[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 7 (Monday, January 31, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S649-S652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mr. Vitter):
S. 204. A bill to establish the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area in
the State of Louisiana; to the Committeee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, today I rise, along with Senator Vitter,
to introduce a bill to establish the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area
in Louisiana. This legislation has particularly special meaning to
those of us from Louisiana because of the importance of the cultural
and natural resources of the Atchafalaya region to the Nation. It would
establish a framework to help protect, conserve, and promote these
unique natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources of the
region.
This legislation, which has been passed by the full Senate 3 times,
once during the 107th Congress and twice during the 108th Congress,
would establish a framework to help protect, conserve, and promote
these unique natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources
of the region.
Specifically, the legislation would establish a National Heritage
Area in Louisiana that encompasses thirteen parishes in and around the
Atchafalaya Basin swamp, America's largest river swamp. The heritage
area in south-central Louisiana stretches from Concordia parish to the
north, where the Mississippi River begins to partially flow into the
Atchafalaya River, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. The
thirteen parishes are: St. Mary, Iberia, St. Martin, St. Landry,
Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee, Iberville, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafayette,
West Baton Rouge, Concordia, and East Baton Rouge. This boundary is the
same area covered by the existing Atchafalaya Trace State Heritage
Area.
This measure will appoint the existing Atchafalaya Trace Commission
as the federally recognized ``local coordinating entity.'' The
commission is composed of thirteen members with one representative
appointed by each parish in the heritage area. Both the Atchafalaya
Trace Commission and the Atchafalaya Trace State Heritage Area were
created by the Louisiana Legislature a number of years ago. The
Atchafalaya Trace State Heritage Area program currently receives some
State funding, and already has staff working at the Louisiana
Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, DCRT, under Lieutenant
Governor Kathleen Blanco. State funds were used to create
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the management plan for the heritage area, which followed ``feasibility
analysis'' guidelines as recommended by the National Park Service.
Therefore, the recently-completed management plan need only be
submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for approval as this
legislation would recognize an existing local coordinating entity that
will oversee the implementation of this plan. We are very proud that
this state heritage area has already completed the complicated planning
process, with participation of local National Park Service
representatives, while using a standard of planning quality equal to
that of existing national heritage areas. All at no cost to the Federal
Government.
Please let me also emphasize that this legislation protects existing
private property rights. It will not interfere with local land use
ordinances or regulations, as it is specifically prohibited from doing
so. Nor does this legislation grant any powers of real property
acquisition to the local coordinating entity or heritage area program.
In addition, the legislation does not impose any environmental rule or
process or cause any change in Federal environmental quality standards
different from those already in effect.
Heritage areas are based on cooperation and collaboration at all
levels. This legislation remains true to the core concept behind
heritage areas. The heritage area concept has been used successfully in
various parts of our Nation to promote historic preservation, natural
and cultural resource protection, heritage tourism and sustainable
economic revitalization for both urban and rural areas. Heritage areas
provide a flexible framework for government agencies, private
organizations and businesses and landowners to work together on a
coordinated regional basis. The Atchafalaya National Heritage Area will
join the Cane River National Heritage Area to become the second
National Heritage Area in Louisiana, ultimately joining the 23 existing
National Heritage Areas around the Nation.
The initiative to develop the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area is
an outgrowth of a grassroots effort to achieve multiple goals of this
region. Most important among these is providing opportunities for the
future, while at the same time not losing anything that makes this
place so special. Residents from all over the region, local tourism
agencies, State agencies such as the DCRT and the Department of Natural
Resources, the State legislature, Federal agencies including the
National Park Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, parish
governments, conservation and preservation groups, local businesses and
local landowners have all participated in this endeavor to make it the
strong initiative it is today. These groups have been very supportive
of the heritage area effort, and as time moves on, the heritage area
will continue to involve more and more of the area's most important
resource, its people.
I would also like to give you a brief overview of the resources that
make this place significant to the entire country. Not only is it
important to our Nation's history, but it is also critical to
understanding America's future. The name of the place itself,
Atchafalaya, comes from the American Indians and means ``long river.''
This name signifies the first settlers of the region, descendants of
whom still live there today.
Other words come to mind in describing the Atchafalaya: mysterious,
dynamic, multi-cultural, enchanting, bountiful, threatened and
undiscovered. This region is one of the most complex and least
understood places in Louisiana and the Nation. Yet, the stories of the
Atchafalaya Heritage Area are emblematic of the broader American
experience. Here there are opportunities to understand and witness the
complicated, sometimes harmonious, sometimes adversarial interplay
between nature and culture. The history of the United States has been
shaped by the complex dance of its people working with, against, and
for, nature. Within the Atchafalaya a penchant for adventure,
adaptation, ingenuity, and exploitation has created a cultural legacy
unlike anywhere else in the world.
The heart of the heritage area is the Atchafalaya Basin. It is the
largest river swamp in the United States, larger than the more widely
known Everglades or Okefenokee Swamp. The Atchafalaya is characterized
by a maze of streams, and at one time was thickly forested with old-
growth cypress and tupelo trees. The Basin provides outstanding habitat
for a remarkably diverse array of wildlife, including the endangered
American bald eagle and Louisiana black bear. The region's unique
ecology teems with life. More than 85 species of fish; crustaceans,
such as crawfish; wildlife, including alligators; an astonishing array
of well over 200 species of birds, from waterfowl to songbirds; forest-
dwelling mammals such as deer, squirrel, beaver and other commercially
important furbearers all make their home here. Bottomland hardwood-
dependent bird species breed here in some of the highest densities ever
recorded in annual North American Breeding Bird Surveys. The Basin also
forms part of the Mississippi Valley Flyway for migratory waterfowl and
is a major wintering ground for thousands of these geese and ducks. In
general, the Atchafalaya Basin has a significant proportion of North
America's breeding wading birds, such as herons, egrets, ibises, and
spoonbills. Some of the largest flocks of Wood Storks in North America
summer here, and the southern part of the Basin has a healthy
population of Bald Eagles nesting every winter.
The region's dynamic system of waterways, geology, and massive
earthen guide levees reveals a landscape that is at once fragile and
awesome. The geology and natural systems of the Atchafalaya Heritage
Area have fueled the economy of the region for centuries. For decades
the harvest of cypress, cotton, sugar cane, crawfish, salt, oil, gas,
and Spanish moss, have been important sources of income for the
region's residents. The crawfish industry has been particularly
important to the lives of Atchafalaya residents and Louisiana has
become the largest crawfish producer in the United States. Sport
fishing and other forms of commercial fishing are important here, too,
but unfortunately, natural resource extraction and a changing
environment have drastically depleted many of these resources and
forced residents to find new ways to make a living.
Over the past century, the Atchafalaya Basin has become a study of
man's monumental effort to control nature. After the catastrophic
Mississippi River flood of 1927 left thousands dead and millions
displaced, the U.S. Congress decreed that the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers should develop an intricate system of levees to protect human
settlements, particularly New Orleans. Today, the Mississippi River is
caged within the walls of earthen and concrete levees and manipulated
with a complex system of locks, barrages and floodgates. The
Atchafalaya River runs parallel to the Mississippi and through the
center of the Basin. In times of flooding the river basin serves as the
key floodway in controlling floodwaters headed for the large population
centers of Baton Rouge and New Orleans by diverting water from the
Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. This system was sorely tested
in 1973 when floodwaters threatened to break through the floodgates and
permanently divert the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya. However,
after this massive flood event, new land started forming off the coast.
These new land formations make up the Atchafalaya Delta, and is the
only significant area of new land being built in the United States.
These vast amounts of Mississippi River sediment are also rapidly
filling in the Basin itself, raising the level of land in certain areas
of the basin and filling in lakes and waterways. And to demonstrate
just how complex this ecosystem is, one only needs to realize that just
to the East of the Delta, Terrebonne parish, also in the heritage area,
is experiencing some of the most significant coastal land loss in the
country.
