[Senate Report 111-265]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 535
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-265

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



 
             ALABAMA BLACK BELT NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA ACT

                                _______
                                

                 August 5, 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. 2892]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2892) to establish the Alabama Black Belt 
National Heritage Area, and for other purposes, 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 6, line 7, and insert the following:

    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Designation of Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area.
Sec. 4. Local coordinating entity.
Sec. 5. Management plan.
Sec. 6. Evaluation; report.
Sec. 7. Relationship to other Federal agencies.
Sec. 8. Private property and regulatory protections.
Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 10. Use of Federal funds from other sources.
Sec. 11. Termination of financial assistance.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    2. On page 7, line 1, strike ``5'' and insert ``3''.
    3. On page 7, strike lines 6 and 7 and insert the 
following:

    (b) Boundaries.--The National Heritage Area

    4. On page 7, strike lines 14 through 20.
    5. On page 7, line 21, strike ``6'' and insert ``4''.
    6. On page 10, line 9, strike ``7'' and insert ``5''.
    7. On page 16, line 20, strike ``8'' and insert ``6''.
    8. On page 18, line 1, strike ``9'' and insert ``7''.
    9. On page 18, line 23, strike ``10'' and insert ``8''.
    10. On page 20, line 5, strike ``11'' and insert ``9''.
    11. On page 20, line 12, strike ``$15,000,000'' and insert 
``$10,000,000''.
    12. On page 20, line 19, strike ``12'' and insert ``10''.
    13. On page 21, line 1, strike ``13'' and insert ``11''.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 2892 is to establish the Alabama Black 
Belt National Heritage Area.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Black Belt region of Alabama (Black Belt) stretches 
across the lower-central portion of Alabama, from the eastern 
border of Mississippi to the western border of southern 
Georgia. The Black Belt is characterized by its distinctive 
geography and its exceptionally fertile black soil.
    In the 1820s and 1830, this soil influenced the 
construction of a large network of cotton plantations, which in 
turn made the region one of the wealthiest and most politically 
powerful in the United States. When the Civil War began in the 
early 1860s, the city of Montgomery was established as the 
first capital of the Confederacy. The region is recognized by 
many as the center of the civil rights movement of the 1950s 
and 1960s. Several events pivotal in the civil rights movement 
took place in the region including the Montgomery bus boycott, 
the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, and the 
march from Selma to Montgomery, which helped lead to the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
    The geography of the Black Belt is comprised of threatened 
prairies, forests, and rivers, and the area contains diverse 
species of flora and fauna as well as many fossils, including 
shells and bones of ancient sea life.
    The Black Belt contains three units of the National Park 
System: the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, the 
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, and the Tuskegee 
Institute National Historic Site. The region includes the 
Talladega National Forest and the Tuskegee National Forest. The 
Bartram Trail, a National Recreation Trail, runs through the 
Tuskegee National Forest. Additionally, the region contains two 
National Wildlife Refuges and two Army Corps of Engineers 
projects: the Alabama River Lakes and the Black Warrior and 
Tombigbee Lakes, river basins that are home to public 
recreation and natural resources sites.
    The Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area Task Force was formed 
in 2004 with the purpose of exploring National Heritage Area 
designation. It completed a Feasibility Study in February 2009, 
which concluded that National Heritage Area designation would 
best promote and preserve the unique historical, cultural, 
ecological, and geographical assets of the Black Belt, while 
creating much-needed economic and community development.
    S. 2892 would provide a cooperative management framework 
that would encourage cooperation between all levels of 
government, the private sector, and local communities to 
protect and develop the historical, cultural, natural, and 
recreational resources of the region.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 2892 was introduced by Senators Shelby and Sessions on 
December 16, 2009. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on the bill on March 17, 2010. The Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources considered the bill and adopted 
amendments at its business meeting on June 16, 2010. The 
Committee ordered S. 2892 favorably reported, as amended, at 
its business meeting on June 21, 2010.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on June 21, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2892, if amended as 
described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 2892, the Committee adopted 
several amendments. The first amendment strikes the 
Congressional findings and purposes sections. The remaining 
amendments strike a map reference, change the limitation on 
total appropriated funds from $15,000,000 to $10,000,000, and 
make other technical and conforming changes.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Alabama Black 
Belt National Heritage Area Act''.
    Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
    Section 3(a) establishes the Alabama Black Belt National 
Heritage Area in the State of Alabama.
    Subsection (b) provides that the boundaries of the heritage 
area consist of sites designated by the management plan, and 
lists the counties that the heritage area encompasses.
    Section 4(a) designates the Center for the Study of the 
Black Belt at the University of West Alabama as the local 
coordinating entity for the heritage area.
    Subsection (b) details the duties of the local coordinating 
entity.
    Subsection (c) lists the authorities of the local 
coordinating entity and authorizes the local coordinating 
entity to use Federal funds to make grants, enter into 
cooperative agreements or provide technical assistance, hire 
staff, obtain funds or services from any source, contract for 
goods or services, and support activities of partners and any 
other activities that further the purposes of the heritage area 
and are consistent with the management plan.
    Section 5(a) provides the requirements for the contents of 
the management plan.
    Subsection (b) requires the local coordinating entity to 
submit the management plan to the Secretary for review no later 
than three years after the date on which the funds are made 
available to carry out this Act. If the management plan is not 
submitted within the three-year period, Federal funding is 
suspended until the plan is submitted to the Secretary.
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to approve or 
disapprove the management plan within six months after 
receiving the plan and lists the criteria he is to consider in 
determining whether to approve or disapprove the plan. The 
Secretary must review and approve or disapprove any amendment 
that would make a substantial change to the management plan, 
and authorizes him to provide technical assistance and enter 
into cooperative agreements with the heritage area.
    Section 6(a) requires the Secretary to conduct an 
evaluation of the National Heritage Area that assesses the 
progress of the local coordinating entity with respect to 
accomplishing the purposes of this Act and whether the local 
coordinating entity achieved the goals and objectives of the 
approved management plan. The evaluation is also required to 
analyze governmental and private investments in the heritage 
area to their impact.
    Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to prepare a report, 
not later than three years before the date on which Federal 
funding terminates, based on the evaluation. Is must include 
recommendations for the future role of the National Park 
Service, if any, for the heritage area. The report is to be 
submitted to the House and Senate authorizing committees.
    Section 7(a) clarifies that nothing in this Act affects the 
authority of a Federal agency to provide technical or financial 
assistance under any other law.
    Subsection (b) encourages the head of a Federal agency 
planning to conduct activities that may have an impact on the 
heritage area to consult and coordinate the activities with the 
Secretary and the local coordinating entity to the maximum 
extent practicable.
    Subsection (c) clarifies that nothing in this Act modifies 
authorities of Federal agencies to manage Federal land, limits 
the discretion of a Federal agency to implement an approved 
land use plan, or modifies or alters any authorized use of 
Federal land.
    Section 8 contains several savings provisions to clarify 
that the designation of the national heritage area will not 
affect private property rights, affect governmental land use 
regulation, reserve or appropriate water rights, diminish the 
authority of the State to manage fish and wildlife, or create 
any liability for property owners within the heritage area.
    Section 9(a) authorizes not more than $1 million to be 
appropriated for any fiscal year.
    Subsection (b) authorizes total appropriations of $10 
million.
    Subsection (c) requires Federal funding to be matched on a 
50:50 basis by funds from non-Federal sources, including in the 
form of in-kind contributions of goods or services.
    Section 10 clarifies that the local coordinating entity is 
not prohibited from using Federal funds available under other 
laws for the purposes of this Act.
    Section 11 provides that the authority of the Secretary to 
provide assistance under this Act terminates 15 years after the 
date of enactment.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 2892--Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area Act

