WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) announced on Tuesday, Sept. 9 that she has introduced The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Agreement Act (S.2744), which authorizes the National Park Service to release the $4 million Congress approved for Swain County in fiscal year 2012. The funding is part of a 2010 settlement with the federal government to compensate Swain County for a road that was destroyed during construction of the Fontana Dam and Reservoir in the 1940s. The Department of Interior claims the $4 million Congress approved cannot be released without the additional authority, and the proposed legislation provides that authority.
“The people of Swain County have waited long enough for compensation from the Department of Interior,” said Sen. Hagan. “These funds provide an important investment in North Carolina, and I will continue to fight to ensure the federal government makes good its obligation to Swain County.”
The $4 million is part of a $52 million settlement the federal government entered into with the State of North Carolina and Swain County in 2010. To date, the County has only received $12.2 million of the total funding.
The Senate Interior Appropriations Committee included a provision in the draft FY2015 Senate Interior Appropriations bill to authorize the National Park Service to release the $4 million that Congress previously approved.
– Hagan release
