[DOCID: f:h2778enr.txt]
        H.R.2778

                       One Hundred Sixth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
             the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand


                                 An Act


 
  To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the 
    Taunton River in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for study for 
 potential addition to the 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,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Taunton River Wild and Scenic River 
Study Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
        (1) the Taunton River in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
    possesses important resource values (including wildlife, 
    ecological, and scenic values), historic sites, and a cultural past 
    important to the heritage of the United States;
        (2) there is strong support among State and local officials, 
    area residents, and river users for a cooperative wild and scenic 
    river study of the area; and
        (3) there is a longstanding interest among State and local 
    officials, area residents, and river users in undertaking a 
    concerted cooperative effort to manage the river in a productive 
    and meaningful way.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION FOR STUDY.

    Section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(a)) 
is amended--
        (1) by designating the undesignated paragraph following (135) 
    as paragraph (136); and
        (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(137) Taunton River, Massachusetts.--The segment downstream from 
the headwaters, from the confluence of the Town River and the Matfield 
River in Bridgewater to the confluence with the Forge River in Raynham, 
Massachusetts.''.

SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT.

    Section 5(b) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(b)) 
is amended--
        (1) by redesignating the second paragraph (8) as paragraph 
    (10);
        (2) by redesignating the second paragraph (11) as paragraph 
    (12);
        (3) by redesignating the third paragraph (11) as paragraph 
    (13);
        (4) by redesignating the fourth paragraph (11) as paragraph 
    (14);
        (5) by redesignating the first undesignated paragraph as 
    paragraph (15);
        (6) by redesignating the second undesignated paragraph as 
    paragraph (16);
        (7) in paragraph (16), as so redesignated by paragraph (6) of 
    this subsection, by striking ``paragraph ( )'' and inserting 
    ``paragraph (136)''; and
        (8) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(17) Taunton River, Massachusetts.--Not later than 3 years after 
the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary of the 
Interior--
        ``(A) shall complete the study of the Taunton River, 
    Massachusetts; and
        ``(B) shall submit to Congress a report describing the results 
    of the study.''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.