wild and scenic rivers act

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

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 1271 of this title. 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:

(6) Saint Croix, Minnesota and Wisconsin - The segment between the the dam near Taylors Falls, Minnesota, and the dam near Gordon, Wisconsin, and its tributary, the Namekago, from Lake Namekago downstream to its confluence with the Saint Croix; to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That except as may be required in connection with items (a) and (b) of this paragraph, no funds available to carry out the provisions of this chapter may be expended for the acquisition or development of lands in connection with, or for administration under this chapter of, that portion of the Saint Croix River between the dam near Taylors Falls, Minnesota, and the upstream end of Big Island in Wisconsin, until sixty days after the date on which the Secretary has transmitted to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives a proposed cooperative agreement between the Northern States Power Company and the United States

Sec. 1276. - Rivers constituting potential additions to national wild and scenic rivers system

(114) Brule, Michigan and Wisconsin. - The 33-mile segment from Brule Lake in the northeast quarter of section 15, township 41 north, range 13 east, to the National Forest boundary at the southeast quarter of section 31, township 41 north, range 17 east.

(a) Construction projects licensed by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 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 1274 of this title 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. . . . .

(b) Construction projects on rivers designated for potential addition to system