[Senate Report 106-443]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 888
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-443

======================================================================



 
      DAYTON AVIATION HERITAGE PRESERVATION AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2000

                                _______
                                

               September 29, 2000.--Ordered to be printed

   Filed under authority of the order of the Senate of September 28 
                 (legislative day, September 22), 2000

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2959]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2959) to amend the Dayton Aviation 
Heritage Preservation Act of 1992, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    On page 2, line 9, strike ``numbered ____ and dated ____:'' 
and insert in lieu thereof ``numbered 362-80,010 and dated 
September 1, 2000:''.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    The purpose of S. 2959 is to amend the enabling Act for 
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park in the State 
of Ohio to include additional property within the park's 
boundary, and to remove the ceiling on funds that may be 
appropriated for operation, development or restoration of non-
Federally owned properties within the boundaries of the park.

                          Background and Need

    Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park was 
established in 1992 (Public Law 102-419; 16 U.S.C. 410ww) to 
preserve, enhance, and interpret historic and cultural 
structures and districts associated with the Wright brothers 
and the invention and development of aviation, as well as the 
life and works of the Wright brothers' friend Paul Laurence 
Dunbar. The Act encouraged the creation of partnerships among 
Federal, State, and local governments and the private sector 
necessary to protect park resources.
    The park is currently preparing for the Centennial of 
Flight Celebration in 2003 and major construction and 
rehabilitation projects are planned for each of the park's four 
units. The ongoing planning and development efforts have 
highlighted issues that were not anticipated when the park was 
initially authorized, but which are critical for the 
protection, preservation, and management of the park's 
resources.
    S. 2959 authorizes the inclusion within the park's 
boundaries of two residential properties immediately adjacent 
to the Wright Cycle Company building that are important to the 
integrity of the cultural landscape. In addition, inclusion of 
the properties within the park's boundary will enable 
theNational Park Service to address the long-term protection and fire 
suppression needs of all the structures, which are in physical contact.
    The legislation also includes a provision to include within 
the park's boundaries a property owned by Aviation Trail, Inc. 
The NPS and Aviation Trail, Inc. have agreed to combine the 
concurrent rehabilitation projects of the Wright Brothers' 
Print Shop Building and the adjoining Aviation Trail Building 
into a single NPS-managed project. The NPS has already revised 
the park boundary, as provided for under section 7(c) of the 
Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965, to include the 
Aviation Trail Building within the park. The boundary revision 
is necessary to permit the NPS to enter into a cooperative 
agreement with Aviation Trail, Inc., which will facilitate 
preservation of the Wright Brothers' Print Shop Building and 
reduce the costs of the renovation projects. Inclusion of this 
provision in S. 2959 will update the park's legislation to 
match existing conditions.
    S. 2959 also removes a provision in the park's original 
authorizing legislation that established a $200,000 ceiling on 
the use of appropriated funds for the operation, development, 
and rehabilitation of non-Federal properties within the park's 
boundary. The cap creates a number of impediments in the 
development of the park and the partnerships that the National 
Park Service must foster and support. The most immediate issue 
with respect to the cap is that it is preventing the Park 
Service from beginning contract work on the interpretive center 
and creating a risk that it will not be ready in time for the 
Centennial of Flight celebration.

                          Legislative History

    S. 2959 was introduced by Senator DeWine on July 27, 2000. 
The Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation and 
Recreation held a hearing on S. 2959 on September 14, 2000. At 
the business meeting on September 20, 2000, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 2959, as amended, 
favorably reported.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on September 20, 2000, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
2959, if amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendment

    During the consideration of S. 2959, the Committee adopted 
an amendment to include the identification number and date of 
the map referenced in the bill.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 designates the bill's short title and references 
the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 (Public 
Law 102-419; 16 U.S.C. 410ww) as the Act that is amended by 
this bill.
    Section 2(a) amends section 101(b) of Public Law 102-419 
(16 U.S.C. 410ww(b)) by including additional properties within 
the park's boundary and clarifying the descriptions of 
properties within the park's boundaries.
    Subsection (b) is a technical amendment to section 107 of 
Public Law 102-419 (16 U.S.C. 410ww-6), correcting the term 
``Secretary of Interior'' to ``Secretary of the Interior.''
    Subsection (c) amends section 109 of Public Law 102-419 (16 
U.S.C. 410ww-8) by eliminating the $200,000 ceiling on funds 
which may be appropriated for operation, development or 
restoration of non-Federally owned properties within the 
boundaries of the park.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The Congressional Budget Office cost estimate report had 
not been received at the time the report was filed. When the 
report becomes available, the Chairman will request that it be 
printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the 
Senate.

