Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

Legislation

By: United States Code

Date: October 2, 1968

Source: U.S. Code. "Wild and Scenic Rivers Act." Title 16, Chapter 28, Sections 1271, 1272, 1277.

About the Author: The U.S. Code is the set of general and permanent laws that govern the United States. The House of Representatives prepares the Code and revisions are published every six years. The Code is arranged into fifty Titles. Title 16 deals with Conservation. Chapter 28 describes the laws pertaining to Wild and Scenic Rivers.

INTRODUCTION

The rivers and waterways of the United States have always been used for transportation, irrigation, drinking water, and for the removal of waste. In the twentieth century, many rivers were dammed to prevent flooding and to be harnessed for hydroelectric power. Rivers were diverted or channeled to so that their flow could be controlled. Levees were built to contain flooding. Development of the rivers and their adjacent land was seen as a means to increased productivity and economic growth.

During the 1960s, there was considerable concern that the rivers and waterways of the United States were being changed in a manner that destroyed their natural character. In particular, conservationists Frank and John Craighead, who had some notoriety through their work with National Geographic, recognized the need for a national system that protected the character and natural value of rivers and waterways. They enlisted the help of Senator Frank Church of Idaho, who developed legislation with the goal of preserving some of the most unspoiled rivers in the country.

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was signed into the U.S. Code on October 2, 1962 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Act established the Wild and Scenic Rivers System that oversees the preservation of all rivers that are designated under the Act. In order to be designated, a river must be free-flowing and contain an "outstandingly remarkable" feature, such as scenery, historical value, geological features or particular fish and wildlife.

The first three sections and the seventh section of the Act are excerpted below. The first section describes the policy that provides for development along designated rivers. In order for a section of a designated river to be artificially changed, a similar section of river must be preserved in its natural form. The second section lists the original eight rivers that were designated under the Act. It also describes the three different classifications by which a river may be designated. These classifications impact how study of the river and permitting for development occurs. Section seven is a key portion of the Act because it prevents the building of any hydroelectric plants or other water diversion projects that would impede the free-flowing nature of the river.

PRIMARY SOURCE

WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT

P.L. 90-542, as amended

16 U.S.C. 1271–1287

AN ACT

To provide for a National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that

(a) this Act may be cited as the "Wild and Scenic Rivers Act."

Congressional declaration of policy

(b) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Congress declares that the established national policy of dam and other construction at appropriate sections of the rivers of the United States needs to be complemented by a policy that would preserve other selected rivers or sections thereof in their free-flowing condition to protect the water quality of such rivers and to fulfill other vital national conservation purposes.

Congressional declaration of purpose

(c) The purpose of this Act is to implement this policy by instituting a national wild and scenic rivers system, by designating the initial components of that system, and by prescribing the methods by which and standards according to which additional components may be added to the system from time to time.

Composition of system; requirements for State-administered components

SECTION 2.

(a) The national wild and scenic rivers system shall comprise rivers (i) that are authorized for inclusion therein by Act of Congress, or (ii) that are designated as wild, scenic or recreational rivers by or pursuant to an act of the legislature of the State or States through which they flow, that are to be permanently administered as wild, scenic or recreational rivers by an agency or political subdivision of the State or States concerned, that are found by the Secretary of the Interior, upon application of the Governor of the State or the Governors of the States concerned, or a person or persons thereunto duly appointed by him or them, to meet the criteria established in this Act and such criteria supplementary thereto as he may prescribe, and that are approved by him for inclusion in the system, including, upon application of the Governor of the State concerned, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, Maine; that segment of the Wolf River, Wisconsin, which flows through Langlade County; and that segment of the New River in North Carolina extending from its confluence with Dog Creek downstream approximately 26.5 miles to the Virginia State line. Upon receipt of an application under clause (ii) of this subsection, the Secretary shall notify the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and publish such application in the Federal Register. Each river designated under clause (ii) shall be administered by the State or political subdivision thereof without expense to the United States other than for administration and management of federally owned lands. For purposes of the preceding sentence, amounts made available to any State or political subdivision under the Land and Water Conservation [Fund] Act of 1965 or any other provision of law shall not be treated as an expense to the United States. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to provide for the transfer to, or administration by, a State or local authority of any federally owned lands which are within the boundaries of any river included within the system under clause (ii).

