I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2611

To authorize conveyance of land on which is situated the United States

Coast Guard Whitefish Point Light Station.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 9, 1995

Mr. STUPAK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To authorize conveyance of land on which is situated the

United States Coast Guard Whitefish Point Light Station.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY WHITEFISH POINT

4 LIGHT STATION LAND.

5 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), the Secretary of the Department in which

8 the Coast Guard is operating (in this section re9 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) may convey, by an ap-
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1 propriate means of conveyance, all right, title, and

2 interest of the United States in and to each of 3

3 parcels comprising the land on which the United

4 States Coast Guard Whitefish Point Light Station is

5 situated (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Prop6 erty’’), as follows:

7 (A) To the Great Lakes Shipwreck Histori8 cal Society (in this section referred to as a ‘‘re9 cipient’’), located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan,

10 a parcel of land described as follows:

11 A parcel of land located in Fractional

12 Section 32, Town 51 North, Range 5

13 West, Whitefish Township, Chippewa

14 County, Michigan, more particularly de15 scribed as commencing at the Southwest

16 corner of said Section 32; thence

17 N89°51′00′′E along the South line of said

18 Section 32 a distance of 2,054.59 feet to

19 a D.N.R. brass capped monument at the

20 Meander Corner between said Section 32

21 and Section 5, Town 50 North, Range 5

22 West; thence N09°05′48′′W a distance of

786.48 feet to a 1 23 ⁄2′′ iron pin w/P.S. cap in

24 the centerline of Whitefish Road, said

25 point is the point of beginning: thence con-
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1 tinuing N09°05′48′′W a distance of 163.70

2 feet to a B.L.M. brass capped monument;

3 thence N01°30′39′′W a distance of 537.25

4 feet to a D.N.R. Aluminum capped monu5 ment, later referred to in this description

6 as ‘‘Point A’’; thence continuing

7 N01°30′39′′W a distance of 189 feet, more

8 or less, to the water’s edge of Lake Supe9 rior; thence Southeasterly along said wa10 ter’s edge a distance of 945 feet, more or

11 less; thence S68°16′41′′W a distance of

171 feet, more or less, to a 1 12 ⁄2′′ iron pin w/

13 P.S. cap, said pin bears S63°24′47′′E a

14 distance of 741.84 feet from aforemen15 tioned ‘‘Point A’’; thence continuing

16 S68°16′41′′W along an existing road/path

17 (Whitefish Point road extended) a distance

of 384.74 feet to a 1 18 ⁄2′′ iron pin w/P.S.

19 cap; thence S49°51′18′′W along said road

20 a distance of 347.89 feet to the point of

21 beginning. Containing 4.816 acres, more or

22 less (8.734 acres, more or less to shore of

23 Lake Superior). Subject to all easements,

24 conditions, reservations, exceptions and re-
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1 strictions contained in prior conveyances of

2 record.

3 (B) To the United States Fish and Wild4 life Service (in this section referred to as a ‘‘re5 cipient’’), a parcel of land described as follows

6 but excluding the parcel described in subpara7 graph (C):

8 A parcel of land located in Fractional

9 Section 32, Town 51 North, Range 5

10 West, Whitefish Township, Chippewa

11 County, Michigan, more particularly de12 scribed as commencing at the Southwest

13 corner of said Section 32; thence

14 N89°51′00′′E along the South line of said

15 Section 32 a distance of 2,054.59 feet to

16 a D.N.R. aluminum capped monument at

17 the Meander Corner between said Section

18 32 and Section 5, Town 50 North, Range

19 5 West; said Meander Corner is the point

20 of beginning: thence S41°00′00′′E along

21 the line dividing the accreted land between

22 said Sections 32 and 5, a distance of

23 184.80 feet to a D.N.R. aluminum capped

24 monument, later referred to in this de25 scription as ‘‘Point B’’; thence continuing
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1 S41°00′00′′E a distance of 381 feet, more

2 or less, to the water’s edge of Lake Supe3 rior; thence Northeasterly and Northwest4 erly along said water’s edge a distance of