Over the centuries, the ever-changing natural environment has shaped
the lives of the people living in the Basin. Residents have profited
from and been imperiled by nature. The popular cultural identity of the
region is strongly associated with the Cajuns, descendants of the
French-speaking Acadians who settled in south Louisiana after being
deported by the British from Nova Scotia, formerly known as Acadia.
Twenty-five hundred to three
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thousand exiled Acadians repatriated in Louisiana where they proceeded
to re-establish their former society. Today, in spite of complex
social, cultural, and demographic transformations, Cajuns maintain a
sense of group identity and continue to display a distinctive set of
cultural expressions nearly 250 years after their exile from Acadia.
Cajun culture has become increasingly popular outside of Louisiana.
Culinary specialties adapted from France and Acadia such as etouffee,
boudin, andouille, crepes, beignets and sauces thickened with roux,
delight food lovers well beyond Louisiana's borders. Cajun music has
also ``gone mainstream'' with its blend of French folk songs and
ballads and instrumental dance music, and more recently popular
country, rhythm-and-blues, and rock music influences. While the growing
interest in Cajun culture has raised appreciation for its unique
traditions, many of the region's residents are concerned about the
growing commercialization and stereotyping that threatens to diminish
the authentic Cajun ways of life.
While the Atchafalaya Heritage Area may be well known for its Cajun
culture, there is an astonishing array of other cultures within these
parishes. Outside of New Orleans, the Atchafalaya Heritage Area is the
most racially and ethnically complex region of Louisiana, and has been
so for many years. A long legacy of multiculturalism presents
interesting opportunities to examine how so many distinct cultures have
survived in relative harmony. There may be interesting lessons to learn
from here as our Nation becomes increasingly heterogeneous. The
cultural complexity of this region has created a rich tapestry of
history and traditions, evidenced by the architecture, music, language,
food and festivals unlike any place else. Ethnic groups of the
Atchafalaya include: African-Americans, Black Creoles, Asians, Chinese,
Filipinos, Vietnamese, Lebanese, Cajuns, Spanish Islenos, Italians,
Scotch-Irish, and American Indian tribes such as the Attakapa,
Chitimacha, Coushatta, Houma, Opelousa and Tunica-Biloxi.
This heritage area has a wealth of existing cultural, historic,
natural, scenic, recreational and visitor resources on which to build.
Scenic resources include numerous State Wildlife Management Areas and
National Wildlife Refuges, as well as ten designated state scenic
byways that fall partially or entirely within the heritage area. The
Office of State Parks operates three historic sites in the heritage
area, and numerous historic districts and buildings can be found in the
region. There are also nine Main Street communities in the heritage
area. Outdoor recreational resources include two State Parks and a
multitude of waterways and bayous. Hunting, fishing, boating, and
canoeing, and more recently birdwatching and cycling, are popular ways
to experience the region. Various visitor attractions, interpretive
centers and visitor information centers exist to help residents and
tourists alike better understand and navigate many of the resources in
the heritage area. Major roads link the heritage area's central visitor
entrance points and large population centers, especially New Orleans.
Much of the hospitality industry servicing the Atchafalaya exists
around the larger cities of Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Houma. However,
more and more bed and breakfasts and heritage accommodations, such as
houseboat rentals, are becoming more numerous in the smaller towns and
rural areas.
These are just some of the examples of the richness and significance
of this region. This legislation will assist communities throughout
this heritage area who are committed to the conservation and
appropriate development of these assets. Furthermore, this legislation
will bring a level of prestige and national and international
recognition that this most special of places certainly deserves.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
S. 204
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 ``Atchafalaya National
Heritage Area Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Heritage area.--The term ``Heritage Area'' means the
Atchafalaya National Heritage Area established by section
3(a).
(2) Local coordinating entity.--The term ``local
coordinating entity'' means the local coordinating entity for
the Heritage Area designated by section 3(c).
