PUBLIC LAW 100-534—OCT. 26, 1988
102 STAT. 2701
shall be imposed on such access based on the time of day, except to the extent required to protect public health and safety. "(b) INTERIM MEASURES.—Pending completion of the developments and improvements referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary shall permit the motorized towing of Whitewater rafts in the section of the national river between Thurmond and Cunard when the volume of flow in the river is less than three thousand cubic feet per second.". SEC. 104. FLOW MANAGEMENT.
Title XI of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 is amended by adding the following new section at the end: "SEC. 1115. FLOW MANAGEMENT.
16 USC 460m-28.
"(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that adjustments of flows from Bluestone Lake project during periods of low flow are necessary to respond to the congressional mandate contained in section 1110 of this Act and that such adjustments could enhance the quality of the recreational experience in the segments of the river below the lake during those periods as well as protect the biological resources of the river. "(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the Army, in conjunction with the Secretary of the Interior, shall conduct a study and prepare a report under this section. The report shall be submitted to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representatives not later than December 31, 1989. Before submission of the report to these Commit- Public tees, a draft of the report shall be made available for public com- information. ment. The final report shall include the comments submitted by the Secretary of the Interior and the public, together with the response of the Secretary of the Army to those comments. "(c) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study under this section shall examine the feasibility of adjusting the timing of daily releases from Bluestone Lake project during periods when flows from the lake are less than three thousand cubic feet per second. The purpose of such Fish and fishing. adjustment shall be to improve recreation (including, but not limited to, fishing and Whitewater recreation) in the New River Gorge National River. Any such adjustments in the timing of flows which are proposed in such report shall be consistent with other project purposes and shall not have significant adverse effects on fishing or on any other form of recreation in Bluestone Lake or in any segment of the river below Bluestone Lake. The study shall assess the effects of such flow adjustments on the quality of recreation on the river in the segments of the river between Hinton and Thurmond and between Thurmond and the downstream boundary of the New River Gorge National River, taking into account the levels of recreational visitation in each of such segments. "(d) TEST PROCEDURES.—As part of the study under this section, the Secretary of the Army shall conduct test releases from Bluestone Lake project during twenty-four-hour periods during the summer of 1989 when flows are less than three thousand cubic feet per second from the project. All such adjustments shall conform to the criteria specified in subsection (c). The tests shall provide adjustments in the timing of daily flows from Bluestone Lake project which permit flows higher than the twenty-four-hour average to reach downstream recreational segments of the river during morning and afternoon hours. The tests shall develop specific data on the
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