GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
S	1
SENATE BILL 639

 
 
Short Title:	Deep River Heritage Corridor.	()	
Sponsors:	Senators Kinnaird;  Berger, Bingham, Carpenter, Foxx, Horton, Lee, Martin of Guilford, Plyler, Purcell, and Shaw of Guilford.	
Referred to:	Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources.	
March 22, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE DEEP RIVER HERITAGE CORRIDOR WITHIN THE COUNTIES OF CHATHAM, FORSYTH, GUILFORD, LEE, MONTGOMERY, MOORE, AND RANDOLPH; TO ESTABLISH THE DEEP RIVER HERITAGE CORRIDOR PLANNING COMMITTEE; AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE PREPARATION OF A RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE DEEP RIVER HERITAGE CORRIDOR.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Short title. ‑ This act may be cited as the Deep River Heritage Corridor Act of 2001.
SECTION 2.  Legislative findings. ‑ The General Assembly finds that:
(1)	The Deep River flows through the heart of North Carolina from its headwaters in Guilford and Forsyth Counties through Randolph, Chatham, and Lee Counties, to its confluence with the Haw River at Mermaid Point to create the Cape Fear River. It comprises a thread of human history, commerce, industry, and community running through a fabric of natural, scenic, and recreational resources of major significance to the State, to the South as a region, and to the United States.
(2)	The public interest would be served by preserving, protecting, and enhancing these resources and by improving the planning and coordination between all levels of government within the region.
SECTION 3.  Purpose. ‑ It is the purpose of this act to provide a mechanism for the development of a management plan to assist units of local and regional government and citizens in developing integrated cultural, historical, and natural resource management programs that will preserve, enhance, and interpret for the educational and inspirational benefit of present and future generations the unique and significant contributions made to our common heritage by properties, structures, environmental resources, and waterways within and surrounding the Deep River Basin.
SECTION 4. Deep River Heritage Corridor; creation. ‑ The Deep River Heritage Corridor is created. The Deep River Heritage Corridor consists of the area with the Deep River Basin, as defined in G.S. 143‑215.22G.
SECTION 5.(a)  Deep River Heritage Corridor Planning Committee; creation. ‑ The Deep River Heritage Corridor Planning Committee is created.
SECTION 5.(b)  Deep River Heritage Corridor Planning Committee; purpose. ‑ The Deep River Heritage Corridor Planning Committee shall be a cooperative regional organization established to work with participating municipalities, businesses, organizations, and residents to develop a management plan for the Deep River Heritage Corridor, which shall be based on proposals submitted by each county and municipality within the Deep River Heritage Corridor.  
SECTION 5.(c)  Deep River Heritage Corridor Planning Committee; membership. ‑ The Committee shall be composed of the following members or their designees:
(1)	The chair of the tourism development agency or convention and visitor's bureau for each of the following counties: Chatham, Forsyth, Guilford, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, and Randolph Counties.
(2)	The chair of the county board of commissioners for each of the following counties: Chatham, Forsyth, Guilford, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, and Randolph Counties.
(3)	The mayor of the following municipalities:  Archdale, Asheboro, Franklinville, Goldston, Greensboro, High Point, Jamestown, Ramseur, Randleman, Robbins, and Sanford.
(4)	The President of the North Carolina Friends Historical Society.
SECTION 5.(d)  Deep River Heritage Corridor Planning Committee; nonvoting members. ‑ The mayor, manager, or other executive officer of any county or municipality, other than those listed in subsection (c) of this section, located within the Deep River Heritage Corridor may participate in committee meetings as a nonvoting member and shall be given notice of all committee meetings.
SECTION 6.(a)  Deep River Heritage Corridor Resource Management Plan; preparation. ‑ No later than October 1, 2002, the Deep River Heritage Corridor Planning Committee shall prepare a resource management plan for the Deep River Heritage Corridor.  The completed plan shall provide a unified plan for the preservation, improvement, and interpretation of the Deep River Heritage Corridor's cultural, natural, scenic, and recreational resources.  The management plan shall be developed with the participation of the board of commissioners of each county and the governing body of each municipality located in the Deep River Heritage Corridor.  The Planning Committee shall submit the completed plan to the board of commissioners of each county and the governing body of each municipality located in the Deep River Heritage Corridor for approval.
SECTION 6.(b)  Deep River Heritage Corridor Resource Management Plan; reporting. ‑ Upon completion of the Deep River Heritage Corridor Resource Management Plan and approval of the plan by the board of commissioners of each county and governing body of each municipality located in the Deep River Heritage Corridor, the Deep River Heritage Corridor Planning Committee shall submit the plan to the Secretary of Cultural Resources, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources.  Within six months of receiving the plan, the Secretary of Cultural Resources, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources shall jointly report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations on the contents of the plan, measures taken to implement the plan, and the benefits of the Deep River Heritage Corridor designation.
SECTION 7.  This act applies only to the counties of Chatham, Forsyth, Guilford, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, and Randolph and to the municipalities within those counties that are located in the Deep River Basin, as defined in G.S. 143‑215.22G.
SECTION 8.  This act is effective when it becomes law.