[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 4, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H2139-H2141]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1815
YORK RIVER WILD AND SCENIC RIVER STUDY ACT OF 2013
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 2197) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
to designate segments of the York River and associated tributaries for
study for potential inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2197
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 ``York River Wild and Scenic
River Study Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION FOR STUDY.
Section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C.
1276(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(_) York river, maine.--(A) The York River that flows
11.25 miles from its headwaters at York Pond to the mouth of
the river at York Harbor, and all associated tributaries.
``(B) The study conducted under this paragraph shall--
``(i) determine the effect of the designation on--
``(I) existing commercial and recreational activities, such
as hunting, fishing, trapping, recreational shooting, motor
boat use, bridge construction;
``(II) the authorization, construction, operation,
maintenance, or improvement of energy production and
transmission infrastructure; and
``(III) the authority of State and local governments to
manage those activities; and
``(ii) identify--
``(I) all authorities that will authorize or require the
Secretary to influence local land use decisions (such as
zoning) or place restrictions on non-Federal land if
designated under this Act;
``(II) all authorities that the Secretary may use to
condemn property; and
``(III) all private property located in the area studied
under this paragraph.''.
SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT.
Section 5(b) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C.
1276(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(_) York river, maine.--The study of the York River,
Maine, named in paragraph (_) of subsection (a) shall be
completed by the Secretary of the Interior and the report
thereon submitted to Congress not later than 3 years after
the date on which funds are made available to carry out this
paragraph.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.
General Leave
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the legislation under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2197 authorizes the
National Park Service to study 11.25 miles of the York River in the
State of Maine for possible inclusion into the Wild and Scenic Rivers
program.
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 was intended to put a
development freeze on rivers to preserve their ``free-flowing''
characteristics. Although no immediately apparent risks to the river
necessitating Federal designation have been identified, proponents of
the study explained that they would benefit from the expertise of the
National Park Service and its interaction with the surrounding
community.
Due to a number of very real concerns that have arisen through prior
designations, this bill includes several commonsense provisions aimed
at better informing local property owners and communities about the
full effects and impacts of a wild and scenic designation.
The National Park Service will be required to consider the effect of
designation on commercial and recreational uses, such as hunting and
fishing and boating. The study must also look at the impact on
construction and maintenance of energy production and transmission.
Furthermore, H.R. 2197 requires the Federal Government to identify
all existing authorities that could be utilized to condemn private
property. We want property owners to know how much power the government
will be given so they can form an educated opinion as to whether they
should participate in or support a Wild and Scenic Rivers designation.
Finally, the bill will require the Federal Government to identify
those authorities that compel it to become involved in local zoning.
While Federal designation of the York River clearly has an appeal to
the local advocates supporting this legislation, it is important for
the community to be aware that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act requires
local zoning to conform to the dictates of the Federal act.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would note that this exact legislation passed
the House last Congress, but because the Senate failed to act on it, it
is being considered once again in this Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I am very happy to stand in support of my bill, H.R. 2197, the York
River Wild and Scenic Rivers Study Act, and I want to start by thanking
Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Grijalva, and tonight Mr. Hastings for their support
in reporting this bill out of committee in September. I thank them and
former Congressperson, now Senator Markey's help in passing this bill
last Congress. I very much appreciate their persistence and their
willingness to help get this bill passed and into law. I know the
people of Maine will appreciate their commitment, too.
This bill was really proposed by the folks back home, the same people
who live and work around the York River and who care deeply about it.
This bill would allow organizations working around the York River to
partner with the National Park Service to conduct a study that would
provide the information that is vital to making smart decisions about
the future of the York River and its communities.
I have heard from small business owners, community groups, State and
local government, local and national land trusts, fishermen, hunters,
school representatives, and historical and environmental
conservationists, and all
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agree that continuing to benefit from the river depends on recognizing
and protecting its important and unique qualities.
There are many unique features of the York River and the ecosystems
surrounding it, and I will talk about those in a minute, but I want to
start with a little history.
The first English settlers came to the York River nearly 400 years
ago--but there is archaeological evidence along the shores of European
settlers who were here even earlier. Before anyone came from Europe,
the Abenaki Indians named the river ``Agamenticus,'' which means
``little cove beyond the hills.''
When I last visited the York River, I spoke with members of the local
community about the importance of the river to the people today, to the
economy, and to the wildlife of the York River watershed. The river is
home to important and rare species, including the Maine endangered box
turtle and the threatened harlequin duck.
The salt marshes of the York River watershed serve as a nursery
ground for nearly 30 species of fish that are vital to the Gulf of
Maine ecosystem. The York River is a place where children are learning
in an outdoor classroom. Students from nearby school districts gather
data from the river for classes and to inform community decisions about
the environment and the economy.
Maybe the most important factor is that many of the hardworking
people in this part of the State depend on the York River to support
their jobs. The York River is a place where people go to work.
Commercial and recreational fishing operations depend on excellent
water quality and reliable access to the waterfront. Farmers in the
York River watershed grow pumpkins, potatoes, and other produce that
help keep Maine communities healthy.
People travel to the York River to explore and appreciate its natural
character and its incredible history, and while doing so, they invest
in the surrounding communities.
The work of community groups has already resulted in considerable
progress, but the York River needs additional protection so this vital
resource is not overwhelmed by increasing development. In order to move
forward to a future that protects the most important aspects of this
waterway and the jobs and the communities that depend on it, it is
vital to connect these communities with the information they need. That
is the goal and hopefully the eventual outcome of this important piece
of legislation.
