§100507 — Title 54 National Park Service and Related Programs | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior must regularly study and watch over places that have resources of national importance and that might be added to the National Park System. Each year, when sending the budget, the Secretary must send Congress (the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources) a list of places to study. The Secretary must finish each authorized study within 3 full fiscal years after money is first given. No study can start unless Congress specifically authorizes it. The Secretary must also send, at the start of each fiscal year, a current list to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of any National Natural Landmarks and National Register historic places that are known or expected to be damaged or threatened. Studies must include public input (at least one local meeting) and efforts to notify landowners and local governments. The studies must follow the National Environmental Policy Act and look at whether a place is nationally important, suitable, and practical to add. They must consider rarity, threats, nearby protections, visitor and education use, costs, local support, and management options, and the transmittal to Congress must say the Secretary’s preferred way to manage the area. The Park Service may still do small assessments, planning help, nominations, updates, or surveys costing under $25,000. One office must handle the studies and related duties. Up to $1,000,000, $1,500,000, and $2,000,000 per year are authorized for the work described above.

Title 54, §100507

National Park Service and Related Programs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall investigate, study, and continually monitor the welfare of areas whose resources exhibit qualities of national significance and that may have potential for inclusion in the System.

(b)(1)At the beginning of each calendar year, with the annual budget submission, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a list of areas recommended for study for potential inclusion in the System.

(2)In developing the list to be submitted under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider—

(A)the areas that have the greatest potential to meet the established criteria of national significance, suitability, and feasibility;

(B)themes, sites, and resources not already adequately represented in the System; and

(C)public petitions and Congressional resolutions.

(3)Accompanying the annual listing of areas shall be a synopsis, for each report previously submitted, of the current and changed condition of the resource integrity of the area and other relevant factors, compiled as a result of continual periodic monitoring and embracing the period since the previous submission or initial report submission one year earlier.

(4)No study of the potential of an area for inclusion in the System may be initiated except as provided by specific authorization of an Act of Congress.

(5)This section and section 100901(b), 101702(b) and (c), and 102102 of this title do not limit the authority of the Service to conduct preliminary resource assessments, gather data on potential study areas, provide technical and planning assistance, prepare or process nominations for administrative designations, update previous studies, or complete reconnaissance surveys of individual areas requiring a total expenditure of less than $25,000.

(6)This section does not apply to or affect or alter the study of—

(A)any river segment for potential addition to the national wild and scenic rivers system; or

(B)any trail for potential addition to the national trails system.

(c)(1)The Secretary shall complete the study for each area for potential inclusion in the System within 3 complete fiscal years following the date on which funds are first made available for that purpose.

(2)Each study under this section shall be prepared with appropriate opportunity for public involvement, including at least one public meeting in the vicinity of the area under study, and after reasonable efforts to notify potentially affected landowners and State and local governments.

(3)In conducting the study, the Secretary shall consider whether the area under study—

(A)possesses nationally significant natural or cultural resources and represents one of the most important examples of a particular resource type in the country; and

(B)is a suitable and feasible addition to the System.

(4)Each study—

(A)with regard to the area being studied, shall consider—

(i)the rarity and integrity of the resources;

(ii)the threats to those resources;

(iii)whether similar resources are already protected in the System or in other public or private ownership;

(iv)the public use potential;

(v)the interpretive and educational potential;

(vi)costs associated with acquisition, development, and operation;

(vii)the socioeconomic impacts of any designation;

(viii)the level of local and general public support; and

(ix)whether the area is of appropriate configuration to ensure long-term resource protection and visitor use;

(B)shall consider whether direct Service management or alternative protection by other public agencies or the private sector is appropriate for the area;

(C)shall identify what alternative or combination of alternatives would in the professional judgment of the Director be most effective and efficient in protecting significant resources and providing for public enjoyment; and

(D)may include any other information that the Secretary considers to be relevant.

(5)Each study shall be completed in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

(6)The letter transmitting each completed study to Congress shall contain a recommendation regarding the Secretary’s preferred management option for the area.

(d)(1)At the beginning of each calendar year, with the annual budget submission, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, in numerical order of priority for addition to the System—

(A)a list of areas that have been previously studied that contain primarily historical resources; and

(B)a list of areas that have been previously studied that contain primarily natural resources.

(2)In developing the lists, the Secretary should consider threats to resource values, cost escalation factors, and other factors listed in subsection (c).

(3)The Secretary should include on the lists only areas for which the supporting data are current and accurate.

(e)At the beginning of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate a complete and current list of all areas listed on the Registry of Natural Landmarks, and areas of national significance listed on the National Register of Historic places, that exhibit known or anticipated damage or threats to the integrity of their resources, with notations as to the nature and severity of the damage or threats.

(f)Each report and annual listing described in this section shall be printed as a House document. If adequate supplies of previously printed identical reports remain available, newly submitted identical reports shall be omitted from printing on receipt by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of a joint letter from the chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of Senate indicating that to be the case.

(g)The Secretary shall designate a single office to prepare all new area studies and to implement other functions under this section.

(h)(1)To carry out studies for potential new System units and for monitoring the welfare of historical and natural resources referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (d)(1), there is authorized to be appropriated not more than $1,000,000 for each fiscal year.

(2)To monitor the welfare and integrity of the national landmarks, there is authorized to be appropriated not more than $1,500,000 for each fiscal year.

(3)To carry out subsections (b), (c), and (g), there is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each fiscal year.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 100507(a)16 U.S.C. 1a–5(a) (1st sentence). Pub. L. 91–383, § 8, as added Pub. L. 94–458, § 2, Oct. 7, 1976, 90 Stat. 1940; Pub. L. 95–625, title VI, § 604(1), Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3518; Pub. L. 96–199, title I, § 104, Mar. 5, 1980, 94 Stat. 68; Pub. L. 96–344, § 8, Sept. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1135; Pub. L. 103–437, § 6(b), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4583; Pub. L. 104–333, div. I, title VIII, § 814(d)(1)(I), Nov. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 4196; Pub. L. 105–391, title III, § 303, Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 3501. 100507(b)(1), (2)16 U.S.C. 1a–5(b)(1), (2). 100507(b)(3)16 U.S.C. 1a–5(a) (2d sentence). 100507(b)(4) through (6)16 U.S.C. 1a–5(b)(3) through (5). 100507(c)16 U.S.C. 1a–5(c). 100507(d)16 U.S.C. 1a–5(e). 100507(e), (f)16 U.S.C. 1a–5(a) (3d, last sentences). 100507(g)16 U.S.C. 1a–5(d). 100507(h)16 U.S.C. 1a–5(f). In subsection (b)(3), the words “after November 13, 1998” are omitted as obsolete. In subsection (b)(5), the cross-reference is limited to the applicable provisions of Public Law 91–383 as restated in the revised title.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, referred to in subsec. (c)(5), is Pub. L. 91–190, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 852, which is classified generally to chapter 55 (§ 4321 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 4321 of Title 42 and Tables.

§100507 Additional Areas for System