Classification

(b) A wild, scenic or recreational river area eligible to be included in the system is a free-flowing stream and the related adjacent land area that possesses one or more of the values referred to in Section 1, subsection (b) of this Act. Every wild, scenic or recreational river in its free-flowing condition, or upon restoration to this condition, shall be considered eligible for inclusion in the national wild and scenic rivers system and, if included, shall be classified, designated, and administered as one of the following:

(1)Wild river areas—Those rivers or sections of rivers that are free of impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trail, with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and waters unpolluted. These represent vestiges of primitive America.

(2)Scenic river areas—Those rivers or sections of rivers that are free of impoundments, with shorelines or watersheds still largely primitive and shorelines largely undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads.

(3)Recreational river areas—Those rivers or sections of rivers that are readily accessible by road or railroad, that may have some development along their shorelines, and that may have undergone some impoundment or diversion in the past….

Restrictions on hydro and water resource development projects on designated rivers

SECTION 7.

(a) The Federal Power Commission [FERC] shall not license the construction of any dam, water conduit, reservoir, powerhouse, transmission line, or other project works under the Federal Power Act (41 Stat. 1063), as amended (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.), on or directly affecting any river which is designated in section 3 of this Act as a component of the national wild and scenic rivers system or which is hereafter designated for inclusion in that system, and no department or agency of the United States shall assist by loan, grant, license, or otherwise in the construction of any water resources project that would have a direct and adverse effect on the values for which such river was established, as determined by the Secretary charged with its administration. Nothing contained in the foregoing sentence, however, shall preclude licensing of, or assistance to, developments below or above a wild, scenic or recreational river area or on any stream tributary thereto which will not invade the area or unreasonably diminish the scenic, recreational, and fish and wildlife values present in the area on the date of designation of a river as a component of the national wild and scenic rivers system. No department or agency of the United States shall recommend authorization of any water resources project that would have a direct and adverse effect on the values for which such river was established, as determined by the Secretary charged with its administration, or request appropriations to begin construction of any such project, whether heretofore or hereafter authorized, without advising the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as the case may be, in writing of its intention so to do at least sixty days in advance, and without specifically reporting to the Congress in writing at the time it makes its recommendation or request in what respect construction of such project would be in conflict with the purposes of this Act and would affect the component and the values to be protected by it under this Act. Any license heretofore or hereafter issued by the Federal Power Commission [FERC] affecting the New River of North Carolina shall continue to be effective only for that portion of the river which is not included in the national wild and scenic rivers system pursuant to section 2 of this Act and no project or undertaking so licensed shall be permitted to invade, inundate or otherwise adversely affect such river segment.

Restrictions on hydro and water resource development projects on study rivers

(b)The Federal Power Commission [FERC] shall not license the construction of any dam, water conduit, reservoir, powerhouse, transmission line, or other project works under the Federal Power Act, as amended, on or directly affecting any river which is listed in section 5, subsection (a), of this Act, and no department or agency of the United States shall assist by loan, grant, license, or otherwise in the construction of any water resources project that would have a direct and adverse effect on the values for which such river might be designated, as determined by the Secretary responsible for its study or approval—(i) during the ten-year period following enactment of this Act [October 2, 1968] or for a three complete fiscal year period following any Act of Congress designating any river for potential addition to the national wild and scenic rivers system, whichever is later, unless, prior to the expiration of the relevant period, the Secretary of the Interior and where national forest lands are involved, the Secretary of Agriculture, on the basis of study, determine that such river should not be included in the national wild and scenic rivers system and notify the Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States Congress, in writing, including a copy of the study upon which the determination was made, at least one hundred and eighty days while Congress is in session prior to publishing notice to that effect in the Federal Register: Provided, That if any Act designating any river or rivers for potential addition to the national wild and scenic rivers system provides a period for the study or studies which exceeds such three complete fiscal year period the period provided for in such Act shall be substituted for the three complete fiscal year period in the provisions of this clause (i); and (ii) during such interim period from the date a report is due and the time a report is actually submitted to the Congress; and (iii) during such additional period thereafter as, in the case of any river the report for which is submitted to the President and the Congress for inclusion in the national wild and scenic rivers system, is necessary for congressional consideration thereof or, in the case of any river recommended to the Secretary of the Interior for inclusion in the national wild and scenic rivers system under section 2(a)(ii) of this Act, is necessary for the Secretary's consideration thereof, which additional period, however, shall not exceed three years in the first case and one year in the second.

