Lower Mississippi Delta Initiatives Act of 1994
Sponsor
Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-4](D-LA-4)Summary
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Title I: Initiatives Within the Department of the Interior
Title II: Initiatives Within the Department of Energy
Lower Mississippi Delta Initiatives Act of 1994 - Title I: Initiatives Within the Department of the Interior - Establishes within the Department of the Interior an Office of Education to: (1) promote education in selected areas of environmental, natural, historic, and cultural resources; and (2) establish initiatives at minority schools of higher education.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) submit annual status reports to the Congress regarding the inventory and coordination of Departmental education programs; (2) report annually to certain congressional committees on opportunities for minority schools of higher education to participate in Departmental programs; (3) establish a scholarship program for degrees in natural resource and environmental related fields at minority schools of higher learning in the Lower Mississippi Delta Region; (4) encourage pre-college education programs in designated subject areas; (5) implement a volunteer educational enrichment program in cooperation with State departments of education and local school districts in the Delta Region; (6) establish a Center for Excellence in the Sciences and a Center for Aquaculture to encourage women and minority students in the Delta Region to pursue careers in the sciences and in aquaculture; and (7) coordinate the educational programs under this Act with those of other Federal agencies.
(Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to transmit to the Congress: (1) a study of nationally significant sites within the Delta Region; (2) recommendations for a transportation network linking such sites; and (3) a study outlining recommendations for funding a Delta Region Native American Heritage Corridor and Heritage and Cultural Center, and a Delta Region African American Heritage Corridor and Heritage and Cultural Center (including a Music Heritage Program). Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State Humanities Councils to assist minority and rural museums and related associations in the Delta region.
(Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary to provide technical and financial assistance to historically Black colleges and universities to undertake: (1) a survey of historic and prehistoric structures on campus; and (2) their preservation.
(Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary to: (1) transmit to the Congress a feasibility study regarding the establishment of a Delta Antiquities Trail or Delta Antiquities Heritage Corridor; and (2) conduct a research and preservation program of significant historic and archaeological resources in the Delta.
(Sec. 108) Authorizes appropriations.
Title II: Initiatives Within the Department of Energy - Directs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to establish the Delta Energy Technology and Business Development Center (the Center). Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to the Center.
(Sec. 203) Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require the Secretary to make grants to schools or hospitals for energy conservation projects, and to provide supplemental Federal financing for energy conservation projects at schools and hospitals in the Delta Region. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 204) Requires the Secretary to: (1) report annually to certain congressional committees regarding opportunities for minority colleges and universities to participate in Department of Energy (DOE) activities and laboratories; (2) establish scholarship programs for students pursuing energy-related and/or technical disciplines either at minority colleges or universities in the Delta Region; (3) encourage pre-college programs in energy-related and/or technical disciplines; (4) implement a volunteer program for education at DOE; and (5) implement a program to encourage women and minority students in the Delta Region to pursue careers in technical disciplines. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary to conduct a research and demonstration program to determine the economic viability of integrated biomass energy systems within the Delta Region. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 206) Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to direct the Secretary to make grants to States and Indian tribal organizations in the Delta Region for weatherization of low-income dwelling units. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 207) Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to qualify for incentive payments certain renewable energy facilities owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority.