.. I 113TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 89 To establish the St. Croix National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3,2013 Mrs. CHRISTENSEN (for herself, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, and Ms. BORDALLO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources A BILL To establish the St. Croix National Heritage Area, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House Of Representa- 2 lives of the United States ofimerica in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. ST. CRO1X NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA 4 (a) DEFINITIONS.-In this section: 5 (1) HERITAGE AREA.-The term "Heritage 6 Area" means the St. Croix National Heritage Area 7 established by subsection (b)(1). 1 8 (2) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.-The term 9 "local coordinating entity" means the local coordi- .. 2 1 nating entity for the Heritage Area designated by 2 subsection (b) (4). 3 (3) 1\<[ANAGEMENT PLAN.-The term "manage- 4 ment plan" means the management plan for the 4 5 Heritage Area required under subsection (d). 6 (4) M~P.-The term "map" means the map en- 7 titled "Proposed St. Croix National Heritage Area" 8 and dated 9 (5) SECRETARY.-The term "Secretary" means 10 the Secretary of the Interior. 11 (6) STATE.-The term "State" means St. 12 Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. 13 (b) ST. CROIX NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.- 14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.-There is established in 15 the State the St. Croix National Heritage Area. 16 (2) CONCEPTUAL BOUNDARIES.-The Heritage 17 Area shall consist of the entire island. 18 (3) MAP.-A map of the Heritage Area shall 19 be-- 20 (A) included in the management plan; and 21 (B) on file and available for public inspee- 22 tion in the appropriate offices of the National 23 Park Service. 24 (4) LOCAL COORDINATING ENTITY.- 0 •HR 89 IH .. 3 1 (A) IN GENERAL.-The local coordinating 2 entity for the Heritage Area shall be known as 3 St. Croix United for Community, Culture, Envi- 4 ronment, and Economic Development (SUC- 4 5 CEED) Inc. 6 (B) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS.-Mem- 7 bership in SUCCEED, Inc. shall be open to a 8 broad cross-section of public, private, and non- 9 governmental sectors including businesses, indi- 10 viduals, agencies, and organizations that were 11 involved in the planning and development of the 12 Heritage Area prior to the enactment of this 13 Act. 14 (e) ADMINISTRATION.- 15 (1) AUTHORITIES.-For purposes of carrying 16 out the management plan, the Secretary, acting 17 through the local coordinating entity, may use 18 amounts made available under this section to- 19 (A) make grants to the State or a political 20 subdivision of the State, nonprofit organiza- 21 tions, and other persons; 22 (B) enter into cooperative agreements . 23 with, or provide technical assistance to, the 4 24 State or a political subdivision of the State, •HIt 89 m .. 4 1 nonprofit organizations, and other interested 2 parties; 3 (C) hire and eompensate staff, which shall ' 4 include individuals with expertise in natural, , 5 cultural, and historical resources protection, 6 and heritage programming; 7 (D) obtain money or services from any 8 source including any that are provided under 9 any other Federal law or program; 10 (E) contract for goods or services; and 11 (F) undertake to be a catalyst for any 12 other activity that furthers the Heritage Area 13 and is consistent with the approved manage- 14 ment plan. 15 (2) DUTIES.-The local coordinating entity 16 shall 17 (A) in accordance with subsection (d), pre- 18 pare and submit a management plan for the 19 Heritage Area to the Secretary; 20 (B) assist units of local government, re- 21 gional planning organizations, and nonprofit or- 22 ganizations in carrying out the approved man- . 23 agement plan by- 24 (i) earuing out programs and projects P 25 that recognize, protect, and enhance im- •HR 89 m .. 5 1 portant resource values in the Heritage 2 Area; 3 (ii) establishing and maintaining in- 4 terpretive exhibits and programs in the 5 Heritage Area; 6 (iii) developing recreational and edu- 7 eational opportunities in the Heritage 8 Area; 9 (iv) increasing public awareness of, 10 and appreciation for, natural, historical, 11 scenic, and cultural resources of the Herit- 12 age Area; 13 (v) protecting and restoring historic 14 sites and buildings in the Heritage Area 15 that are consistent with Heritage Area 16 themes; 17 (vi) ensuring that clear, consistent, 18 and appropriate signs identifying points of 19 public access, and sites of interest are 20 posted throughout the Heritage Area; and 21 (vii) promoting a wide range of part- 22 nerships among governments, organiza- / 23 tions, and individuals to further the Herit- 24 age Area; •HR 89 m .. 6 1 (C) consider the interests of diverse units 2 of government, businesses, organizations, and 3 individuals in the Heritage Area in the prepara- ' 4 tion and implementation of the management 5 plan; 6 (D) conduct meetings open to the public at 7 least semiannually regarding the development 8 and implementation of the management plan; 9 (E) for any year that Federal funds have 10 been received under this section- 11 (i) submit an annual report to the 12 Seeretary that describes the activities, ex- 13 penses, and income of the local eoordi- 14 nating entity (including grants to any 15 other entities during the year that the re- 16 port is made); 17 (ii) make available to the Secretary 18 for audit all records relating to the expend- 19 iture of the funds and any matching funds; 20 and 21 (iii) require, with respect to all agree- 22 ments authorizing expenditure of Federal 23 funds by other organizations, that the or- 24 ganizations receiving the funds make avail- 25 able to the Secretary for audit all records •HR 89 m .. 7 1 concerning the expenditure of the funds; 2 and 3 (F) encourage by appropriate means eeo- 4 nomie viability that is consistent with the Herit- 5 age Area. 6 (3) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF 7 REAL PROPERTY.-The local coordinating entity 8 shall not use Federal funds made available under 9 this section to acquire real property or any interest 10 in real property. 11 (4) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.- 12 (A) AuTHORIZATION OF APPROPR]A- 13 TIONS.-Subject to subsection (b), there are au- 14 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this 15 Act not more than $1,000,000 for any fiscal 16 year. Funds so appropriated shall remain avail- 17 able until expended. 18 (B) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.-The 19 Federal share of the total cost of any activity 20 under this Act shall be not more than 50 per- 21 cent; the non-Federal contribution may be in 22 the form of in-kind contributions of goods or 23 services fairly valued. 24 (d) 1\