    S. 2892 would establish the Alabama Black Belt National 
Heritage Area in Alabama. (The Black Belt is a region of the 
southeastern United States that is known for its fertile soil.) 
The bill would designate the Center for the Study of the Black 
Belt at the University of West Alabama as the management entity 
for the proposed heritage area and would authorize the 
appropriation of $10 million for financial assistance to the 
center and other eligible entities over the next 15 years.
    Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 2892 would cost $5 million over 
the 2011-2015 period and an additional $5 million after 2015. 
Enacting the legislation would have no effect on direct 
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
not apply.
    S. 2892 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 Martin von 
Gnechten. 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. 2892.
    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. 2892, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    In accordance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the 
following identification of congressionally directed spending 
items contained in the bill, as reported:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Section                   Provision            Member
------------------------------------------------------------------------
9...............................  Authorization of    Sen. Shelby.
                                   Appropriations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the 
March 17, 2010 Subcommittee hearing on S. 2892 follows:

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

    Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to appear before you today to present the views 
of the Department of the Interior on S. 2892, a bill to 
establish the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area, and 
for other purposes.
    The Department recommends that the committee defer action 
on S. 2892 until program legislation is enacted that 
establishes criteria to evaluate potentially qualified national 
heritage areas and a process for the designation and 
administration of these areas. The Administration anticipates 
submitting such a legislative proposal to you in the near 
future, and we recommend that Congress enact national heritage 
area program legislation this Congress. In addition, we 
recommend deferring action on S. 2892 until the National Park 
Service completes its final review of the feasibility study for 
the proposed Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area. The 
Administration's FY 2011 Budget proposes to reduce funding for 
national heritage areas to focus resources on those park 
activities that most closely align with its core mission and 
encourage areas to become self-sufficient, consistent with a FY 
2010 Congressional directive.
    There are currently 49 designated national heritage areas, 
yet there is no authority in law that guides the designation 
and administration of these areas. Program legislation would 
provide a much-needed framework for evaluating proposed 
national heritage areas, offering guidelines for successful 
planning and management, clarifying the roles and 
responsibilities of all parties, and standardizing timeframes 
and funding for designated areas. Program legislation was 
introduced in the 109th and 110th Congresses, and we look 
forward to continuing to work with Congress on this very 
important issue.
    The feasibility of the Alabama Black Belt area for 
designation as a national heritage area is the subject of a 
study now being finalized by the Alabama Black Belt Heritage 
Area Task Force. Since the creation of the task force in 2006, 
it has grown from a group of ten people into an active 
organization with over 65 members across 19 counties. The 
organization has worked closely with the National Park Service 
and the Alliance of National Heritage Areas to demonstrate a 
strong basis for seeking potential national heritage area 
status. The task force has also implemented several successful 
projects in the Black Belt region.
    The draft feasibility study includes an extensive inventory 
of cultural and natural resources of the region; identifies 
four interpretive themes; describes the plans for management, 
preservation, and interpretation of the region; and, contains a 
detailed environmental assessment. It indicates that the 
proposal for a national heritage area has strong support from 
the public and a myriad of state, local, federal, and 
nongovernmental partners throughout the area that are essential 
for successful planning and implementation of a national 
heritage area. It recommends that the Center for the Study of 
the Black Belt at the University of West Alabama serve as the 
local coordinating entity for the proposed national heritage 
area, as provided for in S. 2892. The center was identified as 
the preferred management entity based on its ability to provide 
a sustainable foundation for the implementation of a national 
heritage area, promote an integrated vision and leadership, 
engage ongoing community participation, build reciprocal 
partnerships, and facilitate programs across all 19 counties 
included in the proposed Alabama Black Belt National Heritage 
Area.
    Geographically, Alabama's Black Belt is part of a larger 
crescent-shaped area known as the Southern Black Belt, which 
extends from Virginia to Texas. The term refers to the fertile 
black soil of the region. This soil drew pioneers to settle the 
lower-central portion of Alabama in the 1820s and 1830s where 
they established and operated a network of cotton plantations 
using the labor of enslaved African Americans.
    During the Antebellum era, the Alabama Black Belt became 
one of the wealthiest and most politically powerful regions in 
the United States. Thriving commerce elevated Montgomery, 
Selma, and Demopolis into some of the nation's most affluent 
towns. The architecture that grew out of this plantation 
culture produced some of the finest churches and rural 
residences in the state, including Rosemount and Thornhill in 
Greene, Countryside in Camden, and Gaineswood in Demopolis. 
When the Civil War began, Montgomery was chosen as the first 
capital of the Confederacy. The region's distance from the 
front lines saved it from much of the ravages of the war.
    During the Twentieth Century, this area gained fame as the 
site where the Tuskegee Airmen trained during World War II, and 
as a center of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 
1960s. Montgomery County was the site of the 1955-56 bus 
boycott that challenged segregation of public transportation. 
Highway 80 in Dallas, Lowndes, and Montgomery counties shaped 
the route taken by participants of the historic march for equal 
rights from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. The Lowndes County 
Freedom Organization, later the Black Panther Party, was an 
outgrowth of that march.
    Rivers and streams from several large basins--the Sipsey-
Warrior, Coosa-Tallapoosa, Alabama-Cahaba, Tombigbee, and 
Chattahoochee--flow through the Alabama Black Belt. When cotton 
was the dominant crop grown in the region, the Black Belt's 
many navigable waterways enabled growers to transport their 
harvests to the docks in Mobile for shipment abroad. Row crops 
are less prevalent today as more of the rural Black Belt land 
is now used for livestock or aquaculture.
    While largely viewed as a region of hardship, the Alabama 
Black Belt has produced a rich variety of artists, musicians, 
writers, and other public figures. Notable figures from this 
region include Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Harper Lee and 
Truman Capote. Three sites in the region managed by the 
National Park Service commemorate nationally significant 
history: the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site and the 
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site, both units of the 
National Park System, and the Selma to Montgomery National 
Historic Trail.
    If the committee decides to move forward with S. 2892, we 
would like to work with the committee to provide the 
appropriate map reference for the national heritage area and to 
ensure that the language of the bill is consistent with 
previously enacted national heritage area designations.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I would 
be pleased to answer any questions you or any 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, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 2892, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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