(3) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means
the management plan for the Heritage Area developed under
section 5.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(5) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of
Louisiana.
SEC. 3. ATCHAFALAYA NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the State the
Atchafalaya National Heritage Area.
(b) Boundaries.--The Heritage Area shall consist of the
whole of the following parishes in the State: St. Mary,
Iberia, St. Martin, St. Landry, Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee,
Iberville, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafayette, West Baton
Rouge, Concordia, and East Baton Rouge.
(c) Local Coordinating Entity.--
(1) In general.--The Atchafalaya Trace Commission shall be
the local coordinating entity for the Heritage Area.
(2) Composition.--The local coordinating entity shall be
composed of 13 members appointed by the governing authority
of each parish within the Heritage Area.
SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE LOCAL COORDINATING
ENTITY.
(a) Authorities.--For the purposes of developing and
implementing the management plan and otherwise carrying out
this Act, the local coordinating entity may--
(1) make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements
with, the State, units of local government, and private
organizations;
(2) hire and compensate staff; and
(3) enter into contracts for goods and services.
(b) Duties.--The local coordinating entity shall--
(1) submit to the Secretary for approval a management plan;
(2) implement the management plan, including providing
assistance to units of government and others in--
(A) carrying out programs that recognize important resource
values within the Heritage Area;
(B) encouraging sustainable economic development within the
Heritage Area;
(C) establishing and maintaining interpretive sites within
the Heritage Area; and
(D) increasing public awareness of, and appreciation for
the natural, historic, and cultural resources of, the
Heritage Area;
(3) adopt bylaws governing the conduct of the local
coordinating entity; and
(4) for any year for which Federal funds are received under
this Act, submit to the Secretary a report that describes,
for the year--
(A) the accomplishments of the local coordinating entity;
and
(B) the expenses and income of the local coordinating
entity.
(c) Acquisition of Real Property.--The local coordinating
entity shall not use Federal funds received under this Act to
acquire real property or an interest in real property.
(d) Public Meetings.--The local coordinating entity shall
conduct public meetings at least quarterly.
SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN.
(a) In General.--The local coordinating entity shall
develop a management plan for the Heritage Area that
incorporates an integrated and cooperative approach to
protect, interpret, and enhance the natural, scenic,
cultural, historic, and recreational resources of the
Heritage Area.
(b) Consideration of Other Plans and Actions.--In
developing the management plan, the local coordinating entity
shall--
(1) take into consideration State and local plans; and
(2) invite the participation of residents, public agencies,
and private organizations in the Heritage Area.
(c) Contents.--The management plan shall include--
(1) an inventory of the resources in the Heritage Area,
including--
(A) a list of property in the Heritage Area that--
(i) relates to the purposes of the Heritage Area; and
(ii) should be preserved, restored, managed, or maintained
because of the significance of the property; and
(B) an assessment of cultural landscapes within the
Heritage Area;
(2) provisions for the protection, interpretation, and
enjoyment of the resources of the Heritage Area consistent
with this Act;
(3) an interpretation plan for the Heritage Area; and
(4) a program for implementation of the management plan
that includes--
(A) actions to be carried out by units of government,
private organizations, and public-private partnerships to
protect the resources of the Heritage Area; and
(B) the identification of existing and potential sources of
funding for implementing the plan.
(d) Submission to Secretary for Approval.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the local coordinating entity shall
submit the
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management plan to the Secretary for approval.
(2) Effect of failure to submit.--If a management plan is
not submitted to the Secretary by the date specified in
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall not provide any additional
funding under this Act until a management plan for the
Heritage Area is submitted to the Secretary.
(e) Approval.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after receiving the
management plan submitted under subsection (d)(1), the
Secretary, in consultation with the State, shall approve or
disapprove the management plan.
(2) Action following disapproval.--
(A) In general.--If the Secretary disapproves a management
plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
(i) advise the local coordinating entity in writing of the
reasons for the disapproval;
(ii) make recommendations for revisions to the management
plan; and
(iii) allow the local coordinating entity to submit to the
Secretary revisions to the management plan.
