[Senate Report 114-317]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress     }                                     {      Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                     {     114-317

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



 
         MOUNTAINS TO SOUND GREENWAY NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA ACT

                                _______
                                

               September 6, 2016.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1690]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1690) to establish the Mountains to Sound 
Greenway National Heritage Area in the State of Washington, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with 
amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 14, after line 25, add the following:
    (6) alters, modifies, diminishes, or extinguishes the 
treaty rights of any Indian tribe within the National Heritage 
Area;
    2. On page 15, line 1, strike ``(6)'' and insert ``(7)''.
    3. On page 15, line 5, strike ``(7)'' and insert ``(8)''.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1690 is to establish the Mountains to 
Sound Greenway National Heritage Area in the State of 
Washington.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Stretching from the shores of Puget Sound to the heart of 
Washington State, the Mountains to Sound Greenway is a mosaic 
of thriving communities, living history, and vast natural 
lands. With 1.5 million acres of rugged mountains, vast 
forests, high desert, suburban parks and gardens, and 
metropolitan streets, the Greenway encompasses a shared 
heritage of historic towns, healthy ecosystems, spectacular 
alpine wilderness, working farms and forests, and extensive 
outdoor recreation in a region that includes one of the major 
metropolitan areas in the United States.
    Twenty years ago, a coalition of civic leaders and 
community activists came together around the need to preserve 
the Greenway and its natural and historical assets. During 2009 
and 2010, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust (Trust) engaged 
stakeholders in discussions about the Greenway and potential 
opportunities for conserving and enhancing a sustainable 
balance into the future. In March 2012, the Trust completed a 
feasibility study on establishing the Mountains to Sound 
Greenway National Heritage Area.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1690 was introduced by Senators Cantwell and Murray on 
June 25, 2015. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on the measure on June 15, 2016.
    Representative Reichert introduced similar legislation in 
the House of Representatives, H.R. 2900, on June 25, 2015.
    In the 113th Congress, Senators Cantwell and Murray 
introduced similar legislation, S. 2602, on July 15, 2014. A 
hearing was held by the Subcommittee on National Parks on July 
23, 2014 (S. Hrg. 113-493). The authorization to establish the 
Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area was included 
as part of the text of S. 2602, which was ordered reported by 
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on 
November 13, 2014 (S. Rept. 113-300).
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 
business session on July 13, 2016, and ordered S. 1690 
favorably reported as amended.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on July 13, 2016, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
1690, if amended as described herein. Three Senators requested 
that their votes be recorded as follows:
    NAYS
    Mr. Barrasso
    Mr. Risch
    Mr. Lee

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

    During its consideration of S. 1690, the Committee adopted 
amendments to clarify that nothing in this Act alters, 
modifies, diminishes, or extinguishes the treaty rights of any 
Indian tribe within the National Heritage Area.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 contains the short title, ``Mountains to Sound 
Greenway National Heritage Area Act''.

Section 2. Purposes

    Section 2 contains the purpose of the bill, to recognize 
the national significance through preservation, interpretation, 
and promotion of the natural, cultural, historical, scenic, and 
recreational resources of the Mountains to Sound Greenway 
National Heritage Area.

Section 3. Definitions

    Section 3 contains key definitions.

Section 4. Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area

    Section 4(a) establishes the Mountains to Sound Greenway 
National Heritage Area in the State of Washington.
    Subsection (b) identifies the boundaries of the National 
Heritage Area and allows for revision to the boundaries if the 
revision is proposed in the management plan, approved by the 
Secretary in accordance with section 4, Management Plan, and 
placed on file in accordance with subsection (c), Availability 
of Map.
    Subsection (c) requires the map to be on file for public 
inspection in the offices of the National Park Service (NPS) 
and the local coordinating entity.
    Subsection (d) recognizes the Trust as the local 
coordinating entity for the National Heritage Area.

