SEC. 11. The holder of any patented or unpatented mining claim subject to this Act who believes he has suffered a loss by operation of this Act, or by orders or regulations issued pursuant thereto, may bring an action in a United States district court to recover just compensation, which shall be awarded if the court finds that such loss constitutes a taking of property compensable under the Constitution. The court shall expedite its consideration of any claim brought pursuant to this section. SEC. 12. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary to acquire lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of any unit of the National Park System. The Secretary is to give prompt and careful consideration to any offer made by the owner of any valid right or other property within the areas named in section 6 of this Act to sell such right or other property, if such owner notifies the Secretary that the continued ownership of such right or property is causing, or would result in, undue hardship. SUNSHINE IN GOVERNMENT SEC. 13. (a) Each officer or employee of the Secretary of the Interior who (1) performs any function or duty under this Act, or any Acts amended by this Act concerning the regulation of mining within the National Park System; and (2) has any known financial interest (A) in any person subject to such Acts, or (B) in any person who holds a mining claim within the boundaries of units of the National Park System; shall, beginning on February 1, 1977, annually file with the Secretary a written statement concerning all such interests held by such officer or employee during the preceding calendar year. Such statement shall be available to the public. (b) The Secretary shall (1) act within ninety days after the date of enactment of this Act (A) to define the term "known financial interest" for purposes of subsection (a) of this section; and (B) to establish the methods by which the requirement to file written statements specified in subsection (a) of this section will be monitored and enforced, including appropriate provisions for the filing by such officers and employees of such statements and the review by the Secretary of such statements; and (2) report to the Congress on June 1 of each calendar year with respect to such disclosures and the actions taken in regard thereto during the preceding calendar year. (c) In the rules prescribed in subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary may identify specific positions within such agency which are of a nonregulatory or nonpolicymaking nature and provide that officers or employees occupying such positions shall be exempt from the requirements of this section. (d) Ány officer or employee who is subject to, and knowingly violates, this section or any regulation issued thereunder, shall be fined not more than $2,500 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. Approved September 28, 1976. Legislative History: House Report No. 94-1428 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). Feb. 3, 4, considered and passed Senate. Sept. 14, considered and passed House, amended. 8. National Park System Transportation An Act to authorize the establishment of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in the State of Georgia, and for other purposes. (92 Stat. 474) (P.L. 95-344) Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, TITLE III SEC. 301. (a) The Congress hereby finds that— (1) the purpose of the National Park System is to preserve outstanding natural, scenic, historic, and recreation areas for the enjoyment, education, inspiration, and use of all people; (2) units of the National Park System have recently been established near major metropolitan areas in order to preserve remaining open space and to provide recreational opportunities for urban residents (many of whom do not have access to personal motor vehicles); and (3) circumstances which necessarily require people desiring to visit units of the National Park System to rely on personal motor vehicles may diminish the natural and recreational value of such units by causing traffic congestion and environmental damage, and by requiring the provision of roads, parking, and other facilities in ever-increasing numbers and density. (b) The purpose of this title is to make the National Park System more accessible in a manner consistent with the preservation of parks and the conservation of energy by encouraging the use of transportation modes other than personal motor vehicles for access to and within units of the National Park System with minimum disruption to nearby communities through authorization of a pilot transportation program. SEC. 302. (a) The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to as "Secretary") is authorized to formulate transportation plans and implement transportation projects where feasible pursuant to those plans for units of the national park system. (b) To carry out the purposes of subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary is authorized to (1) contract with public or private agencies or carriers to provide transportation services, capital equipment, or facilities to improve access to units of the national park system; (2) operate such services directly in the absence of suitable and adequate agencies or carriers; (3) acquire by purchase, lease, or agreement, capital equipment for such services; and (4) where necessary to carry out the purposes of this title, acquire by lease, purchase, donation, exchange, or transfer, lands, waters, and interests therein which are situated outside the boundary of a unit of the national park system, which property shall be administered as part of the unit: Provided, That any land or interests in land owned by a State or any of its political subdivisions may be acquired only by donation: Provided further, That any land acquisition shall be subject to such statutory limitations, if any, on methods of acquisition and appropriations thereof as may be specifically applicable to such area. (c) Acquisitions pursuant to subsection (b) (3) and (4) of this section shall not commence prior to sixty days (not counting days on which the Senate or the House of Representatives has adjourned for more than three consecutive days) from the time the Secretary has submitted a detailed proposal for such acquisitions to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives. (d) All fees directly collected by the National Park Service in the operation of the facilities and services authorized by this title shall be covered into the Planning, Development, and Operation of Recreation Facilities appropriation account to be subject to appropriation. (e) The Secretary shall establish information programs to inform the public of available park access opportunities and to promote the use of transportation modes other than personal motor vehicles for access to and travel within the units of the national park system. (f) Transportation facilities and services provided pursuant to this title shall not be considered as concession facilities or services within the meaning of the Act of October 9, 1965 (79 Stat. 969) and may be undertaken by the Secretary directly or by contract without regard to any requirement of local, State, or Federal law respecting determinations of public convenience and necessity or other similar matters: Provided, That the Secretary or his contractor shall consult with the appropriate State or local public service commission or other such body having authority to issue certificates of convenience and necessity, and any such contractor shall be subject to applicable requirements of such body unless the Secretary determines that such requirements would not be consistent with the purposes and provisions of this title. (g) No grant of authority in this title shall be deemed to expand the exemption of section 203 (b) (4) of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 U.S.C. 303 (b) (4)). SEC. 303. (a) To carry out the purposes of this title, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Hous ing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of such other Federal departments or agencies as the Secretary deems necessary are directed to assist the Secretary in the formulation and implementation of transportation projects. (b) Within one hundred and eighty days from the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives, a compilation of Federal statutes and programs providing authority for the planning, funding, or operation of transportation projects which might be utilized by the Secretary to carry out the purpose of this title. The Secretary shall revise the compilation thereafter as he deems necessary. SEC. 304. (a) The Secretary shall, during the formulation of any transportation plan authorized pursuant to section 302 of this title (1) give public notice of intention to formulate such a plan by publication in the Federal Register and in a newspaper or periodical having general circulation in the vicinity of the affected unit of the national park system; (2) following such notice hold a public meeting at a location or locations convenient to the affected unit of the National Park System. (b) Prior to the implementation of any project developed pursuant to the transportation plan formulated pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall (1) establish procedures, including but not limited to public meetings, to give State and local governments and the public adequate notice and an opportunity to comment on the proposed transportation project; and (2) submit, when the proposed project would involve an expenditure in excess of $100,000 in any fiscal year, a detailed report to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representatives. The Secretary may proceed with the implementation of such plan only after sixty days (not counting days on which the Senate or House of Representatives has adjourned for more than three consecutive days) have elapsed following submission of the plan. SEC. 305. The Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress within three years of the effective date of this Act. The report shall include, but not be limited to, his findings and recommendations regarding |