[Senate Report 112-121]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 283
112th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     112-121

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



 
          WHITE CLAY CREEK WILD AND SCENIC RIVER EXPANSION ACT

                                _______
                                

                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. 970]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 970) 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 Systems, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 970 is to designate approximately 9.9 
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., and 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 1991, Public Law 102-215 directed the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a study of the eligibility and suitability 
of including White Clay Creek and its tributaries in the States 
of Delaware and Pennsylvania in the National Wild and Scenic 
Rivers System (System). 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 
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 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 support of the affected local governments, S. 970 
adds two additional segments to the previous White Clay Creek 
Wild and Scenic River designation, which would increase the 
total number of designated river miles within the watershed to 
199.9 miles, an addition of 9.9 river miles.

                          Legislative History

    Senators Coons, Carper, and Casey introduced S. 970 on May 
12, 2011. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on 
S. 970 on July 28, 2011. On November 10, 2011, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 970 favorably reported 
without amendment.
    The Committee considered similar legislation during the 
111th Congress, S. 883, sponsored by Senator Kaufman and 
cosponsored by Senators Carper and Casey. The Subcommittee on 
National Parks held a hearing on S. 853 on July 15, 2009 (S. 
Hrg. 111-92), and the Committee ordered the bill reported with 
amendments on December 16, 2009 (S. Rept. 111-134).

                        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. 970.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 contains the short title.
    Section 2 amends section 3(a)(163) of the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)(163)) to designate an additional 
9 miles of White Clay Creek as components of the Wild and 
Scenic Rivers Systems.
    Subsection (1)(B) amends the map reference to reflect the 
additions.
    Subsection (2) designates 22.4 miles of the east branch of 
White Clay Creek 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.
    Subsection (3) designates 14.3 miles of the main stem, 
including Lamborn Run, which 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.
    Section 3 states that sections 4 through 8 of Public Law 
106-357 (16 U.S.C. 1274 note; 114 Stat. 1393), shall be 
applicable to the additional segments of the White Clay Creek 
designated by the amendments made by section 2. Those sections 
address the administration of the designated river segments.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

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

S. 970--White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River Expansion Act of 2011

    S. 970 would add 9 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; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures do not apply.
    S. 970 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 
impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director 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. 970.
    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. 970, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    S. 970, 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. 970 on July 28, 2011.

  Statement of Peggy O'Dell, Deputy Director, 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. 970, 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. 970 would amend the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic 
River designation to add nine additional miles of segments and 
tributaries to the designation, to be administered by the 
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary). The additional segments 
and 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 rely 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. The 
watershed also 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. 970, that would be 
eligible and suitable for designation. These segments and 
tributaries 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 and 
tributaries 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.
    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 and tributaries, 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. 970, 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 stem, excluding 
                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.]
                  (H) 14.3 miles of the main stem, 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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