§430g–7 Conservation Within Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District

Summary

The Secretary must work to get landowners, local governments, groups, and businesses to protect and care for the Gettysburg Battlefield historic district. The Secretary must give priority for certain grants (under sections 302902(a), 302903(a), and 302904–302908 of title 54) and for technical help (under section 303902 of title 54) to projects in the district that keep its historic character. The Secretary can help local governments and landowners plan to meet both conservation and private goals. At a local government's request, the Secretary must pay up to 50 percent of planning costs for comprehensive plans and land-use rules that protect the district, but only if Congress provides the money. The Secretary, after the National Park Service Director recommends it and after talking with the Advisory Commission, may accept donated conservation easements on land in the district. Federal or federally funded projects in the district must be as consistent as possible with preserving the area’s rural, farm, and town features and must follow the National Historic Preservation Act and other laws. Any federal agency with authority over a proposed project must prepare a detailed analysis early and send it to the Secretary. If the Secretary finds the project inconsistent with preservation goals, the agency must not go ahead until it sends a written justification to the right Congressional committees and gives Congress time to comment. That justification must describe the project’s expected effects on the district’s historic and commemorative character, why the project is needed socially and economically, all possible alternatives, the benefits of those alternatives, and how harms would be reduced.