[Senate Report 112-109]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 271
112th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     112-109

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                  FIRST STATE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

                                _______
                                

                January 13, 2012.--Ordered to be printed

 Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of December 17, 2011

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 323]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 323) to establish the First State 
National Historical Park in the State of Delaware, and for 
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 323 is to establish the First State 
National Historical Park in the State of Delaware.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Delaware National Coastal Special Resources Study Act 
(Public Law 109-338) directed the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resources study of the national significance, 
suitability, and feasibility of including sites in the coastal 
region of the State of Delaware in the National Park System. 
The study area predominately comprised the coastal regions of 
the state, but also included some other areas of significance, 
including the historic Odessa district, and areas such as 
Cooch's Bridge, the site of the only Revolutionary engagement 
fought in Delaware. The coastal study area ran from Wilmington, 
Delaware, to the Maryland border.
    After completion of the study in 2008, the National Park 
Service found that selected resources met the criteria for 
potential designation as a unit of the National Park System.
    There are several historical and cultural resources located 
within the project area including Holy Trinity (`Old Swedes') 
Church, numerous sites in the New Castle Historic Landmark 
District, Lombardy Hall, and the Stonum House. All of these 
sites are also National Historic Landmarks and open, to varying 
degrees, to the public. Publically-owned National Historic 
Landmarks include Fort Christina State Park, the New Castle 
Court House in the New Castle NHL District, and the John 
Dickinson house.
    S. 323 would establish First State National Historical Park 
by incorporating many of the above sites; creating Delaware's 
first unit of the National Park System.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senators Carper and Coons introduced S. 323 on February 10, 
2011. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 
323 on May 11, 2011. The Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered S. 323 favorably reported without amendment 
at its business meeting on November 10, 2011.
    During the 111th Congress, the Committee considered similar 
legislation, S. 1801, also sponsored by Senator Carper. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 1801 on May 
19, 2010 (S. Hrg. 111-645).

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on November 10, 2011, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 323. 
Senators Lee and corker asked to be recorded as opposing the 
measure.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title, the ``First State 
National Historical Park Act''.
    Section 2 defines key terms.
    Section 3(a) establishes the First State National 
Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System in 
Delaware at such time as the Secretary of the Interior 
determines that sufficient land or interests in land have been 
acquired from among sires described in subsection (b) to 
constitute a manageable park unit.
    Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to include the 
named historic sites within the boundary of the historical 
park.
    Section 4 sets forth the Secretary's requirements for 
administering the park.
    Subsection (a) this Act requires that the Secretary 
administer the park in accordance with the National Park System 
Organic Act, and the Historic Sites Act.
    Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to modify the 
boundary of the park to include acquired lands.
    Subsection (c) states that the Secretary may provide 
interpretative tours to historic sites and resources in 
Delaware, which are outside the park boundary.
    Subsection (d) provides that the Secretary may enter into 
cooperation agreements with public and private entities to 
mark, interpret, and restore naturally significant resources 
within the park boundary, subject to the requirement that non-
federal parties pay at least half the costs.
    Subsection (e) directs the Secretary to complete a 
management plan for the park within 3 years after the date 
funds are made available.
    Section 5 directs the Secretary to complete a study 
assessing the historical significance of additional properties 
in the State that are associated with the purposes of the park, 
including those that could be considered National Historic 
Landmarks.
    Section 6 authorizes the appropriations of such sums as are 
necessary to carry out the Act.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 323--First State National Historical Park Act

    S. 323 would establish the First State National Historical 
Park in Delaware when the National Park Service (NPS) obtains 
enough property (through donation) at the proposed site to 
constitute a manageable park unit. Assuming that the conditions 
for establishment can be met and that the necessary amounts are 
appropriated, CBO estimates that implementing S. 323 would cost 
about $4 million over the 2012-2016 period. Enacting S. 323 
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates 
that the agency would spend about $1 million over the next 
three years to prepare a general management plan for the 
proposed park and a study to determine the suitability of 
designating additional properties as National Historic 
Landmarks. We estimate that federal costs to operate the park 
would be about $500,000 annually.
    S. 323 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 CB0 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. 323.
    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. 323, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 323, 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 at 
the May 11, 2011, Subcommittee hearing on S. 323 follows.

