[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1118 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1118
To establish the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership in the
States of Vermont and New York, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 22, 2003
Mr. Jeffords (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Schumer, and Mrs. Clinton)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership in the
States of Vermont and New York, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Champlain Valley National Heritage
Partnership Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the Champlain Valley and its extensive cultural and
natural resources have played a significant role in the history
of the United States and the individual States of Vermont and
New York;
(2) archaeological evidence indicates that the Champlain
Valley has been inhabited by humans since the last retreat of
the glaciers, with the Native Americans living in the area at
the time of European discovery being primarily of Iroquois and
Algonquin descent;
(3) the linked waterways of the Champlain Valley, including
the Richelieu River in Canada, played a unique and significant
role in the establishment and development of the United States
and Canada through several distinct eras, including--
(A) the era of European exploration, during which
Samuel de Champlain and other explorers used the
waterways as a means of access through the wilderness;
(B) the era of military campaigns, including highly
significant military campaigns of the French and Indian
War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812; and
(C) the era of maritime commerce, during which
canals boats, schooners, and steamships formed the
backbone of commercial transportation for the region;
(4) those unique and significant eras are best described by
the theme ``The Making of Nations and Corridors of Commerce'';
(5) the artifacts and structures associated with those eras
are unusually well-preserved;
(6) the Champlain Valley is recognized as having one of the
richest collections of historical resources in North America;
(7) the history and cultural heritage of the Champlain
Valley are shared with Canada and the Province of Quebec;
(8) there are benefits in celebrating and promoting this
mutual heritage;
(9) tourism is among the most important industries in the
Champlain Valley, and heritage tourism in particular plays a
significant role in the economy of the Champlain Valley;
(10) it is important to enhance heritage tourism in the
Champlain Valley while ensuring that increased visitation will
not impair the historical and cultural resources of the region;
(11) according to the 1999 report of the National Park
Service entitled ``Champlain Valley Heritage Corridor
Project'', ``the Champlain Valley contains resources and
represents a theme `The Making of Nations and Corridors of
Commerce', that is of outstanding importance in U.S. history'';
and
(12) it is in the interest of the United States to preserve
and interpret the historical and cultural resources of the
Champlain Valley for the education and benefit of present and
future generations.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to establish the Champlain Valley National Heritage
Partnership in the States of Vermont and New York to recognize
the importance of the historical, cultural, and recreational
resources of the Champlain Valley region to the United States;
(2) to assist the State of Vermont and New York, including
units of local government and nongovernmental organizations in
the States, in preserving, protecting, and interpreting those
resources for the benefit of the people of the United States;
(3) to use those resources and the theme ``The Making of
Nations and Corridors of Commerce'' to--
(A) revitalize the economy of communities in the
Champlain Valley; and
(B) generate and sustain increased levels of
tourism in the Champlain Valley;
(4) to encourage--
(A) partnerships among State and local governments
and nongovernmental organizations in the United States;
and
(B) collaboration with Canada and the Province of
Quebec to--
(i) interpret and promote the history of
the waterways of the Champlain Valley region;
(ii) form stronger bonds between the United
States and Canada; and
(iii) promote the international aspects of
the Champlain Valley region; and
(5) to provide financial and technical assistance for the
purposes described in paragraphs (1) through (4).
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Heritage partnership.--The term ``Heritage
Partnership'' means the Champlain Valley National Heritage
Partnership established by section 4(a).
(2) Management entity.--The term ``management entity''
means the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
(3) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means
the management plan developed under section 4(b)(B)(i).
(4) Region.--
(A) In general.--The term ``region'' means any area
or community in 1 of the States in which a physical,
cultural, or historical resource that represents the
theme is located.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``region'' includes
(i) the linked navigable waterways of--
(I) Lake Champlain;
(II) Lake George;
(III) the Champlain Canal; and
(IV) the portion of the Upper
Hudson River extending south to
Saratoga;
(ii) portions of Grand Isle, Franklin,
Chittenden, Addison, Rutland, and Bennington
Counties in the State of Vermont; and
(iii) portions of Clinton, Essex, Warren,
Saratoga and Washington Counties in the State
of New York.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(6) State.--the term ``State'' means--
(A) the State of Vermont; and
(B) the State of New York.