(B) Deadline for approval of revision.--Not later than 90
days after the date on which a revision is submitted under
subparagraph (A)(iii), the Secretary shall approve or
disapprove the revision.
(f) Revision.--
(1) In general.--After approval by the Secretary of a
management plan, the local coordinating entity shall
periodically--
(A) review the management plan; and
(B) submit to the Secretary, for review and approval by the
Secretary, the recommendations of the local coordinating
entity for any revisions to the management plan that the
local coordinating entity considers to be appropriate.
(2) Expenditure of funds.--No funds made available under
this title shall be used to implement any revision proposed
by the local coordinating entity under paragraph (1)(B) until
the Secretary approves the revision.
SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.
(a) Notification and Consent of Property Owners Required.--
No privately owned property shall be preserved, conserved, or
promoted by the management plan for the Heritage Area until
the owner of that private property has been notified in
writing by the management entity and has given written
consent to the management entity for such preservation,
conservation, or promotion.
(b) Landowner Withdraw.--Any owner of private property
included within the boundary of the Heritage Area shall have
that private property immediately removed from the boundary
by submitting a written request to the management entity.
SEC. 7. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.
(a) Access to Private Property.--Nothing in this Act shall
be construed to--
(1) require any private property owner to allow public
access (including Federal, State, or local government access)
to such private property; or
(2) modify any provision of Federal, State, or local law
with regard to public access to or use of private property.
(b) Liability.--Designation of the Heritage Area shall not
be considered to create any liability, or to have any effect
on any liability under any other law, of any private property
owner with respect to any persons injured on that private
property.
(c) Participation of Private Property Owners in Heritage
Area.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the
owner of any private property located within the boundaries
of the Heritage Area to participate in or be associated with
the Heritage Area.
SEC. 8. EFFECT OF ACT.
Nothing in this Act or in establishment of the Heritage
Area--
(1) grants any Federal agency regulatory authority over any
interest in the Heritage Area, unless cooperatively agreed on
by all involved parties;
(2) modifies, enlarges, or diminishes any authority of the
Federal Government or a State or local government to regulate
any use of land as provided for by law (including
regulations) in existence on the date of enactment of this
Act;
(3) grants any power of zoning or land use to the local
coordinating entity;
(4) imposes any environmental, occupational, safety, or
other rule, standard, or permitting process that is different
from those in effect on the date of enactment of this Act
that would be applicable had the Heritage Area not been
established;
(5)(A) imposes any change in Federal environmental quality
standards; or
(B) authorizes designation of any portion of the Heritage
Area that is subject to part C of title I of the Clean Air
Act (42 U.S.C. 7470 et seq.) as class 1 for the purposes of
that part solely by reason of the establishment of the
Heritage Area;
(6) authorizes any Federal or State agency to impose more
restrictive water use designations, or water quality
standards on uses of or discharges to, waters of the United
States or waters of the State within or adjacent to the
Heritage Area solely by reason of the establishment of the
Heritage Area;
(7) abridges, restricts, or alters any applicable rule,
standard, or review procedure for permitting of facilities
within or adjacent to the Heritage Area; or
(8) affects the continuing use and operation, where located
on the date of enactment of this Act, of any public utility
or common carrier.
SEC. 9. REPORTS.
For any year in which Federal funds have been made
available under this Act, the local coordinating entity shall
submit to the Secretary a report that describes--
(1) the accomplishments of the local coordinating entity;
and
(2) the expenses and income of the local coordinating
entity.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this Act $10,000,000, of which not more than
$1,000,000 shall be made available for any fiscal year.
(b) Cost-Sharing Requirement.--The Federal share of the
total cost of any activity assisted under this Act shall be
not more than 50 percent.
SEC. 11. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.
The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance to the
local coordinating entity under this Act terminates on the
date that is 15 years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
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