Nothing contained in the foregoing sentence, however, shall preclude licensing of, or assistance to, developments below or above a potential wild, scenic or recreational river area or on any stream tributary thereto which will not invade the area or diminish the scenic, recreational, and fish and wildlife values present in the potential wild, scenic or recreational river area on the date of designation of a river for study as provided in section 5 of this Act. No department or agency of the United States shall, during the periods hereinbefore specified, recommend authorization of any water resources project on any such river or request appropriations to begin construction of any such project, whether heretofore or hereafter authorized, without advising the Secretary of the Interior and, where national forest lands are involved, the Secretary of Agriculture in writing of its intention so to do at least sixty days in advance of doing so and without specifically reporting to the Congress in writing at the time it makes its recommendation or request in what respect construction of such project would be in conflict with the purposes of this Act and would affect the component and the values to be protected by it under this Act.

(c) The Federal Power Commission [FERC] and all other Federal agencies shall, promptly upon enactment of this Act, inform the Secretary of the Interior and, where national forest lands are involved, the Secretary of Agriculture, of any proceedings, studies, or other activities within their jurisdiction which are now in progress and which affect or may affect any of the rivers specified in section 5, subsection (a), of this Act. They shall likewise inform him of any such proceedings, studies, or other activities which are hereafter commenced or resumed before they are commenced or resumed.

Grants under Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965

(d) Nothing in this section with respect to the making of a loan or grant shall apply to grants made under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (78 Stat. 897; 16 U.S.C. 460l-5 et seq.).

SIGNIFICANCE

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is considered an important piece of environmental regulation. Since its inception, 156 rivers comprising nearly 11,000 miles (17,700 kilometers) of waterways have been designated part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. While this is an impressive achievement, it contrasts with the more than 600,000 miles (966,000 kilometers) of once free-flowing rivers in the U.S. that are contained by more than 60,000 dams.

About half of the rivers in the System are in the northwest part of the country. Oregon contains the most designated rivers with forty-seven, while Alaska contains the most mileage designated with 3,210 miles (5,166 kilometers). The designated rivers in Idaho are among the nation's most celebrated: the Salmon, the Snake, and the Selway. The Tuolomne River, described by John Muir, is protected under the act. The Missouri River, immortalized by Lewis and Clark in their great expedition through the West, is also designated as part of the system. To the east, Massachusetts's Concord, Sudbury, and Assebet Rivers as well as Connecticut's Farmington River have been designated part of the system. The Delaware River, which is the largest undammed river east of the Mississippi, was designated by Congress in 1978. Two rivers that flow through subtropical swamps in the South have been protected by the act: the Saline Bayou in Louisiana and the Loxahtchee River in Florida. Three rivers in the rainforests of Puerto Rico have also been added to the list of designated rivers.

Although the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act has been criticized for not doing enough to protect rivers, in those places where it has been used, it has generally been considered a valuable conservation tool. No river that has been designated by Congress has ever been removed from the system, indicating that the benefits of the act outweigh any detriments. Part of the reason that the act has been successful is because its intent is not to completely block the use of a designated river, but instead to require that the river be managed so that the fundamental character of the river is preserved. Any development on the river must respect the free flow of water and protect its natural features. The Wild and Scenic Rivers System must co-exist with development so as to create a management plan that protects natural values as well as property values.

FURTHER RESOURCES

Web sites

Congressional Research Service Report for Congress. "The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and Federal Water Rights." 〈http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/Public/pub-16.cfm?&CFID=7246664&CFTOKEN=65919120〉 (accessed January 17, 2006).

Friends of the River. "California Rivers: The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act." 〈http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/CaliforniaRivers/NationalWildAndScenicRiversAct.html〉 (accessed January 17, 2006).

The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. 〈http://www.nps.gov/rivers〉 (accessed January 17, 2006).