HR 1044

HR 1044 IH

To provide for the administration of Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

February 12, 2009

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

To provide for the administration of Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

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 ‘Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial Enhancement Act of 2009’.

SEC. 2. PORT CHICAGO NAVAL MAGAZINE NATIONAL MEMORIAL.

Section 203 of the Port Chicago National Memorial Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-562; 16 U.S.C. 431; 106 Stat. 4235) is amended--

(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (f);

(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsections:

‘(c) Administration- The Secretary of the Interior shall administer the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial as a unit of the National Park System in accordance with this Act and laws generally applicable to units of the National Park System, including the National Park Service Organic Act (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) and the Act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.). Land transferred to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (d) shall be administered in accordance with this subsection.

‘(d) Transfer of Land- The Secretary of Defense shall transfer a parcel of land, consisting of approximately 5 acres, depicted within the proposed boundary on the map titled ‘Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, Proposed Boundary’, numbered 018/80,001, and dated August 2005, to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior if the Secretary of Defense determines that--

‘(1) the land is excess to military needs; and

‘(2) all environmental remediation actions necessary to respond to environmental contamination related to the land have been completed in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) and other applicable laws.

‘(e) Agreement With City of Concord and East Bay Regional Park District- The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter into an agreement with the City of Concord, California, and the East Bay Regional Park District, to establish and operate a facility for visitor orientation and parking, administrative offices, and curatorial storage for the Memorial.’; and

(3) in subsection (f), (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), by striking ‘Secretary of the Navy to provide public access to the Memorial.’ and inserting ‘Secretary of Defense to provide as much public access as possible to the Memorial without interfering with military needs.’.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON REMEDIATION AND REPAIR OF PORT CHICAGO NAVAL MAGAZINE NATIONAL MEMORIAL.

(a) Remediation- It is the sense of Congress that, in order to facilitate the land transfer described in subsection (d) of section 203 of the Port Chicago National Memorial Act of 1992, as added by section 2, the Secretary of Defense should promptly remediate remaining environmental contamination related to the land.

(b) Repair- It is the sense of Congress that, in order to preserve the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial for future generations, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Interior should work together to--

(1) repair storm damage to the Port Chicago site; and

(2) develop a process by which future repairs and necessary modifications to the site can be achieved in as timely and cost-effective a manner as possible.