Statement of Steven E. Whitesell, Associate Director for Park Planning, 
    Facilities, and Lands, National Park Service, Department of the 
                                Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 323, a bill to 
establish the First State National Historical Park in the State 
of Delaware.
    The Department strongly supports the establishment of a 
unit of the national park system in Delaware as proposed by S. 
323.
    In 2008, pursuant to Public Law 109-338, the National Park 
Service completed a Special Resource Study of the coastal area 
of Delaware and identified a number of resources of national 
significance that were determined suitable and feasible to 
administer as a unit of the national park system. These 
included historic resources that were instrumental in early 
Swedish, Dutch, and English settlement in the United States, 
and others associated with Delaware's role as the nation's 
first state. Although the bill provides the Secretary of the 
Interior the discretion to determine which sites in the State 
would be included within the boundary of the historical park, 
we anticipate that only resources that met the Special Resource 
Study criteria for establishment as a national park unit would 
be considered for inclusion.
    In 1638, Peter Minuet led Swedish colonists to present day 
Wilmington, Delaware, and established New Sweden at a point 
known as ``the rocks'' on the Christina River. The settlers 
constructed Fort Christina at this location and this site is 
now a National Historic Landmark. In 1698, Swedish settlers 
established Holy Trinity (``Old Swedes'') Church near the fort, 
the oldest church building standing as originally built in the 
United States and also a National Historic Landmark.
    In 1651, Peter Stuyvesant led Dutch settlers from New 
Amsterdam and constructed Fort Casimir at a place he named 
``New Amstel,'' in present day New Castle, Delaware. Conflicts 
between the Swedish and Dutch colonists resulted in changing 
occupations of the fort with the Dutch regaining control in 
1655. In 1665, the English arrived at New Amstel and seized 
control of the settlement, renaming it ``New Castle.'' William 
Penn landed in New Castle in 1682 and took possession of the 
city. In 1704, Penn established Delaware's Assembly and New 
Castle remained the colonial capital of Delaware until 1776. 
The New Castle Historic District, which contains multiple 
resources from the time of earliest settlement through the 
Federal era, including the Old New Castle Courthouse, is a 
National Historic Landmark.
    Delaware's representatives to the Continental Congress and 
the Constitutional Convention played important parts in the 
adoption of the Declaration of Independence and crafting of the 
United States Constitution. On June 15, 1776, the Delaware 
Assembly, meeting in New Castle, voted to sever its ties with 
the English Crown, three weeks prior to the signing of the 
Declaration in Philadelphia on July 4th. National Historic 
Landmarks associated with these early revolutionary leaders 
include the homes of John Dickinson (the ``Penman of the 
Revolution''), Gunning Bedford, Jr., and George Read. The Dover 
Green witnessed Delaware's vote to become the first state to 
ratify the nation's new Constitution.
    S. 323 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
establish the First State National Historical Park consisting 
of any resources listed in Section 3(b) of the bill that the 
Secretary acquires. The staff of the new park would be 
authorized to interpret related resources outside of the 
boundary, within the state of Delaware. The Special Resource 
Study estimated annual operating costs for the park at $450,000 
to $550,000 and costs associated with a general management plan 
at $600,000. All funding would be subject to NPS priorities and 
the availability of appropriations. A study of additional 
resources related to the purpose of the park is also authorized 
to assess their potential eligibility for National Historic 
Landmark designation and options for maintaining the historic 
integrity of such resources.
    S. 323 also proposes to allow including within the park 
boundary the Ryves Holt House--a part of the historic district 
in Lewes, Delaware. This district and the Ryves Holt House are 
listed on the National Register of Historic Places at the local 
level of significance and the National Register nomination for 
the district indicates that today its significance is based 
primarily on its fine examples of Victorian architecture. 
Although the bill provides the Secretary with the discretion to 
decide which properties may be included within the boundary of 
the park, the Department questions allowing the Ryves Holt 
House to be eligible for addition to the park boundary, since 
it is not a National Historic Landmark, does not meet the 
required national significance criterion for unit designation, 
and is inconsistent with the park's purpose as outlined in 
Section 3(a) of S. 323.
    However, we note that Section 4(c) of S. 323 permits 
interpretation of resources related to the purposes of the park 
but located outside of its boundary. Any extant resources in 
Lewes, either within or outside of the historic district, which 
relate to early Dutch, Swedish, and English settlement or to 
Delaware's role as the first state, would thus be eligible for 
interpretation without including this district in the park 
boundary. Such resources would also be candidates for further 
analysis as to their National Historic Landmark potential under 
the bill's study provisions in Section 5.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my testimony. I would be happy 
to respond to any questions that you or other members of the 
committee 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 S. 323, as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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