Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 113 Part 3.djvu/218

 113 STAT. 1736 PUBLIC LAW 106-154—DEC. 9, 1999 Public Law 106-154 106th Congress An Act Dec. 9, 1999 To improve protection and management of the Chattahoochee River National [H.R. 2140] Recreation Area in the State of Georgia. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 16 USC 460ii SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. ^°^' (a) FINDINGS. —Congress finds that— (1) the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in the State of Georgia is a nationally significant resource; (2) the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area has been adversely affected by land use changes occurring inside and outside the recreation area; (3) the population of the metropolitan Atlanta area continues to expeind northward, leaving dwindling opportunities to protect the scenic, recreational, natural, and historical values of the 2,000-foot-wide corridor adjacent to each hank of the Chattahoochee River and its impoundments in the 48-mile segment known as the "area of national concern"; (4) the State of Georgia has enacted the Metropolitan River Protection Act to ensure protection of the corridor located within 2,000 feet of each bank of the Chattahoochee River, or the corridor located within the 100-year floodplain, whichever is larger; (5) the corridor located within the 100-year floodplain includes the area of national concern; (6) since establishment of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, visitor use of the recreation area has shifted dramatically from waterbome to water-related and land-based activities; (7) the State of Georgia and political subdivisions of the State along the Chattahoochee River have indicated willingness to join in a cooperative effort with the United States to link existing units of the recreation area through a series of linear corridors to be established within the area of national concern and elsewhere on the river; and (8) if Congress appropriates funds in support of the cooperative effort described in paragraph (7), funding from the State, political subdivisions of the State, private foundations, corporate entities, private individuals, and other sources will be available to fund more than half the estimated cost of the cooperative effort. (b) PURPOSES. —The purposes of this Act are— (1) to increase the level of protection of the open spaces within the area of national concern along the Chattahoochee

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