USC Chapter 3071

USC Chapter 3071
in effect

54 U.S.C. § 307101 World Heritage Convention

(a) Authority of Secretary.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary of the Interior may act directly or through an appropriate officer in the Department of the Interior. (b) Participation by United States.—The Secretary shall direct and coordinate participation by the United States in the World Heritage Convention in cooperation with the Secretary of State, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Council. Whenever possible, expenditures incurred in carrying out activities in cooperation with other nations and international organizations shall be paid for in such excess currency of the country or area where the expense is incurred as may be available to the United States. (c) Nomination of Property to World Heritage Committee.—The Secretary shall periodically nominate property that the Secretary determines is of international significance to the World Heritage Committee on behalf of the United States. No property may be nominated unless it has previously been determined to be of national significance. Each nomination shall include evidence of such legal protections as may be necessary to ensure preservation of the property and its environment (including restrictive covenants, easements, or other forms of protection). Before making any nomination, the Secretary shall notify the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. (d) Nomination of Non-Federal Property to World Heritage Committee Requires Written Concurrence of Owner.—No non-Federal property may be nominated by the Secretary to the World Heritage Committee for inclusion on the World Heritage List unless the owner of the property concurs in the nomination in writing. (e) Consideration of Undertaking on Property.—Prior to the approval of any undertaking outside the United States that may directly and adversely affect a property that is on the World Heritage List or on the applicable country’s equivalent of the National Register, the head of a Federal agency having direct or indirect jurisdiction over the undertaking shall take into account the effect of the undertaking on the property for purposes of avoiding or mitigating any adverse effect.

54 U.S.C. § 307102 Effective date of regulations

(a) Publication in Federal Register.—No final regulation of the Secretary shall become effective prior to the expiration of 30 calendar days after it is published in the Federal Register during which either or both Houses of Congress are in session. (b) Disapproval of Regulation by Resolution of Congress.—The regulation shall not become effective if, within 90 calendar days of continuous session of Congress after the date of promulgation, both Houses of Congress adopt a concurrent resolution, the matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: “That Congress disapproves the regulation promulgated by the Secretary dealing with the matter of , which regulation was transmitted to Congress on ,” the blank spaces in the resolution being appropriately filled. (c) Failure of Congress To Adopt Resolution of Disapproval of Regulation.—If at the end of 60 calendar days of continuous session of Congress after the date of promulgation of a regulation, no committee of either House of Congress has reported or been discharged from further consideration of a concurrent resolution disapproving the regulation, and neither House has adopted such a resolution, the regulation may go into effect immediately. If, within the 60 calendar days, a committee has reported or been discharged from further consideration of such a resolution, the regulation may go into effect not sooner than 90 calendar days of continuous session of Congress after its promulgation unless disapproved as provided for. (d) Sessions of Congress.—For purposes of this section—(1) continuity of session is broken only by an adjournment sine die; and (2) the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of 60 and 90 calendar days of continuous session of Congress. (e) Congressional Inaction or Rejection of Resolution of Disapproval Not Deemed Approval of Regulation.—Congressional inaction on or rejection of a resolution of disapproval shall not be deemed an expression of approval of the regulation.

54 U.S.C. § 307103 Access to information

(a) Authority To Withhold From Disclosure.—The head of a Federal agency, or other public official receiving grant assistance pursuant to this division, after consultation with the Secretary, shall withhold from disclosure to the public information about the location, character, or ownership of a historic property if the Secretary and the agency determine that disclosure may—(1) cause a significant invasion of privacy; (2) risk harm to the historic property; or (3) impede the use of a traditional religious site by practitioners. (b) Access Determination.—When the head of a Federal agency or other public official determines that information should be withheld from the public pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation with the Federal agency head or official, shall determine who may have access to the information for the purpose of carrying out this division. (c) Consultation With Council.—When information described in subsection (a) has been developed in the course of an agency’s compliance with section 306107 or 306108 of this title, the Secretary shall consult with the Council in reaching determinations under subsections (a) and (b).

54 U.S.C. § 307104 Inapplicability of division to White House, Supreme Court building, or United States Capitol

Nothing in this division applies to the White House and its grounds, the Supreme Court building and its grounds, or the United States Capitol and its related buildings and grounds.

54 U.S.C. § 307105 Attorney’s fees and costs to prevailing parties in civil actions

In any civil action brought in any United States district court by any interested person to enforce this division, if the person substantially prevails in the action, the court may award attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, and other costs of participating in the civil action, as the court considers reasonable.

54 U.S.C. § 307106 Authorization for expenditure of appropriated funds

Where appropriate, each Federal agency may expend funds appropriated for its authorized programs for the purposes of activities carried out pursuant to this division, except to the extent that appropriations legislation expressly provides otherwise.

54 U.S.C. § 307107 Donations and bequests of money, personal property, and less than fee interests in historic property

(a) Money and Personal Property.—The Secretary may accept donations and bequests of money and personal property for the purposes of this division and shall hold, use, expend, and administer the money and personal property for those purposes. (b) Less Than Fee Interest in Historic Property.—The Secretary may accept gifts or donations of less than fee interests in any historic property where the acceptance of an interest will facilitate the conservation or preservation of the historic property. Nothing in this section or in any provision of this division shall be construed to affect or impair any other authority of the Secretary under other provision of law to accept or acquire any property for conservation or preservation or for any other purpose.

54 U.S.C. § 307108 Privately donated funds

(a) Projects for Which Funds May Be Used.—In furtherance of the purposes of this division, the Secretary may accept the donation of funds that may be expended by the Secretary for projects to acquire, restore, preserve, or recover data from any property included on the National Register, as long as the project is owned by a State, any unit of local government, or any nonprofit entity. (b) Consideration of Factors Respecting Expenditure of Funds.—(1) In general.—In expending the funds, the Secretary shall give due consideration to—(A) the national significance of the project; (B) its historical value to the community; (C) the imminence of its destruction or loss; and (D) the expressed intentions of the donor. (2) Funds available without regard to matching requirements.—Funds expended under this subsection shall be made available without regard to the matching requirements established by sections 302901 and 302902(b) of this title, but the recipient of the funds shall be permitted to utilize them to match any grants from the Historic Preservation Fund. (c) Transfer of Unobligated Funds.—The Secretary may transfer unobligated funds previously donated to the Secretary for the purposes of the Service, with the consent of the donor, and any funds so transferred shall be used or expended in accordance with this division.

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