[Senate Report 109-193]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 311
109th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    109-193

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                MUSCONETCONG WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT

                                _______
                                

                December 8, 2005.--Ordered to be printed

 Filed under authority of the order of the Senate of November 18, 2005

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1096]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1096) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
Act to designate portions of the Musconetcong River in the 
State of New Jersey as a component of the National Wild and 
Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    The purpose of S. 1096 is to amend the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act to designate approximately 24 miles of the 
Musconetcong River in the State of New Jersey as a component of 
the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

                          Background and Need

    The Musconetcong River Valley watershed is a 158 square 
mile area within the Highlands region province of New Jersey. 
The Highlands (a large area of relatively pristine forest) 
provides the water supply source for the State's major urban 
areas and the river's recreational and historic resources are 
important to the local economy. The Musconetcong River Valley 
features a diverse array of farms, hamlets, villages, and 
secluded natural areas. State, county, and local parklands 
within the river corridor provide opportunities for hiking, 
fishing, canoeing, camping, nature study, and other outdoor 
activities.
    The Musconetcong River and its tributaries support wild 
trout populations and are regionally important trout fishing 
streams. This river corridor has been a priority for the Green 
Acres program of New Jersey for the last decade, with a 
specific goal of creating a greenway along the river.
    Local support for this legislation has been widespread. The 
Musconetcong Watershed Association has provided assistance in 
the completion of two reports: The Musconetcong Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Eligibility Report and the Musconetcong River Management 
Plan. The reports determined that 28.5 miles of the 
Musconetcong River are suitable for designation as a 
Recreational and Scenic River as part of the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers System.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1096 was introduced by Senators Corzine and Lautenberg 
on May 23, 2005. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on S. 1096 on September 22, 2005.
    At its business meeting on November 16, 2005, the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1096 favorably 
reported without amendment.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on November 16, 2005, by a unanimous voice of 
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1096.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 entitles the bill ``Musconetcong Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act.''
    Section 2 sets forth congressional findings.
    Section 3 defines key terms.
    Section 4 amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to 
designate a 3.5 mile segment from Saxton Falls to the Route 46 
bridge of the Musconetcong River as a Scenic River, and a 20.7 
mile segment from the Kings Highway bridge to the railroad 
tunnels at Musconetcong Gorge, as a Recreational River, both to 
be administered by the Secretary of the Interior. The section 
provides that the segments shall not be administered as part of 
the National Park System.
    Section 5(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
manage the river segments in accordance with the river 
management plan. The satisfaction of requirements for the plan 
shall be a comprehensive management plan as defined under 
section 3 (d) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Secretary 
shall consider water resource projects which may have a direct 
and adverse effect on the values of the rivers segments to the 
extent each project is consistent with the management plan. The 
Secretary may provide technical assistance, staff support and 
funding to assist in implementing the plan.
    Subsection (b) lists the agencies and entities the 
Secretary shall cooperate with in management of the river 
segments and further clarifies specifics pertinent to 
cooperative agreements including consistency with the 
management plan and provisions for financial and other 
assistance for long-term protection, conservation and 
enhancement of the river segments.
    Subsection (c) outlines the Secretary's role regarding land 
management. The Secretary may provide planning, financial, and 
technical assistance to local municipalities and nonprofit 
organizations to assist in the implementation of actions to 
protect natural and historic resources of the river segments.
    Subsection (d) states that Congress finds an additional 
segment of the Musconetcong Rivers is suitable for designation 
as a recreational river if the Secretary determines that there 
is adequate local support for the designation based on 
preferences of local governments expressed in resolutions.
    Subsection (e) authorizes appropriations as necessary to 
carry out this Act.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                                 November 23, 2005.
Hon. Pete V. Domenici,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Cngressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1096, the 
Musconetcong Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                               Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
    Enclosure.

S. 1096--Musconetcong Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

    S. 1096 would designate 24.2 miles of segments of the 
Musconetcong River in New Jersey as scenic and recreational 
rivers under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The bill would 
designate 4.3 additional miles of that river as a recreational 
river if the Secretary of the Interior finds sufficient local 
support for such a designation. Based on information from the 
Department of the Interior, CBO estimates that the proposed 
designations would not significantly affect the agency's 
administrative or land-management costs, which are subject to 
appropriation. Enacting S. 1096 would not affect direct 
spending or revenues.
    The legislation contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      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. 1096. 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. 1096, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    The views of the Administration on S. 1096 were included in 
testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on 
June 28, 2005 as follows:

