Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 118.djvu/3398

 118 STAT. 3368 PUBLIC LAW 108–447—DEC. 8, 2004 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after funds are first made available for this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Com mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report describing the results of the study conducted under this section. TITLE VI—OIL REGION NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE; DEFINITIONS. (a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Region National Heritage Area Act’’. (b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this title, the following definitions shall apply: (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage Area’’ means the Oil Region National Heritage Area established in section 603(a). (2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘management entity’’ means the Oil Heritage Region, Inc., or its successor entity. (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 602. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: (1) The Oil Region of Northwestern Pennsylvania, with numerous sites and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and designated by the Governor of Pennsyl vania as one of the State Heritage Park Areas, is a region with tremendous physical and natural resources and possesses a story of State, national, and international significance. (2) The single event of Colonel Edwin Drake’s drilling of the world’s first successful oil well in 1859 has affected the industrial, natural, social, and political structures of the modern world. (3) Six national historic districts are located within the State Heritage Park boundary, in Emlenton, Franklin, Oil City, and Titusville, as well as 17 separate National Register sites. (4) The Allegheny River, which was designated as a compo nent of the national wild and scenic rivers system in 1992 by Public Law 102–271, traverses the Oil Region and connects several of its major sites, as do some of the river’s tributaries such as Oil Creek, French Creek, and Sandy Creek. (5) The unspoiled rural character of the Oil Region provides many natural and recreational resources, scenic vistas, and excellent water quality for people throughout the United States to enjoy. (6) Remnants of the oil industry, visible on the landscape to this day, provide a direct link to the past for visitors, as do the historic valley settlements, riverbed settlements, plateau developments, farmlands, and industrial landscapes. (7) The Oil Region also represents a cross section of Amer ican history associated with Native Americans, frontier settle ments, the French and Indian War, African Americans and the Underground Railroad, and immigration of Swedish and Polish individuals, among others. (8) Involvement by the Federal Government shall serve to enhance the efforts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 16 USC 461 note. 16 USC 461 note. Oil Region National Heritage Area Act.

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