5 2590 feet, more or less; thence

6 S68°16′41′′W a distance of 171 feet, more

or less, to a 1 7 ⁄2′′ iron pin which bears

8 N67°30′00′′E a distance of 1150.00 feet

9 and N39°05′42′′W a distance of 1085.76

10 feet from aforementioned ‘‘Point B’’;

11 thence continuing S68°16′41′′W a distance

of 384.74 feet to a 1 12 ⁄2′′ iron pin; thence

13 S49°51′18′′W a distance of 347.89 feet to

a 1 14 ⁄2′′ iron pin; thence S09°05′48′′E a dis15 tance of 786.48 feet to the point of begin16 ning. Containing 37.765 acres, more or

17 less (including all land to the water’s edge

18 of Lake Superior). Subject to all ease19 ments, conditions reservations, exceptions

20 and restrictions contained in prior convey21 ances of record.

22 (C) To the Michigan Audubon Society (in

23 this section referred to as a ‘‘recipient’’), a par24 cel of land described as follows:
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1 A parcel of land located in Fractional

2 Section 32, Town 51 North, Range 5

3 West, Whitefish Township, Chippewa

4 County, Michigan, more particularly de5 scribed as commencing at the Southwest

6 Corner of said Section 32; thence

7 N89°51′00′′E along the South line of said

8 Section 32 a distance of 2,054.59 feet to

9 a D.N.R. aluminum capped monument at

10 the Meander Corner between said Section

11 32 and Section 5, Town 50 North, Range

12 5 West; thence N09°05′48′′W, 786.48 feet,

13 thence N49°51′18′′E, 265.01 feet to the

14 point of beginning: thence continuing

15 N49°51′18′′E, 82.88 feet; thence

16 N68°16′41′′E, 170.00 feet; thence

17 S28°13′19′′E, 460.00 feet; thence

18 S61°46′41′′W, 250.00 feet; thence

19 N28°13′19′′W, 462.12 to the point of be20 ginning.

21 Containing 2.7 acres, more or less. Subject to

22 all easements, conditions, reservations, excep23 tions, and restrictions contained in prior con24 veyances of record.
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1 (2) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

2 (1), the Secretary shall retain for the United States

3 all right, title, and interest in—

4 (A) any historical artifact, including any

5 lens or lantern, and

6 (B) the light, antennas, sound signal, tow7 ers, associated lighthouse equipment, and any

8 electronic navigation equipment, which are ac9 tive aids to navigation,

10 which is located on the Property, or which relates to

11 the Property.

12 (3) IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROPERTY.—The

13 Secretary may identify, describe, and determine the

14 parcels to be conveyed pursuant to this section.

15 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any conveyance pursuant to

17 subsection (a) shall be made—

18 (A) without payment of consideration; and

19 (B) subject to such terms and conditions

20 as the Secretary considers appropriate.

21 (2) MAINTENANCE OF NAVIGATION FUNC22 TIONS.—The Secretary shall ensure that any convey23 ance pursuant to this section is subject to such con24 ditions as the Secretary considers to be necessary to

25 assure that—
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1 (A) the light, antennas, sound signal, tow2 ers, and associated lighthouse equipment, and

3 any electronic navigation equipment, which are

4 located on the Property and which are active

5 aids to navigation shall continue to be operated

6 and maintained by the United States for as

7 long as they are needed for this purpose;

8 (B) the recipients may not interfere or

9 allow interference in any manner with such aids

10 to navigation without express written permis11 sion from the United States;

12 (C) there is reserved to the United States

13 the right to relocate, replace, or add any aids

14 to navigation, or make any changes on any por15 tion of the Property as may be necessary for

16 navigation purposes;

17 (D) the United States shall have the right,

18 at any time, to enter the Property without no19 tice for the purpose of maintaining aids to navi20 gation;

21 (E) the United States shall have—

22 (i) an easement of access to the Prop23 erty for the purpose of maintaining the

24 aids to navigation and associated equip25 ment in use on the Property,
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1 (ii) an easement for an arc of visi2 bility,

3 (iii) a 500-foot nuisance easement

4 around the Fog Signal Tower, and

5 (iv) an easement for an underground

6 cable running from the Fog Signal Tower

7 to the Light; and

8 (F) the United States shall not be respon9 sible for the cost and expense of maintenance,

10 repair, and upkeep of the Property.