My bill is widely supported in Maine, and I look forward to it being
favorably considered today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to just point out that I have the privilege of
chairing the House Natural Resources Committee, and the nature of that
committee is such that we deal with a lot of important pieces of
legislation, but pieces of legislation that are kind of parochial in
nature with regard to a particular State. We have right now some 50
bills, both Republican and Democrat bills that have passed this House,
many of them on suspension, that are still awaiting action in the
Senate. In fact, this legislation--similar legislation passed the
Congress last time and didn't go anywhere in the other body, and so
here we are back one more time. I only mention that because we can't be
the only House that passes legislation. It has to be both Houses in
order to get something to the President.
I certainly hope that this legislation after two times will finally
get through and the study can commence and we can proceed with looking
at whether a designation would be in order.
With that in mind, let me talk a bit, because I mentioned this
earlier in my remarks. What I am saying here regarding Wild and Scenic
is in many ways applicable to wilderness designations. We passed a bill
earlier today by voice vote that designated a wilderness area in
Michigan. In both of those cases, what is common with both of them is
that we have seen since the Wild and Scenic designation law passed and
since the wilderness law passed, we see this especially in the Western
part of the United States, that when these areas are designated either
Wild and Scenic or wilderness, what happens is areas around them become
de facto wilderness or de facto Wild and Scenic which many, many times
imposes on private property rights.
Now we have experienced that more in the West than what my colleagues
have in the East, and my colleague from Maine expressed, rightly so,
this has very, very broad support. I am sure it does; they have worked
very hard on it. The danger in the future is, if taken to the extreme,
you could have, unless we had within the study--you could have some
pressures on private property rights. We think that is sufficiently
important to put that in the study so that those who will be affected
know about it.
I hope the outcome is such that everybody believes, fine, we can work
with whatever restrictions come up. That is the precise reason, Mr.
Speaker, why when we look, and I say ``we,'' being a Member from the
Western part of the United States, when we look at these designations,
it becomes pretty darn rigid even when you have acts of natural
disaster.
With that in mind, let me tell you about something that happened in
my old district prior to redistricting. There is a wilderness area in
the northern Cascades. A lot of people visit it; it is a wonderful
place. But to access that from the Eastern part of the United States,
you have to go up a lake; it's the only way to get there. Then you have
to traverse some 10 or 20 miles to the wilderness area, and the only
way to get there is by a road. Well, the road--nature washed out that
road many times several years ago. It is called the Stehekin Road. The
community up there has been trying to rebuild that road.
Now, what does this have to do with wild and scenic and wilderness.
Well, I mentioned that sometimes these things become so rigid that you
can't affect something that needs to be done. Unfortunately, the road
was right on the border of a wilderness area. So naturally, when you
are going to rebuild it, you have to go through a wilderness area.
``No, no,'' say all the national groups. Not the local groups, not the
people who are affected, but all the national groups. ``No, you can't
build this road.'' So we are now in the third Congress. The last two
Congresses, we passed bills to address this issue, but we have not been
able to succeed because, as I mentioned earlier, we have to go through
the Senate.
I only use this as an example of how national groups with a
wilderness designation, and it has happened with wild and scenic
designations, have unintended consequences on the community.
This legislation says within--within--that study, we need to find out
what these potential impacts could be. That is why we put that in this
legislation.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to say to
Mr. Hastings, I really do appreciate the work you have done in your
committee, the bipartisan activity in your committee, and truly for
your assistance in bringing this bill to the floor. I know you are
preparing to retire, and I wanted to wish you the best on whatever
journey happens next in your life, and thank you for your long service
to your State and to the rest of us in Congress. You have been a
wonderful colleague to work with. Thank you very much for that.
Representing Washington State, while we are at opposite ends of the
country, I think many of the concerns you have raised and that your
constituents have raised, given the fact that you have a tremendous
amount of open land, you have a tremendous amount of coastal shore
land, you deal with some of the same issues that those of us who reside
in Maine do, and I appreciate you bringing that perspective to this
bill and to the many bills you have worked with.
I would just add in speaking about this particular program, it was
really a wonderful experience for me when the many residents of this
community, as I mentioned earlier, from all diverse walks of life, some
of them were farmers and some of them were fishermen who depend on the
river, some who care deeply about the history, but all of them came
together, people who
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hadn't necessarily had the opportunity to work together before, but
realized this is a very important concern, and that this particular
river has enormous impacts. Because this river is in the southern part
of my district, which means it is close to the southern border of
Maine, it is surrounded by a very developed part of our State, although
not much is that developed in Maine. We are one of the most rural
States in the country with only 1.3 million people, so we are not a
particularly overdeveloped State, but this is part of the southern part
of the State, where there is a lot of activity going on, and people
were concerned even more so because they wanted to make sure that when
visitors come to our State, when residents decide to make it their
home, we can count on the fact that there will be this part of the
river and the area around it that will be looked at very closely when
thinking about future uses and how to make sure that it is always there
for those people who depend on it for jobs, for the fishing industries
that are so critically important, and for the communities that care
deeply about its history and about the activities that go on there.
That is part of what has made this bill so particularly important to
our State. I am extremely grateful to everyone on the committee who
worked to help us bring it to the floor.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her
kind words, and I support this legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for the
York River Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2013.
I want to thank my friend and colleague, Representative Pingree, for
her leadership on this bill.
A healthy York River is important to the economic and environmental
vitality of Southern Maine. The river is used daily by fishermen and
recreational boat users, and its beauty is a significant part of the
tourist economy that is so integral to Southern Maine. The river is an
important home for wildlife, providing a home to more than 100
waterbirds and 28 species of fish.
This important legislation would create a study to determine whether
or not the York River and its tributaries should be included in the
Wild and Scenic Rivers Program. The study would help evaluate current
and future demands on the river, and determine whether or not extra
federal protection is necessary to keep the river strong and healthy.
Individuals, businesses, and wildlife depend on the York River. We
must keep it strong and healthy for years to come.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2197.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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