[Senate Report 111-134]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 284
111th Congress  }                                       {        Report
  2d Session    }             SENATE                    {       111-134
=======================================================================
 
          WHITE CLAY CREEK WILD AND SCENIC RIVER EXPANSION ACT 

                                _______
                                

                 March 2, 2010.--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 S. 853]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 853) to designate additional segments and 
tributaries of White Clay Creek, in the States of Delaware and 
Pennsylvania, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic 
Rivers System, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill, as 
amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. Beginning on page 1, strike line 6 and all that follows through 
page 3, line 10, and insert the following:

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF SEGMENTS OF WHITE CLAY CREEK, AS SCENIC AND 
                    RECREATIONAL RIVERS.

    2. On page 3, strike lines 16 and 17 and insert the following:
                  (B) by striking ``the recommended designation and 
                classification maps (dated June 2000)'' and inserting 
                ``the map entitled `White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic 
                River Designated Area Map' and dated July 2008, the map 
                entitled `White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River 
                Classification Map' and dated July 2008, and the map 
                entitled `White Clay Creek National Wild and Scenic 
                River Proposed Additional Designated Segments--July 
                2008''';
    3. On page 4, strike line 12 and insert the following:

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION OF WHITE CLAY CREEK.

    4. On page 4, line 16, strike ``section 3'' and insert ``section 
2''.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 853 is to designate approximately 9 miles 
of additional segments and tributaries of White Clay Creek, in 
the States of Delaware and Pennsylvania, as a component of the 
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

                          Background and Need

    The White Clay Creek Watershed is located between the urban 
regions of New York and Washington, D.C. The Watershed covers 
approximately 107 square miles and drains over 69,000 acres in 
Delaware and Pennsylvania. Of those 69,000 acres, 5,000 acres 
are public lands owned by state and local governments, and the 
rest is privately owned.
    In 2000, Public Law 106-357 designated 190 miles of the 
White Clay Creek River and its tributaries in the States of 
Delaware and Pennsylvania as a component of the National Wild 
and Scenic Rivers System. White Clay Creek became Delaware's 
first and only Federally-designated Wild and Scenic River.
    At the time Public Law 106-357 was enacted, the Lamborn Run 
in Delaware and the East Branch and Egypt Run in Pennsylvania, 
were not included in the Wild and Scenic River designation. New 
Garden Township in Pennsylvania passed a resolution in 2007 in 
support of the designation within the township and the Delaware 
River Basin Commission amended its Comprehensive Water 
Resources Plan by removing Lamborn Run in Delaware as a 
potential water supply reservoir.
    With the recent support of the affected local governments, 
S. 853 adds two additional segments to the previous White Clay 
Creek Wild and Scenic River designation.

                          Legislative History

    Senators Kaufman, Carper, and Casey introduced S. 853 on 
April 22, 2009. The subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on S. 853 on July 15, 2009. (S. Hrg. 111-92.) On 
December 16, 2009, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered S. 853 favorably reported, with amendments.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on December 16, 2009, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 853, if 
amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendment

    During its consideration of S. 853, the Committee adopted 
four amendments. The first amendment strikes the findings 
section, and makes a technical correction to a map reference, 
and the third and fourth amendments make conforming changes.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 contains the short title for the bill, the 
``White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River Expansion Act of 
2009''.
    Section 2 amends section 3(a)(163) of the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)(163) and designates an additional 
9 miles of White Clay Creek as Scenic and Recreational Rivers 
and makes a conforming amendment to update the map reference.
    Section 3 states that sections 4 through 8 of Public Law 
106-357 (16 U.S.C. 1274 note; 114 Stat. 1393), relating to the 
administration and management of the river segments, shall be 
applicable to the additional segments of the White Clay Creek.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

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

S. 853--White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River Expansion Act of 2009

    S. 853 would add nine miles of the White Clay Creek in 
Delaware and Pennsylvania to the National Wild and Scenic 
Rivers System. Based on information provided by the National 
Park Service, which administers the White Clay Creek unit of 
the system, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have 
no effect on the federal budget. The affected segments are 
already protected for wilderness values and would remain in 
private or state hands. Enacting the bill would not affect 
revenues or direct spending.
    S. 853 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 Deborah Reis. 
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 S. 853.
    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. 853, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    S. 853, as ordered 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 Department of the Interior 
was included in testimony received by the Committee at a 
hearing on S. 853 on July 15, 2009.

 Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Acting Deputy Director, Support 
      Services, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
before your committee today to discuss the views of the 
Department of the Interior on S. 853, a bill to amend the Wild 
and Scenic Rivers Act by designating additional segments and 
tributaries of the White Clay Creek in Delaware and 
Pennsylvania as components of the National Wild and Scenic 
Rivers System.
    The Department supports enactment of this legislation with 
one technical amendment.
    S. 853 would designate nine additional miles of segments 
and tributaries of the White Clay Creek as part of the National 
Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to be administered by the 
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary). The additional 
tributaries will be managed in accordance with the ``White Clay 
Creek and Its Tributaries Watershed Management Plan'' (amended 
Summer 2001) with the Secretary coordinating the White Clay 
Creek Watershed Management Committee.
    In December 1991, Congress directed the National Park 
Service to undertake a study of the headwaters of the White 
Clay Creek in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to its 
confluence with the Christina River in the State of Delaware. 
The study was also to include the East, West, and Middle 
Branches, Middle Run, Pike Creek, Mill Creek and other 
tributaries of the White Clay, as identified by the Secretary, 
to determine their eligibility for inclusion in the National 
Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The study was to be done in 
cooperation and consultation with various federal, state, 
regional, and local governments and affected landowners. In 
addition, a river management plan was to be prepared that would 
provide recommendations as to the protection and management of 
the White Clay Creek and its tributaries. The plan was to 
outline roles for the state and local governments and affected 
landowners to play in the management of the White Clay Creek as 
a designated component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System.
    In 1998, a watershed management plan was prepared that 
contained six goals for management of the White Clay Creek and 
its tributaries. These goals include improving and conserving 
water quality and quantity, and conserving open space, 
woodlands, wetlands, and geologic features. The plan was done 
cooperatively and calls for a management framework for the 
White Clay Creek and its tributaries that relies heavily on 
local land use decisions.
    In 1999, the National Park Service issued the ``White Clay 
Creek and Its Tributaries National Wild and Scenic River Study 
Draft Report.'' In the report, the National Park Service found 
that the majority of the river segments identified in the study 
met the eligibility requirements of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
Act by virtue of their free-flowing condition and presence of 
one or more outstandingly remarkable resource values. For 
example, the watershed includes open space and recreational 
opportunities for hiking, jogging, canoeing and fishing; in 
fact, the White Clay Creek is the most heavily stocked and 
heavily used put-and-take trout stream in the State of 
Delaware. In 2000, Public Law 106-357 designated 190 miles of 
the White Clay Creek and its tributaries as components of the 
National Wild and Scenic River System.
    The study report also identified additional segments and 
tributaries, which are the subject of S. 853, that would be 
eligible and suitable for designation. These segments are 
eligible and suitable because they are free-flowing streams 
with outstandingly remarkable values including the Cockeysville 
marble geologic formation that supports a high-yielding 
aquifer, a major source of drinking water, and threatened and 
endangered species including the Muhlenberg's (bog) turtle and 
cerulean warbler. However, these segments were removed from 
consideration because the Delaware River Basin Commission was 
looking at these areas as possible locations for reservoirs 
under their comprehensive plan. In addition, there was not 
demonstrated municipal support for such a designation, a 
requirement under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
    In 2007, these segments and tributaries were removed from 
the comprehensive plan of the Delaware River Basin Commission. 
In addition, the New Garden Township in Pennsylvania, the only 
affected municipality, passed a resolution in support of the 
designation. With these two issues resolved, the Department now 
supports these segments, totaling nine miles, be added to the 
National Wild and Scenic River System.
    The Department would like to work with the committee to 
make a technical correction to a map reference in Section 3 of 
the bill.
    This concludes my prepared remarks, Mr. Chairman. I will be 
happy to answer any questions you or other committee members 
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 made by 
the bill S. 853, 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)


                        [16 U.S.C 1271 et seq.]


  AN ACT To provide a National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) 
this Act be cited as the ``Wild and Scenic Rivers Act''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    Sec. 3(a) The following rivers and the land adjacent 
thereto are hereby designated as components of the national 
wild and scenic rivers system:

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (163) White Clay Creek, Delaware and Pennsylvania.--The 
[190 miles] 199 miles of river segments of White Clay Creek 
(including tributaries of White Clay Creek and all second order 
tributaries of the designated segments) in the States of 
Delaware and Pennsylvania, as depicted on [the recommended 
designation and classification maps (dated June 2000)] the map 
entitled ``White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River Designated 
Area Map'' and dated July 2008, the map entitled ``White Clay 
Creek Wild and Scenic River Classification Map'' and dated July 
2008, and the map entitled ``White Clay Creek National Wild and 
Scenic River Proposed Additional designated Segments--July 
2008'', to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior, as 
follows:
                  (A) 30.8 miles of the east branch, including 
                Trout Run, beginning at the headwaters within 
                West Marlborough township downstream to a point 
                that is 500 feet north of the Borough of 
                Avondale wastewater treatment facility, as a 
                recreational river.
                  [(B) 15.0 miles of the east branch beginning 
                at the southern boundary line of the Borough of 
                Avondale to a point where the East Branch 
                enters New Garden Township at the Franklin 
                Township boundary line, including Walnut Run 
                and Broad Run outside the boundaries of the 
                White Clay Creek Preserve, as a recreational 
                river.]
                  (B) 22.4 miles of the east branch beginning 
                at the southern boundary line of the Borough of 
                Avondale, including Walnut Run, Broad Run, and 
                Egypt Run, outside the boundaries of the White 
                Clay Creek Preserve, as a recreational river.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                  (G) 17.2 miles of the west branch, beginning 
                at the headwaters within Penn township 
                downstream to the confluence with the middle 
                branch, as a recreational river.
                  [(H) 12.7 miles of the main stream, excluding 
                Lamborn Run, the flow through the boundaries of 
                the White Clay Creek Preserve, Pennsylvania and 
                Delaware, and White Clay Creek State Park, 
                Delaware, beginning at the confluence of the 
                east and middle branches in London Britain 
                township, Pennsylvania, downstream to the 
                northern boundary line of the city of Newark, 
                Delaware, as a scenic river.]
                  (H) 14.3 miles of the main stream, including 
                Lamborn Run, that flow through the boundaries 
                of the White Clay Creek Preserve, Pennsylvania 
                and Delaware, and White Clay Creek State Park, 
                Delaware beginning at the confluence of the 
                east and middle branches in London Britain 
                Township, Pennsylvania, downstream to the 
                northern boundary line of the City of Newark, 
                Delaware, as a scenic river.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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