  Statement of Janet Snyder Matthews, Associate Director for Cultural 
      Resources, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before the Committee to present the Department of the 
Interior's position on S. 1096, a bill to amend the Wild and 
Scenic Rivers Act by designating portions of the Musconetcong 
River in New Jersey as a component of the National Wild and 
Scenic Rivers System. The Department supports enactment of S. 
1096.
    The Musconetcong River is the largest New Jersey tributary 
to the Delaware River. The area of the river, nestled in the 
heart of the New Jersey Highlands, contains a remarkably 
diverse array of natural and cultural resources. The limestone 
geologic features present in the Musconetcong River corridor 
are unique in the state, and the steep slopes and forested 
ridges in the upper segments of the river corridor contrast 
with the historic villages, pastures, and rolling agricultural 
lands at the middle and lower end of the river valley.
    The impetus for the designation of the Musconetcong began 
in 1991, when residents in the Musconetcong River Valley 
organized a petition drive in support of efforts to protect the 
river. The petitions called for the protection of the 
Musconetcong River under both the National Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act and New Jersey Wild and Scenic Rivers Program.
    In 1992, Congress passed legislation authorizing the 
National Park Service to study the eligibility and suitability 
of the Lower Delaware River for addition to the National Wild 
and Scenic Rivers System. In 1997, 18 of 19 Musconetcong River 
municipalities voted to have the National Park Service 
determine the eligibility and suitability of the Musconetcong 
River for designation into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System. As a part of the study effort, a Musconetcong Advisory 
Committee, comprised of residents representing each 
municipality, was formed. This committee, with assistance from 
the National Park Service through its authority to study the 
Lower Delaware River, completed a Resource Assessment and 
Eligibility and Classification Report (1999) as well as a 
Musconetcong River Management Plan (April, 2003). The report 
found that approximately 24 miles of the river are eligible for 
inclusion into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System 
because of their free-flowing nature and outstandingly 
remarkable recreational, scenic, cultural, and wildlife and 
habitat values.
    The Musconetcong River Management Plan was developed 
cooperatively and calls for a management framework that 
acknowledges the importance and preference for local 
leadership, and the additional protections afforded by national 
wild and scenic river designation. A key principle of the 
management framework as proposed in the plan is that existing 
institutions will continue to play primary roles in the long-
term protection of the Musconetcong River. With respect to 
facilitating and coordinating potentially diverse interests 
among residents, landowners, municipalities, counties, states 
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the plan proposes 
the formation of a Musconetcong River Management Committee.
    The bill provides that the administration for the 24.2-mile 
designated river segment is to be consistent with the 
cooperatively developed Musconetcong River Management Plan 
(2003) and is to be undertaken in cooperation with federal, 
state, county and municipal governments. The bill also 
identifies an additional river segment that would be suitable 
for designation by the Secretary of the Interior only at such 
time as it can be demonstrated that adequate local support for 
such designation exists within the affected local 
jurisdictions. The costs associated with a designated wild and 
scenic river in the Northeast Region of the National Park 
Service average $150,000 annually (for cooperative agreements 
with river partner organizations), and we would expect the 
costs to be similar for this river, although the expenditures 
per river will likely decline as more designated rivers have to 
share limited resources. The region will handle the work 
associated with the newly designated river with existing staff. 
Any funding for cooperative agreements with the river's partner 
organizations will be dependent upon annual appropriations and 
departmental funding priorities.
    This completes my prepared statement. I would be happy to 
answer any questions you may have regarding this bill.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law are made 
by the bill S. 1096, 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):

                       WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT

             (Public Law 90-542; Approved October 2, 1968)


  AN ACT to provide a National Wild and Scenic Rivers Sysem, and for 
other purposes

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    Sec. 3. (a) The following rivers and the land adjacent 
thereto are hereby designated as components of the National 
Wild and Scenic Rivers System:

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (167) Musconetcong river, new jersey.--
                  (A) Designation.--The 24.2 miles of river 
                segments in New Jersey, consisting of--
                          (i) the approximately 3.5-mile 
                        segment from Saxton Falls to the Route 
                        46 bridge, to be administered by the 
                        Secretary of the Interior as a scenic 
                        river; and
                          (ii) the approximately 20.7-mile 
                        segment from the Kings Highway bridge 
                        to the railroad tunnels at Musconetcong 
                        Gorge, to be administered by the 
                        Secretary of the Interior as a 
                        recreational river.
                  (B) Administration.--Notwithstanding section 
                10(c), the river segments designated under 
                subparagraph (A) shall not be administered as 
                part of the National Park System.

                                  
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