Section 5. Management plan

    Section 5(a) instructs the local coordinating entity to 
submit to the Secretary for approval a proposed management plan 
for the National Heritage Area no later than three years after 
the date of enactment of this Act.
    Subsection (b) identifies requirements of the management 
plan to be implemented by the local coordinating entity to 
include: an integrated and cooperative approach for protection 
and interpretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, 
and recreational resources of the National Heritage Area; take 
into consideration State and local plans such as inventories of 
property resources, related themes, and significance of the 
property; and produce comprehensive policies, strategies, and 
recommendations for funding and management of the National 
Heritage Area. In addition, the local coordinating entity 
develops actions that government, private organizations, and 
individuals agree to take to protect and manage the National 
Heritage Area. The entity also implements a program to carry 
out the management plan and solidifies partnerships and ongoing 
collaboration and commitments for the first five years of 
operation of the National Historic Area. The role of the NPS 
and other Federal, State, and local programs to carry out the 
management plan are identified and developed. Intergovernmental 
and interagency cooperative agreements, an interpretive plan, 
and funding sources are significant components also needed to 
protect and support the resources of the National Heritage 
Area.
    Subsection (c) establishes a deadline of three years after 
date of enactment of this Act for the local coordinating entity 
to provide proposed management plan to Secretary in order to be 
eligible for additional funding under the Act.
    Subsection (d) directs the Secretary to approve or 
disapprove the management plan no later than 180 days after 
receipt from the local coordinating entity. In consultation 
with the State, the Secretary shall apply criteria for approval 
based on whether or not local coordinating entity engaged 
diverse interests of the National Heritage Area through 
adequate opportunity for public involvement, and that suitable 
protection of the National Heritage Area can be fulfilled. If 
the Secretary disapproves action, the local coordinating entity 
will be advised in writing, with recommendations for revision 
of the management plan, and the Secretary will review revised 
management plan no later than 180 days after receipt of 
proposed revisions. The Secretary has the discretion to approve 
or disapprove amendments to the management plan that make a 
substantial change to the plan, and will also only allow the 
local coordinating entity to use Federal funds to carry out any 
amendments to the plan after approval of the amendments are 
granted.

Section 6. Administration

    Section 6(a) permits the Secretary through the local 
coordinating entity to enter into cooperative agreements and 
make grants to the State or political subdivision of the State, 
nonprofit organizations, and other persons; hire and compensate 
staff considered as subject matter experts on historical 
protection and heritage programming; accept money or services 
provided under any other Federal law or program; enter into 
contracts for goods or services; and serve as a catalyst for 
any other activity that furthers the purposes of the National 
Heritage Area and is consistent with the management plan.
    Subsection (b) requires the local coordinating entity to 
coordinate with a variety of sources to include diverse units 
of government, regional planning and nonprofit organizations, 
businesses, and individuals, as well as conduct meetings open 
to the public at least semiannually in preparation of a 
management plan to be submitted to the Secretary. The 
management plan must specify programs and projects to enhance 
resource values, interpretative exhibits, recreational and 
educational opportunities, public awareness, historic sites and 
buildings, clear and consistent signage, and partnerships to 
further the National Heritage Area. An annual report is to be 
prepared and submitted to the Secretary for any year for which 
Federal funds have been received. Contents of the report shall 
include all expenses, activities, income, expenditure of funds, 
and matching funds that are in support of the National Heritage 
Area. The local coordinating entity will require any 
organizations receiving funds to also make available to the 
Secretary all records concerning the expenditure of the funds.
    Subsection (c) authorizes the Secretary and the Secretary 
of Agriculture to provide technical and financial assistance to 
the local coordinating entity in developing and implementing 
the management plan, and the charge to enter into cooperative 
agreements with State and local agencies, and other interested 
parties to carry out the Act.
    Subsection (d) prohibits the local coordinating entity from 
using Federal Funds to acquire real property or any interest in 
real property.

Section 7. Relationship to other Federal agencies

    Section 7(a) states that the authority of a Federal agency 
to provide technical or financial assistance under any other 
law has no impact on this Act.
    Subsection (b) requires the head of any Federal agency to 
consult and coordinate with the Secretary and local 
coordinating entity in planning activities that may have an 
impact on the National Heritage Area.
    Subsection (c) affirms that any law or regulation 
authorizing a Federal agency to manage or use Federal land 
under the jurisdiction of the Federal agency is not modified, 
altered, or amended by this Act.