                      Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 2959. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 2959, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    On September 15, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 2959. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 2959 
was filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will 
request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for 
the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the 
National Park Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

Statement of Donald J. Hellmann, Deputy Assistant Director, Legislative 
  and Congressional Affairs, National Park Service, Department of the 
                                Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before the subcommittee to present the views of the Department 
of the Interior on S. 2959, a bill to clarify the areas 
included in the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical 
Park, Ohio, and to authorize appropriations for that park.
    S. 2959 would expand the authorized boundaries of the 
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park through the 
inclusion of three properties adjacent to the park's core unit 
and the inclusion of the expanded Wright Hall complex at 
Carillon Historical Park; and, it would remove the ceiling on 
the use of the appropriated funds for the operation, 
development, or restoration of non-federally owned properties 
within the boundaries of the park.
    The Department of the Interior supports enactment of this 
legislation. This position is consistent with the legislated 
purpose of the park, the November 1997 general management plan, 
and the June 2000 land protection plan; and is supported by all 
affected park partners and property owners. The total acreage 
of all four tracts is 0.7 acres. Of these tracts, the two owned 
by the City of Dayton would be donated to the National Park 
Service, the tract owned by Aviation Trail, Inc. would continue 
to be owned by Aviation Trail, Inc. with acquisition by the 
National Park Service a future possibility on a willing buyer-
willing seller arrangement, and the tract owned by Carillon 
Historical Park would continue to be owned by that 
organization.
    The removal of the ceiling on the use of appropriated funds 
on non-federally owned properties within the boundaries of the 
park would eliminate a significant impediment in the 
development of the park and the partnerships that the park has 
been mandated to foster and support. In most cases, we do not 
support the use of limited NPS maintenance or construction 
funding for non-Federal facilities, because those funds are 
needed to address the most important needs identified in the 
five-year priority lists. We do not object to this 
authorization, however, because the proposed improvements to 
non-Federal facilities within the park unit's boundaries would 
provide a distinct benefit to the park. Funding for land 
acquisition and construction is subject to the availability of 
appropriations and the needs identified in the NPS priority 
lists.
    Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park was 
authorized in 1992 as a multi-unit partnership park to 
commemorate the legacy of the Wright brothers and poet and 
author Paul Laurence Dunbar and their association with the 
Dayton region. The Wright brothers, through their invention of 
powered flight, achieved one of the single most important 
advances of the 20th Century. Paul Laurence Dunbar, a childhood 
friend of the Wright brothers, rose from a poor childhood in 
Dayton to international acclaim as a writer and as an effective 
voice for equality and justice and contributing to a growing 
social consciousness and cultural identity for African-
Americans in the United States.
    Operation of the part is a partnership that involved four 
legislatively mandated partners (National Park Service, Wright-
Patterson Air Force Base, the Ohio Historical Society, and 
Carillon Historical Park, a private non-profit organization), a 
Federal commission, other government agencies, and 40 partner 
organizations.
    Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park is 
currently undergoing rapid change as it is developed in 
preparation for the Centennial of Flight Celebration in 2003. 
Detailed planning and design is being completed and 
preparations are underway for the initiation of major 
construction/rehabilitation projects at each of the four units 
with a goal to have the park ready and fully accessible to the 
public by December 17, 2002, the start of the Centennial 
Celebration. This ongoing planning and development has 
highlighted issues that were not anticipated when the park was 
initially authorized, but which today, are critical for the 
protection, preservation, and management of these significant 
national resources.
    The West Street [National Register] Historic District 
incorporates The Wright Cycle Company building (22 South 
Williams Street) and two adjacent historic residential 
properties (26 and 30 South Williams Street). This historic 
district is significant because it is where the Wright brother 
had their printing, bicycle, and airplane businesses. The two 
adjacent turn-of-the-century residential structures are a 
critically important component of cultural landscape providing 
historic integrity for The Wright Cycle Company building, the 
only structure representing the Wright brothers bicycle 
business that remains at its original location and original 
form. Also significant is the fact that the roof of the small, 
wood-frame house located at 26 South Williams Street touches 
the roof of the Wright Cycle Company structure and represents a 
potential threat by fire to the long-term protection and 
preservation of the Wright cycle company building. Inclusion of 
these properties would allow the NPS to consider fire 
suppression of all the buildings and will ensure the long-term 
protection and preservation of the Wright Cycle Company 
building.
    The NPS and Aviation Trail, Inc. are proposing to partner 
in the development of the Hoover Block and the Aviation Trail 
building to create a single interpretive center facility that 
would occupy the two structures. The combined development of 
the two structures will preserve historic resources associated 
with the Hoover Block by centralizing facility utility systems, 
reducing overall project costs, facilitating improved visitor 
flow through the structures providing for a higher quality 
visitor experience, and providing additional space for exhibits 
and displays. Through administrative action (Federal Register, 
July 3, 2000) the NPS has incorporated the Aviation Trail, Inc. 
property within the park boundaries. Inclusion of this 
provision within the legislation will update the legislation to 
match existing conditions and removal of the ceiling will allow 
the partnership project to proceed.
    When the park was authorized in 1992, Wright Hall was a 
separate, stand-alone structure. As a part of the private 
development of that unit of the park, Wright Hall has been 
expanded with constructed additions and an attached structure, 
that is now known collectively as the John W. Berry, Sr. Wright 
Brothers Aviation Center. To facilitate consistent and clear 
management of Wright Hall as a unit of the NPS, the entire 
facility should incorporated within the boundaries of the park.
    Since the date the bill was introduced, we have received 
the final map referenced in section 2. The map is numbered 362-
80,010 and dated September 1, 2000. We suggest the bill be 
amended to include the number and date.
    This concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any 
questions that you or members of the subcommittee may have.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 2959, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

