
feasible and suitable for designation.
H.R. 193 would implement the recommendations of the river study,
including providing for management of the river segments by the
Secretary of the Interior in cooperation with a coordinating committee
and in accordance with a management plan that has been completed as
part of the study.
The Committee on Resources favorably reported identical legislation
last Congress and an identical Senate bill passed the House last fall,
with an unrelated amendment. Unfortunately, final action on that
measure was not able to be completed prior to adjournment.
The bill is supported by the entire Massachusetts delegation as well
as the administration. We believe that it, again, deserves the support
of the full House. It is a bipartisan bill, and we would urge to our
colleagues the adoption of H.R. 193.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume
to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan).
(Mr. MEEHAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 193.
I would like to thank my colleagues in the House from both parties,
and in particular the distinguished gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen)
for his cooperation not only this year but the last session as well.
I would also like to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young),
chair of the Committee on Resources; the gentleman from California (Mr.
Miller); and the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-Barcelo) in
particular for all of their efforts and continuing support of this
legislation.
H.R. 193 will amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate
portions of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers in Massachusetts
as ``wild and scenic.'' This designation will protect these rivers from
Federal projects that would otherwise have direct and adverse impacts
on the free-flowing character of those rivers.
My constituents from Sudbury, Wayland, Lincoln, Concord, Carlisle and
Billerica, and others from Framingham and Bedford, have invested an
enormous amount of time and energy and effort in securing wild and
scenic status for portions of these three beautiful rivers.
With the help of the National Park Service and the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, they completed a congressionally authorized study that
demonstrated the rivers' exemplary characteristics and recommended them
for wild and scenic designation.
This legislation is a product of a grassroots movement that started
over a decade ago. All eight towns bordering the rivers have voiced
unanimous support for the designation through numerous town meeting
votes. They have also approved the river conservation plan that will
guide the rivers' management. It is important to note, as the gentleman
from Utah (Mr. Hansen) has, that H.R. 193 explicitly precluded any
Federal taking of private land.
Mr. Speaker, the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers have been
cherished by Massachusetts residents for hundreds of years and are
known throughout the New England region for their exceptional scenic,
ecological, recreational and historic value. The historical
significance of events along these rivers goes back to the American
Revolution, as their banks served as a Revolutionary War battleground.
Today, people come from all over the country to visit the Old North
Bridge on the Concord River where the famous ``shot heard around the
world'' was fired. This confrontation sent British troops into retreat
and back to Boston in an event that would take on global significance
in man's universal struggle for liberty.
American poets, novelists and philosophers such as Ralph Waldo
Emerson and Henry David Thoreau have drawn inspiration over the years
from these rivers, which were featured in many of their works. Over 100
years ago, Nathaniel Hawthorne eloquently wrote, ``Rowing our boat
against the current, between wide meadows, we turn aside into the
Assabet. A more lovely stream than this, for a mile above its junction
with the Concord, has never flowed on Earth.'' Nowhere indeed, except
to lave the interior of a poet's imagination.''
{time} 1430
Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill.
Mr. MARKEY. I rise in support of H.R. 193, the ``Sudbury, Assabet,
and Concord Wild and Scenic River Act.'' Wild and scenic areas are
found not only in the vast expanses of the American West but also in
pockets in the midst of the cities and towns of the East. As the areas
around Boston, including my own district, become increasingly crowded
and urban, it is important to preserve natural areas where the beauty
and tranquillity of nature can become a part of the everyday lives of
local communities.
Through the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord rivers has flowed a
remarkable current of history and beauty. Back in 1837 Ralph Waldo
Emerson commemorated events that had taken place above the Concord
River in 1775 with his unforgettable words, ``by the rude bridge that
arched the flood, their flag to April's breeze unfurled, here once the
embattl'd farmers stood, and fired the shot heard round the world.''
Nathanial Hawthorne wrote of the beauty of the Assabet: ``Rowing our
boat against the current, between wide meadows, we turn aside into the
Assabeth. A more lovely stream than this, for a mile above its junction
with the Concord, has never flowed on Earth,--where, indeed, except to
lave the interior of a poet's imagination.''
Today we have even greater need of scenic rivers to excite the
``poet's imagination'' in each of us. This bill, by giving Wild and
Scenic River status to the Assabet, Sudbury, and concord rivers, will
help ensure that they continue to inspire local communities and the
nation in this and future generations. I would like to thank my
distinguished colleague Mr. Meehan for his tenacious leadership on this
bill, and I am glad to join the bipartisan roster of its supporters.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 193, as amended.
The question was taken.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays are ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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