[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8509-S8510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MURKOWSKI (by request):
  S. 1366. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
construct and operate a visitor center for the Upper Delaware Scenic 
and Recreation River on land owned by the New York State, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


         Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreation River Legislation

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, at the request of the administration, I 
rise today to introduce legislation to construct and operate a visitor 
center for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River on land 
owned by the State of New York, and for other purposes.
  I ask unanimous consent that the bill, a section-by-section analysis 
of the legislation, and the administration letter of transmittal be 
printed in the Record for the information of my colleagues.
  There being no objection, the material ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1366

       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 ``Upper Delaware Scenic and 
     Recreational River Mongaup Visitor Center Act of 1999.''

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       (1) the Secretary of the Interior approved a management 
     plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, as 
     required by P.L. 95-625 (16 U.S.C. 1274 note), on September 
     29, 1987;
       (2) the river management plan called for the development of 
     a primary visitor contact facility located at the southern 
     end of the river corridor;
       (3) the river management plan determined that the visitor 
     center would be built and operated by the National Park 
     Service;
       (4) the Act which designated the Upper Delaware Scenic and 
     Recreational River and the approved river management plan 
     limits the Secretary of the Interior's authority to acquire 
     land within the boundary of the river corridor; and
       (5) the State of New York authorized on June 21, 1993, a 
     99-year lease between the New York State Department of 
     Environmental Conservation and the National Park Service for 
     the construction and operation of a visitor center by the 
     Federal government on state-owned land in the Town of 
     Deerpark, Orange County, New York in the vicinity of Mongaup, 
     the preferred site for the visitor center.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF VISITOR CENTER FOR UPPER DELAWARE 
                   SCENIC AND RECREATIONAL RIVER.

       For the purpose of constructing and operating a visitor 
     center for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River 
     and subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
     Secretary of the Interior may--
       (a) enter into a lease with the State of New York, for a 
     term of 99 years, for State-owned land within the boundaries 
     of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River located 
     at an area known as Mongaup near the confluence of the 
     Mongaup and Upper Delaware Rivers in the State of New York; 
     and
       (b) construct and operate a visitor center on land leased 
     under paragraph (a).

     SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
     necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
                                  ____


  Section-by-Section Analysis--Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational 
                                 River

       Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--Provides a short title for the 
     Act--``Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Mongaup 
     Visitor Center Act of 1999.''
       Section 2. FINDINGS.--Provides a discussion regarding the 
     need for a visitor center at the Upper Delaware Scenic and 
     Recreational River including references in the enabling 
     legislation for the river and general management plan. Also 
     cites the State of New York's granting of permission of 
     construction and operation of the facility on state-owned 
     land.
       Section 3. AUTHORIZATION OF VISITOR CENTER.--Provides the 
     Secretary of the Interior the authority to enter into a lease 
     with the State of New York for a term of 99 years and 
     authorizes the Secretary to construct and operate a visitor 
     center on the leased property.
       Section 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.--Authorizes 
     funds that may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
     Act.
                                  ____

                                       Department of the Interior,


                                      Office of the Secretary,

                                   Washington, DC, April 30, 1999.
     Hon. Albert Gore, Jr.,
     President of the Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: Enclosed is a draft bill ``To authorize 
     the Secretary of the Interior to construct and operate a 
     visitor center for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational 
     River on land owned by the State of New York, and for other 
     purposes.'' We recommend the bill be introduced, referred to 
     the appropriate committee, and enacted.
       The legislation would authorize the Secretary of the 
     Interior to construct and operate a visitor center on state-
     owned land within the boundary of the Upper Delaware Scenic 
     and Recreational River. The Act which established the Upper 
     Delaware Scenic and Recreational River severely limited the 
     Secretary's authority to acquire land. The approved general 
     management plan for the river calls for the development of a 
     visitor center and determined that the best location for such 
     a center was at Mongaup near the confluence of the Mongaup 
     and Delaware Rivers.
       The preferred site is on property owned by the State of New 
     York and administered by the New York Department of 
     Environmental Conservation. The New York State Legislature 
     authorized the Department of Environmental Conservation to 
     enter into a lease with the National Park Service for the 
     construction and operation of a visitor center on the 
     preferred site.

[[Page S8510]]

       This legislation is necessary because the Secretary of the 
     Interior is not authorized to expend federal funds for the 
     construction and operation of a facility on non-federal land. 
     Passage of this legislation would provide the authority for 
     the Secretary to enter into a lease with the State of New 
     York and to subsequently develop a visitor center on the site 
     thus implementing a significant element of the Upper Delaware 
     Scenic and Recreational River's River Management Plan.
       The Office of Management and Budget has advised that there 
     is no objection to the enactment of the enclosed draft 
     legislation from the standpoint of the Administration's 
     program.
           Sincerely,

                                              Donald J. Barry,

                                      Assistant Secretary for Fish
                                           and Wildlife and Parks.
                                 ______