    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [December 9, 1999]
    [Pages 2244-2245]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing Chattahoochee River Protection Legislation
    December 9, 1999

        Today I have signed into law H.R. 2140, a bill that will enhance the
    protection of a 48-mile segment of the Chattahoochee River, a vital
    natural resource for the Atlanta metropolitan area and an important unit
    of the National Park System. This legislation ensures that the natural,
    scenic, recreational, and historic values of one of our Nation's great
    urban rivers will be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
        This Act provides the foundation for a cooperative effort by the
    Federal Government, the State of Georgia, local governments, and private
    entities to link the separate units of the Chattahoochee River National
    Recreation Area through purchases of remaining open space along the
    Chattahoochee River corridor north of Atlanta. It gives the National
    Park Service the authority to expand the land base of the recreation
    area from approximately 6,800 acres to 10,000 acres through a revision
    of the boundary, by adding undeveloped land within the 2,000-foot river
    bank corridors. The National Park Service also will be authorized to
    exclude some properties currently within the boundary that are no longer
    suitable for the park because they have been developed.
        From the time the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area was
    established in 1978, the pace of residential and commercial development
    in the Chattahoochee River corridor has accelerated rapidly. A U.S.
    Census Bureau report issued earlier this year names Forsyth County,
    Georgia, where the recreation area boundary begins, the fastest-growing
    county in

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    the Nation. The three other counties in which the recreation area lies
    are also experiencing a surge in growth. This Act will enable the
    National Park Service to spend funds that were appropriated in the 105th
    Congress, as well as funds that have been or will be contributed by
    State and local governments and private interests, to acquire the
    remaining open space in the Chattahoochee River corridor before those
    properties are developed for residential and commercial purposes.
        The Act is strongly supported on a bipartisan basis by Georgia's
    congressional representatives, Georgia State and local government
    officials, the National Park Service, and private organizations,
    including the Trust for Public Land, which has played a key role in
    bringing together the various interests involved and developing a vision
    for the future of this critical area. It is with great respect and
    gratitude for those who made this legislation possible that I sign H.R.
    2140 today.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    December 9, 1999.

    Note: H.R. 2140, approved December 9, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
    154.