Sponsors (8)
Last progress June 10, 2025 (7 months ago)
Introduced on June 10, 2025 by Laura Friedman
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Updates the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Unit by adopting new official maps, requires those maps to be available for public inspection, and allows the Secretary of the Interior to make limited boundary tweaks with committee notice. Lands or interests in lands acquired inside the Rim of the Valley Unit will be managed and administered as part of the National Recreation Area under existing laws and regulations. The change preserves the operation, maintenance, and modification of existing water resource facilities and public utilities within the Unit, while requiring such activities to reasonably avoid or reduce harm to the Unit’s natural and cultural resources.
Strikes paragraph (1) of Section 507(c) of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 and inserts a new paragraph (1) establishing the recreation area boundary as described in the section.
Defines the recreation area to include the land, water, and interests in land and water generally depicted on the map titled "Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Santa Monica Mountains Zone, California, Boundary Map", numbered 80,047–C, dated August 2001.
Defines the recreation area to include the land, water, and interests in land and water generally depicted on the map titled "Rim of the Valley Unit Proposed Addition" ("Proposed Addition—Rim of the Valley Unit Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area"), numbered 638/179670x, dated April 14, 2023.
Requires that the maps described in the boundary definition be kept on file and made available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
Authorizes the Secretary to make minor revisions to the boundaries of the recreation area by publishing a revised drawing or other boundary description in the Federal Register, but only after giving written notice to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources of the proposed revision.
Primary impacts are administrative, land-management, and regulatory rather than fiscal. Federal land managers (National Park Service/Secretary of the Interior) will treat newly acquired lands inside the Rim of the Valley Unit as part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and apply the existing statutory and regulatory framework for that Recreation Area. Public access to official boundary maps increases transparency for the public, local governments, and stakeholders. Public utilities and operators of water-resource facilities located in the Unit retain authority to operate, maintain, and modify existing facilities; however, their activities will be conducted in ways that reasonably avoid or reduce harm to natural, cultural, and recreational resources in the Unit—potentially affecting project planning, environmental review practices, and mitigation measures. Private landowners within or adjacent to the newly defined Unit may face changed management expectations if lands are acquired by the federal government, but the legislation does not itself authorize eminent domain or new acquisition funding; acquisition would continue to follow existing authorities and processes. Overall, the law mainly clarifies boundaries and management responsibilities, preserves existing utility operations, and requires resource-protective practices for future utility or water-related activities.
Updated 13 hours ago
Last progress May 22, 2025 (8 months ago)