Section 8. Private property and regulatory protections

    Section 8 specifies that property owners are not required 
to permit public access to their property; modify use or public 
access of property under any Federal, State, or local law; 
alter any duly adopted land use regulation, use plan, or 
regulatory authority; transfer any land use or regulatory 
authority to the local coordinating entity; authorize the 
reservation of water or water rights; modify, diminish, or 
extinguish the reserved treaty rights of any Indian tribe 
within the National Heritage Area; affect the jurisdiction of 
the State to manage fishing and hunting within the National 
Heritage Area; or held to be liable to any person injured on 
private property.

Section 9. Evaluation and report

    Section 9(a) tasks the Secretary with conducting an 
evaluation and preparing a report of the accomplishments of the 
National Heritage Area not later than three years before the 
termination date of Federal funding.
    Subsection (b) makes clear that the evaluation should 
include a review of the management and partnership structure 
for sustaining the National Heritage Area, a progress 
assessment of the local coordinating entity measuring goals and 
objectives of the management plan, and an analysis of 
investments including funding made by Federal, State, tribal, 
and local government and private entities, and the impact of 
these investments on the National Heritage Area.
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to submit a report to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 
the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives that describes the findings and conclusions of 
the evaluation along with recommendations for the future role 
of the NPS with respect to the National Heritage Area.

Section 10. Authorization of appropriations

    Section 10(a) authorizes $10 million to be appropriated, of 
which not more than $1 million may be authorized to be 
appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out the bill.
    Subsection (b) denotes that amounts made available shall 
remain available until expended.
    Subsection (c) requires not more than a 50 percent share of 
non-Federal funding or in-kind contributions of goods or 
services for any activity under the Act.
    Subsection (d) specifies the authority of the Secretary to 
provide assistance for this Act terminates 15 years after the 
bill is enacted.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, September 1, 2016.
Hon. Lisa Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1690, the Mountains 
to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

S. 1690--Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area Act

    S. 1690 would establish approximately 1.5 million acres of 
land in the state of Washington as the Mountains to Sound 
Greenway National Heritage Area. The bill would direct the 
National Park Service (NPS) to select a local entity to develop 
a plan to manage lands within the proposed heritage area, 
subject to the agency's approval. Finally, the legislation 
would authorize the appropriation of $10 million over a 15-year 
period to cover the agency's oversight costs and to provide 
assistance to the local entity that will manage the heritage 
area.
    Based on information from the NPS on the costs for 
oversight of existing heritage areas, CBO expects that the 
agency would spend between $150,000 and $300,000 annually to 
review the proposed management plan, provide assistance to the 
local management entity, and carry out other routine activities 
related to overseeing the proposed heritage area. Thus, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 1690 would cost $1 million over 
the 2017-2021 period and an additional $3 million in later 
years.
    Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending 
or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting S. 1690 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
    S. 1690 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Any 
costs to state, local, or tribal entities resulting from 
designation of the greenway as a National Heritage Area, 
including cost-sharing contributions, would be incurred 
voluntarily.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The 
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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. 1690. 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. 1690, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 1690, 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 National Park Service at the 
June 15, 2016, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 
1690 follows:

   Statement of Dr. Stephanie Toothman, Associate Director, Cultural 
Resources, Partnerships, and Science, 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. 1690, a bill to 
establish the Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage 
Area in the State of Washington.
    The Department supports enactment of S. 1690 as the 
proposed Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area has 
been found to meet the National Park Service's interim criteria 
for designation as a national heritage area.
    However, along with designating any new national heritage 
areas, the Department recommends that Congress pass national 
heritage area program legislation. 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 that establishes criteria to 
evaluate potentially qualified national heritage areas and a 
process for the designation, funding, and administration of 
these areas would provide a much-needed framework for 
evaluating proposed national heritage areas. It would offer 
guidelines for successful planning and management, clarifying 
the roles and responsibilities of all parties, and standardize 
timeframes and funding for designated areas. The Department 
also notes that newly authorized national heritage areas will 
compete for limited resources in the Heritage Partnership 
Program. The President's FY17 Budget proposes $9.4 million for 
the current 49 areas. The authorization of additional national 
heritage areas will leave less funding for each individual 
national heritage area.
    The Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area 
would include lands within King and Kittitas Counties 
stretching from Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle. The proposed local 
coordinating entity would be the nonprofit corporation 
Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.
    Initially, NPS review of the Mountains to Sound Greenway 
National Heritage Area Feasibility Study completed by the 
Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust (Trust) in March 2012, found 
that the study did not meet the NPS Interim National Heritage 
Area Feasibility Study Guidelines. In a subsequent May 27, 
2014, Addendum the Trust provided a revised statement of 
national importance; themes and a list of associated resources; 
a summary of traditions, customs, beliefs and folk life; and a 
boundary justification.
    The proposed Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage 
Area is important for its association with the expansion of our 
national transportation system and creation of our modern 
timber industry. It tells the story of how the Northern Pacific 
and Milwaukee railroads, and later the Sunset Highway and 
Interstate 90, created the final section of a historic 
transportation corridor that wove the Northwest into the 
nation's fabric, opened up trade between the United States and 
Asia, and led to development of the industrial timber practices 
in use today .
    Although by 1850 the Puget Sound area was part of the 
United States, the Cascade Range isolated this region with its 
abundant natural resources and sheltered deep-water ports from 
the rest of the nation. In 1864, the Northern Pacific Railroad 
was chartered by President Lincoln. Constructed along a Native 
American pathway through the nearly impassible Snoqualmie Pass, 
it reached Seattle 20 years later. This railroad connection 
from the Eastern seaboard and the Great Lakes to the western 
most reaches of the continental United States reinforced the 
newlydrawn American-Canadian border. The city of Seattle grew 
into a booming hub for shipbuilding and trade of foreign goods 
and the region's own wealth of natural resources, opening the 
country's first trade routes on the Pacific Rim. Rail towns 
sprung up along the main lines, mill and coal towns on the 
spurs, while piers stretched into Puget Sound, attracting 
immigrant workers whose descendants live in the region today.
    The Milwaukee Road crossed the Cascades in the early 1900s, 
pioneering tunneling and electrification techniques that 
allowed the high speed electric trains to carry Japanese silk, 
the nation's most precious rail commodity after gold and silver 
bullion, to New York. But the Milwaukee Road made its money 
carrying passengers to ski, hike and climb at Snoqualmie Pass. 
The conservation ethic that developed in the region from 
enjoyment of the region's natural beauty is strongly held 
today.
    Washington's modern economy has developed directly from the 
Northern Pacific Land Grant used to build the railroad. In 
place of public financing, the railroad received the largest 
federal land grant in American history--40 million acres--every 
other square mile of land in a checkerboard pattern up to forty 
miles on either side of the right-of-way. This consolidated 
ownership, along with the steam technology brought by the 
railroad, created the booming timber industry that helped 
rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fueled 
shipbuilding in World War I. Airplanes entering large-scale 
military production for the first time were built from the 
region's prized spruce. Demand for this aircraft led William 
Boeing in 1916 to found a company that supplies the nation's 
air transportation industry today.
    Plantation forestry, involving sustained-yield harvest and 
reforestation, now the industry standard across much of the 
country, was invented in this region in the 1930's. William 
Weyerhauser, having amassed one-and-a-half million acres of 
Washington timberland, established the first seedling industry 
at Snoqualmie Falls, rolled out his ``Timber is a Crop!'' 
public relations campaign, and began to manage timber across 
multiple harvests, a radical idea at the time.
    The cultural heritage of the Mountains to Sound Greenway 
National Heritage Area is alive in the ethnic diversity of the 
region's population and its traditions, customs and 
celebrations, and in the museums, festivals, historic sites and 
interpretive trails that both residents and visitors enjoy 
today. The proposed heritage area boundaries pragmatically 
follow modern-day political and land-management structures, a 
formula for long-term success as communities and their partners 
seek to manage, enhance, and interpret resources across this 
landscape.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be happy 
to answer any questions you or any other 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 as ordered 
reported.

                               [all]