11 (3) MAINTENANCE OBLIGATION.—The recipi12 ents shall not have any obligation to maintain any

13 active aid to navigation equipment on any parcel

14 conveyed pursuant to this section.

15 (c) PROPERTY TO BE MAINTAINED IN ACCORDANCE

16 WITH CERTAIN LAWS.—Each recipient shall maintain the

17 parcel conveyed to the recipient pursuant to subsection (a)

18 in accordance with the provisions of the National Historic

19 Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), and other appli20 cable laws.

21 (d) MAINTENANCE STANDARD.—Each recipient shall

22 maintain the parcel conveyed to the recipient pursuant to

23 subsection (a), at its own cost and expense, in a proper,

24 substantial, and workmanlike manner, including the ease-
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1 ments of access, the easement for an arc of visibility, the

2 nuisance easement, and the underground easement.

3 (e) COOPERATIVE USE AGREEMENT.—The Secretary

4 shall require, as a condition of each conveyance of prop5 erty under this section, that all of the recipients have en6 tered into the same cooperative agreement governing the

7 shared use and occupancy of the existing Whitefish Point

8 Light Station facilities. The cooperative agreement shall

9 include—

10 (1) terms governing building occupancy and ac11 cess of recipient staff and public visitors to public

12 restrooms, the auditorium, and the parking lot; and

13 (2) terms requiring that each recipient shall be

14 responsible for paying a pro rata share of the costs

15 of operating and maintaining the existing Whitefish

16 Point Light Station facilities, that is based on the

17 level of use and occupancy of the facilities by the re18 cipient.

19 (f) LIMITATIONS ON DEVELOPMENT AND IMPAIRING

20 USES.—It shall be a term of each conveyance under this

21 section that—

22 (1) no development of new facilities or expan23 sion of existing facilities or infrastructure on prop24 erty conveyed under this section may occur, except

25 for purposes of implementing the Whitefish Point
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1 Comprehensive Plan of October 1992 and for a gift

2 shop, unless—

3 (A) each of the recipients consents to the

4 development or expansion in writing;

5 (B) there has been a reasonable oppor6 tunity for public comment on the development

7 or expansion, and full consideration has been

8 given to such public comment as is provided;

9 and

10 (C) the development or expansion is con11 sistent with preservation of the Property in its

12 predominantly natural, scenic, historic, and for13 ested condition; and

14 (2) any use of the Property or any structure lo15 cated on the property which may impair or interfere

16 with the conservation values of the Property is ex17 pressly prohibited.

18 (g) REVISIONARY INTEREST.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—All right, title, and interests

20 in and to property and interests conveyed under this

21 section shall revert to the United States and there22 after be administered by the Secretary of Interior

23 acting through the Director of the United States

24 Fish and Wildlife Service, if—
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1 (A) in the case of such property and inter2 ests conveyed to the Great Lakes Shipwreck

3 Historical Society, the property or interests

4 cease to be used for the purpose of historical in5 terpretation;

6 (B) in the case of such property and inter7 ests conveyed to the Michigan Audubon Society,

8 the property or interests cease to be used for

9 the purpose of environmental protection, re10 search, and interpretation; or

11 (C) in the case any property and interests

12 conveyed to a recipient referred to in subpara13 graph (A) or (B)—

14 (i) there is any violation of any term

15 or condition of the conveyance to that re16 cipient; or

17 (ii) the recipient has ceased to exist.

18 (2) AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE REVERSIONARY

19 INTEREST.—The Secretary of the Interior, acting

20 through the Director of the United States Fish and

21 Wildlife Service, shall have the authority—

22 (A) to determine for the United States

23 Government whether any act or omission of a

24 recipient results in a reversion of property and

25 interests under paragraph (1); and
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1 (B) to initiate a civil action to enforce that

2 reversion, after notifying the recipient of the in3 tent of the Secretary to initiate that action.

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