Establishment; boundaries; publication in Federal Register

The Congress finds the natural, scenic, recreation, historic, and other values of a forty-eight-mile segment of the Chattahoochee River and certain adjoining lands in the State of Georgia from Buford Dam downstream to Peachtree Creek are of special national significance, and that such values should be preserved and protected from developments and uses which would substantially impair or destroy them. In order to assure such preservation and protection for public benefit and enjoyment, there is hereby established the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (hereinafter referred to as the “recreation area”). The recreation area shall consist of the river and its bed together with the lands, waters, and interests therein within the boundary generally depicted on the map entitled “Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area”, numbered CHAT–20,003, and dated September 1984, and on the maps entitled “Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Interim Boundary Map #1”, “Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Interim Boundary Map #2”, and “Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Interim Boundary Map #3”, and dated August 6, 1998, which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. No sooner than 180 days after December 9, 1999, the Secretary of the Interior (hereafter referred to as the “Secretary”) may modify the boundaries of the recreation area to include other land within the Chattahoochee River corridor by submitting a revised map or other boundary description to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on Resources of the United States House of Representatives. The revised map or other boundary description shall be prepared by the Secretary after consultation with affected landowners, the State of Georgia, and affected political subdivisions of the State. The revised boundaries shall take effect 180 days after the date of submission unless, within the 180-day period, Congress enacts a joint resolution disapproving the revised boundaries. The total area, exclusive of the river and its bed, within the recreation area may not exceed 10,000 acres. For purposes of facilitating Federal technical and other support to State and local governments to assist State and local efforts to protect the scenic, recreational, and natural values of a 2,000 foot wide corridor adjacent to each bank of the Chattahoochee River and its impoundments in the 48-mile segment referred to above, such corridor is hereby declared to be an area of national concern.