                           Public Law 102-419


 AN ACT To establish the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical 
           Park in the State of Ohio, and for other purposes

    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 ``Dayton Aviation Heritage 
Preservation Act of 1992''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


       TITLE I--DAYTON AVIATION HERITAGE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK


SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DAYTON AVIATION HERITAGE NATIONAL 
                    HISTORICAL PARK.

    (a) * * *
    [(b) Area Included.--The park shall consist of the 
following sites, as generally depicted on a map entitled 
``Proposed Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park'', 
numbered NHP-DAH 80,000 and dated February 1992:
          [(1) A core parcel in Dayton, Ohio, which shall 
        consist of the Wright Cycle Company Building, Hoover 
        Block, and lands between.
          [(2) Huffman Prairie Flying Field, Wright-Patterson 
        Air Force Base, Ohio.
          [(3) The Wright 1905 Flyer and Wright Hall, Dayton, 
        Ohio.
          [(4) The Paul Laurence Dunbar home, Dayton, Ohio.]
    (b) Area Included.--The park shall consist of the following 
sites, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``Dayton 
Aviation Heritage National Historical Park'', numbered 362-
80,010 and dated September 1, 2000:
          (1) A core parcel in Dayton, Ohio, which shall 
        consist of the Wright Cycle Company building, Hoover 
        Block, and lands between.
          (2) The Setzer building property (also known as the 
        Aviation Trail building property) Dayton, Ohio.
          (3) The residential properties at 26 South Williams 
        Street and at 30 South Williams Street, Dayton, Ohio.
          (4) Huffman Prairie Flying Field, Wright-Patterson 
        Air Force Base, Ohio.
          (5) The Wright 1905 Flyer III and Wright Hall, 
        including constructed additions and attached 
        structures, known collectively as the John W. Berry, 
        Sr. Wright Brothers Aviation Center, Dayton, Ohio.
          (6) The Paul Laurence Dunbar State Memorial, Dayton, 
        Ohio.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 107. COORDINATION BETWEEN THE SECRETARY AND THE SECRETARY OF 
                    DEFENSE.

    The decisions concerning the execution of this Act as it 
applies to properties under control of the Secretary of Defense 
shall be made by such Secretary, in consultation with the 
[Secretary of Interior.] Secretary of the Interior.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 109. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this title[: Provided, That the amount 
to be appropriated for the operation, development or 
restoration of non-federally owned properties within the 
boundaries of the park shall not exceed $200,000].

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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