(7) Theme.--The term ``theme'' means the theme ``The Making
of Nations and Corridors of Commerce'', as the term is used in
the 1999 report of the National Park Service entitled
``Champlain Valley Heritage Corridor Project'', that describes
the periods of international conflict and maritime commerce
during which the region played a unique and significant role in
the development of the United States and Canada.
SEC. 4. HERITAGE PARTNERSHIP.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the regional the
Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership.
(b) Management Entity.--
(1) Duties.--
(A) In general.--The management entity shall
implement the Act.
(B) Management plan.--
(i) In general.--Not later than 3 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the
management entity shall develop a management
plan for the Heritage Partnership.
(ii) Existing plan.--Pending the completion
and approval of the management plan, the
management entity may implement the provisions
of this Act based on its federally authorized
plan ``Opportunities for Action, an Evolving
Plan For Lake Champlain''.
(iii) Contents.--The management plan shall
include--
(I) recommendations for funding,
managing, and developing the Heritage
Partnership;
(II) a description of activities to
be carried out by public and private
organizations to protect the resources
of the Heritage Partnership;
(III) a list of specific, potential
sources of funding for the protection,
management, and development of the
Heritage Partnership;
(IV) an assessment of the
organizational capacity of the
management entity to achieve the goals
for implementation; and
(V) recommendations of ways in
which to encourage collaboration with
Canada and the Province of Quebec in
implementing this Act.
(iv) Considerations.--In developing the
management plan under clause (i), the
management entity shall take into consideration
existing Federal, State, and local plans
relating to the region.
(v) Submission to secretary for approval.--
(I) In general.--Not later than 3
years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the management entity shall
submit the management plan to the
Secretary for approval.
(II) Effect of failure to submit.--
If a management plan is not submitted
to the Secretary by the date specified
in paragraph (I), the Secretary shall
not provide any additional funding
under this Act until a management plan
for the Heritage Partnership is
submitted to the Secretary.
(vi) Approval.--Not later than 90 days
after receiving the management plan submitted
under subparagraph (V)(I), the Secretary, in
consultation with the States, shall approve or
disapprove the management plan.
(vii) Action following disapproval.--
(I) General.--If the Secretary
disapproves a management plan under
subparagraph (vi), the Secretary
shall--
(aa) advise the management
entity in writing of the
reasons for the disapproval;
(bb) make recommendations
for revisions to the management
plan; and
(cc) allow the management
entity to submit to the
Secretary revisions to the
management plan.
(II) Deadline for approval of
revision.--Not later than 90 days after
the date on which a revision is
submitted under subparagraph
(vii)(I)(cc), the Secretary shall
approve or disapprove the revision.
(viii) Amendment.--
(I) In general.--After approval by
the Secretary of the management plan,
the management entity shall
periodically--
(aa) review the management
plan; and
(bb) submit to the
Secretary, for review and
approval by the Secretary, the
recommendations of the
management entity for any
amendments to the management
plan that the management entity
considers to be appropriate.
(II) Expenditure of funds.--No
funds made available under this Act
shall be used to implement any
amendment proposed by the management
entity under subparagraph (viii)(1)
until the Secretary approves the
amendments.
(2) Partnerships.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out this Act, the
management entity may enter into partnerships with--
(i) the States, including units of local
governments in the States;
(ii) nongovernmental organizations;
(iii) Indian Tribes; and
(iv) other persons in the Heritage
Partnership.
(B) Grants.--Subject to the availability of funds,
the management entity may provide grants to partners
under subparagraph (A) to assist in implementing this
Act.
(3) Prohibition on the acquisition of real property.--The
management entity shall not use Federal funds made available
under this Act to acquire real property or any interest in real
property.
(c) Assistance From Secretary.--To carry out the purposes of this
Act, the Secretary may provide technical and financial assistance to
the management entity.
SEC. 5. EFFECT.
Nothing in this Act--
(1) grants powers of zoning or land use to the management
entity;
(2) modifies, enlarges, or diminishes the authority of the
Federal Government or a State or local government to manage or
regulate any use of land under any law (including regulations);
or
(3) obstructs or limits private business development
activities or resource development activities.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this Act not more than a total of $10,000,000, of which not more
than $1,000,000 may be made available for any fiscal year.
(b) Non-Federal Share.--The non-Federal share of the cost of any
activities carried out using Federal funds made available under
subsection (a) not be less than 50 percent.
SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.
The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance under this Act
terminates on the date that is 15 years after the date of enactment of
this Act.
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