[Senate Report 110-317]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 669
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-317

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



 
           TAUNTON, MASSACHUSETTS SPECIAL RESOURCES STUDY ACT

                                _______
                                

                 April 10, 2008.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1021]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 1021) to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resources study regarding the 
suitability and feasibility of designating certain historic 
buildings and areas in Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of the 
National Park System, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the Act do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 1021 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resources study regarding the 
suitability and feasibility of designating certain historic 
buildings and areas in Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of the 
National Park System, and for other purposes.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The City of Taunton, located in southeastern Massachusetts 
in Bristol County, can trace its roots back to the earliest 
days of our Nation. The first county courthouse was built in 
Taunton in 1772, and the town served as an organizational 
center for the Revolutionary War.
    In 1774, Taunton was the site of the raising of the Liberty 
and Union flag, one of the earliest actions to gain 
international attention as a symbol of America's defiance of 
British rule and taxation. The town settlement was anchored 
around the Taunton River and its tributaries, which provided a 
focus for its shipbuilding and shipping activities during the 
1800s. The historic nature of the city draws tourists to visit 
the well-preserved greens and houses that date back to the 
1800s. Taunton's history spans from its earliest beginnings as 
an agrarian hinterland to its development as a major industrial 
urban core (particularly for iron) and regional political 
center during the Revolutionary War. The city emerged at an 
early date as a regional communications focus for the exchange 
and interaction of goods, people, and information.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 1021 passed the House of Representatives on March 19, 
2007. A companion measure, S. 1184, was introduced in the 
Senate on April 4, 2007. During the 108th Congress, a similar 
bill passed the House of Representatives by voice vote on 
October 10, 2004, H.R. 2129, although no further action was 
taken in the Senate.
    The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 
1021 on September 11, 2007. The Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered it favorably reported on January 30, 2008.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on January 30, 2008, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1021.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title.
    Section 2 contains findings.
    Section 3 directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a special resources study regarding the suitability and 
feasibility of designating certain historic buildings and areas 
in Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park 
System.
    Section 4 requires the Secretary to submit, to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
Senate, a report on the findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations of the study required under section 3.
    Section 5 requires the recommendations in the report to 
include discussion and consideration of the concerns expressed 
by private landowners with respect to designating certain 
structures referred to in this Act as a unit of the National 
Park System.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

H.R. 1021--Taunton, Massachusetts Special Resources Study Act

    H.R. 1021 would direct the Department of the Interior, in 
consultation with various state and local stakeholders, to 
conduct a special resource study to determine the feasibility 
and suitability of designating certain historic buildings and 
areas of Taunton, Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park 
System. The bill would require the department to report its 
findings and recommendations to the appropriate Congressional 
committees within three years of receiving funding for the 
study.
    Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO 
estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $300,000 
over the next three years. Enacting this legislation would not 
affect direct spending or revenues.
    H.R. 1021 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 Tyler Kruzich. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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 H.R. 1021. 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 H.R. 1021, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    H.R. 1021, as reported, does not contain any 
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, 
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 
September 11, 2007 Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1021 follows:

 Statement of Daniel N. Wenk, Deputy Director, National Park Service, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before your committee to present the views of the Department of 
the Interior on H.R. 1021 and S. 1184, identical bills that 
direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
resources study regarding the suitability and feasibility of 
designating certain historic buildings and areas in Taunton, 
Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park System.
    The Department does not support these bills. On June 15, 
2004, in the 108th Congress, the Department also did not 
support H.R. 2129, a similar bill.
    The City of Taunton, located in southeastern Massachusetts 
in Bristol County, can trace its roots back to the earliest 
days of our Nation. As the seat of Bristol County since 1746, 
Taunton was the site of that county's first courthouse built in 
1772, and the town served as a locale for colonial discontent 
prior to the Revolutionary War. In 1774, Taunton was the site 
of the raising of the Liberty and Union flag, one of a number 
of symbolic representations in the Colonies expressing 
discontent with British rule. The town settlement was anchored 
around the Taunton River and its tributaries, which provided a 
focus for its shipbuilding and shipping activities during the 
1800s. The historic nature of the city draws tourists to visit 
the well-preserved greens and houses that date back to the 
1800s. Taunton's history spans from its earliest beginnings as 
an agrarian hinterland to its development as a major industrial 
urban core (particularly for iron) and regional political 
center during the Revolutionary War. The city emerged at an 
early date as a regional communications focus for the exchange 
and interaction of goods, people, and information.
    H.R. 1021 and S. 1184 both propose that the Secretary 
conduct a study of historic buildings and areas in Taunton, to 
evaluate the suitability and feasibility of designating them as 
a unit of the National Park System. The study is to be 
conducted in accordance with the National Park Service Organic 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1a-5). In addition to the criteria set out in 
the Organic Act, the bills also require an evaluation of these 
areas against a list of criteria commonly seen in study 
legislation for evaluating individual National Heritage Areas, 
and not part of the usual evaluation of a park unit.
    The Department has concerns about enactment of these bills, 
because the named historic properties have been studied and 
determined not to be nationally significant, the first 
criterion that must be met for inclusion in the National Park 
System as spelled out in the Organic Act and in National Park 
Service Management Policies 2006. Most of the historic 
properties cited in the findings were included in a Multiple 
Resource Area nomination to the National Register of Historic 
Places, completed in 1984 and nominated by the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, which formed the basis for listing properties. 
The Multiple Resource Area nomination documented and evaluated 
Taunton's historic properties including buildings, structures 
and districts that were found to have architectural and 
historic merit. These properties were evaluated within the 
context of significant historical themes and time periods in 
Taunton's history. The Multiple Resource Area nomination 
included 86 individual properties, two districts, three 
industrial complexes, and one religious complex, primarily 
spanning from the mid-18th Century through the mid-20th 
Century. The Massachusetts State Historic Preservation Officer 
nominated these properties for their local historic or 
architectural significance, rather than for their state or 
national significance. The National Park Service agreed with 
this recommendation and listed the properties in the National 
Register of Historic Places for their local historic or 
architectural importance.
    The Department is concerned with H.R. 1021 and S. 1184 
because other authorities and mechanisms exist at the Federal, 
State, and local levels, to support the preservation of 
historic properties of local significance. To expend limited 
study funds on properties that are known not to meet National 
Park Service standards seems ill-advised when the Department is 
pressed to meet the budgetary needs of previously authorized 
studies of nationally significant resources.
    Currently, the National Park Service is in various stages 
of progress with 37 studies previously authorized by Congress. 
These studies are focusing on potential National Park System 
Units, National Heritage Areas, additions to the National Wild 
and Scenic Rivers System, or additions to the National Trails 
System. Our highest priority is to complete the studies 
previously authorized by Congress, and to begin work on newly 
authorized studies as soon as funds are available.
    In addition, the Department notes that the National Park 
Service is currently in the midst of a wild and scenic river 
study of the Taunton River, authorized by Congress in December 
2000. The City of Taunton is actively engaged in this process 
along with the nine other communities that abut the main stem 
of the Taunton River. Historical and cultural resources 
associated with the river, including sites in the City of 
Taunton, are an important part of the study, recognizing that 
the river has a rich history dating from Native American use to 
colonial settlement and early industrial development. The study 
is currently out for public comment and we expect to finalize 
and transmit it to Congress in 2008.
    It would appear that the wild and scenic river study is 
evaluating many of the same resources identified in H.R. 1021 
and S. 1184. Furthermore, the wild and scenic river study is 
appropriately considering a larger area than the city limits of 
Taunton. To launch an overlapping study with similar but 
slightly different criteria from those governing the wild and 
scenic river study, would seem to invite both confusion and 
duplication. Therefore, the Department does not support 
enactment of H.R. 1021 and S. 1184.
    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to comment. 
This concludes my prepared remarks and I will be happy to 
answer any questions you or other committee members might have.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill H.R. 1021, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
