II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 685

To provide for the conveyance of certain lighthouses located in the State

of Maine.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 6 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 1995

Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To provide for the conveyance of certain lighthouses located

in the State of Maine.

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

3 SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN LIGHTHOUSES LO4 CATED IN MAINE.

5 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (3)

7 and (4), the Secretary of Transportation may con8 vey, without consideration, to the Island Institute,

9 Rockland, Maine (in this section referred to as the

10 ‘‘Institute’’), all right, title, and interest of the
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1 United States in and to any of the facilities and real

2 property and improvements described in paragraph

3 (2).

4 (2) COVERED FACILITIES.—Paragraph (1) ap5 plies to lighthouses, together with any real property

6 and other improvements associated therewith, lo7 cated in the State of Maine as follows:

8 (A) Whitehead Island Light.

9 (B) Deer Island Thorofare (Mark Island)

10 Light.

11 (C) Burnt Island Light.

12 (D) Rockland Harbor Breakwater Light.

13 (E) Monhegan Island Light.

14 (F) Eagle Island Light.

15 (G) Curtis Island Light.

16 (H) Moose Peak Light.

17 (I) Great Duck Island Light.

18 (J) Goose Rocks Light.

19 (K) Isle au Haut Light.

20 (L) Goat Island Light.

21 (M) Wood Island Light.

22 (N) Doubling Point Light.

23 (O) Doubling Point Front Range Light.

24 (P) Doubling Point Rear Range Light.

25 (Q) Little River Light.
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1 (R) Spring Point Ledge Light.

2 (S) Ram Island Light (Boothbay).

3 (T) Seguin Island Light.

4 (U) Marshall Point Light.

5 (V) Fort Point Light.

6 (W) West Quoddy Head Light.

7 (X) Brown’s Head Light.

8 (Y) Cape Neddick Light.

9 (Z) Halfway Rock Light.

10 (AA) Ram Island Ledge Light.

11 (BB) Mount Desert Rock Light.

12 (CC) Whitlock’s Mill Light.

13 (3) LIMITATION ON CONVEYANCE.—The Sec14 retary shall retain all right, title, and interest of the

15 United States in and to any historical artifact, in16 cluding any lens or lantern, that is associated with

17 the lighthouses conveyed under this subsection,

18 whether located at the lighthouse or elsewhere. The

19 Secretary shall identify any equipment, system, or

20 object covered by this paragraph.

21 (4) DEADLINE FOR CONVEYANCE.—The convey22 ances authorized by this subsection shall take place,

23 if at all, not later than 5 years after the date of the

24 enactment of this Act.
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1 (5) ADDITIONAL CONVEYANCES TO UNITED

2 STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.—The Sec3 retary may transfer, in accordance with the terms

4 and conditions of subsection (b), the following light5 houses, together with any real property and improve6 ments associated therewith, directly to the United

7 States Fish and Wildlife Service:

8 (A) Two Bush Island Light.

9 (B) Egg Rock Light.

10 (C) Libby Island Light.

11 (D) Matinicus Rock Light.

12 (b) CONDITIONS OF CONVEYANCE.—The conveyance

13 of a lighthouse, and any real property and improvements

14 associated therewith, under subsection (a) shall be subject

15 to the following conditions:

16 (1) That the lighthouse and any such property

17 and improvements be used for educational, historic,

18 recreational, cultural, and wildlife conservation pro19 grams for the general public and for such other uses

20 as the Secretary determines to be not inconsistent or

21 incompatible with such uses.

22 (2) That the lighthouse and any such property

23 and improvements be maintained at no cost to the

24 United States in a manner that ensures the use of
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1 the lighthouse by the Coast Guard as an aid to

2 navigation.

3 (3) That the use of the lighthouse and any such

4 property and improvements by the Coast Guard as

5 an aid to navigation not be interfered with, except

6 with the written permission of the Secretary.

7 (4) That the lighthouse and any such property

8 and improvements be maintained in a manner con9 sistent with the provisions of the National Historic

10 Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).

11 (5) That public access to the lighthouse and

12 any such property and improvements be ensured.

13 (c) RESERVATIONS.—In the conveyance of a light14 house under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall reserve

15 to the United States the following:

16 (1) The right to enter the lighthouse, and any

17 real property and improvements conveyed therewith,

18 at any time, without notice, for purposes of main19 taining any aid to navigation at the lighthouse, in20 cluding any light, antennae, sound signal, and asso21 ciated equipment located at the lighthouse, and any

22 electronic navigation equipment or system located at

23 the lighthouse.

24 (2) The right to enter the lighthouse and any

25 such property and improvements at any time, with-
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1 out notice, for purposes of relocating, replacing, or

2 improving any such aid to navigation, or to carry

3 out any other activity necessary in aid of navigation.

4 (3) An easement of ingress and egress onto the

5 real property conveyed for the purposes referred to

6 in paragraphs (1) and (2).

7 (4) An easement over such portion of such

8 property as the Secretary considers appropriate in

9 order to ensure the visibility of the lighthouse for

10 navigation purposes.

11 (5) The right to obtain and remove any histori12 cal artifact, including any lens or lantern that the

13 Secretary has identified pursuant to paragraph (3)

14 of subsection (a).

15 (d) MAINTENANCE OF AIDS TO NAVIGATION.—The

16 Secretary may not impose upon the Institute, or upon any

17 entity to which the Institute conveys a lighthouse under

18 subsection (g), an obligation to maintain any aid to navi19 gation at a lighthouse conveyed under subsection (a)(1).

20 (e) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—All right, title, and

21 interest in and to a lighthouse and any real property and

22 improvements associated therewith that is conveyed to the

23 Institute under subsection (a)(1) shall revert to the United

24 States and the United States shall have the right of imme25 diate entry thereon if—
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1 (1) the Secretary determines at any time that

2 the lighthouse, and any property and improvements

3 associated therewith, is not being utilized or main4 tained in accordance with subsection (b); or

5 (2) the Secretary determines that—

6 (A) the Institute is unable to identify an

7 entity eligible for the conveyance of the light8 house under subsection (g) within the 3-year

9 period beginning on the date of the conveyance

10 of the lighthouse to the Institute under sub11 section (a)(1); or

12 (B) in the event that the Institute identi13 fies an entity eligible for the conveyance within

14 that period—

15 (i) the entity is unable or unwilling to

16 accept the conveyance and the Institute is

17 unable to identify another entity eligible

18 for the conveyance within that period; or

19 (ii) the committee established under

20 subsection (g)(3)(A) disapproves of the en21 tity identified by the Institute and the In22 stitute is unable to identify another entity

23 eligible for the conveyance within that pe24 riod.
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1 (f) INSPECTION.—The State Historic Preservation

2 Officer of the State of Maine may inspect any lighthouse,

3 and any real property and improvements associated there4 with, that is conveyed under this section at any time, with5 out notice, for purposes of ensuring that the lighthouse

6 is being maintained in the manner required under sub7 sections (b)(4) and (b)(5). The United States Fish and

8 Wildlife Service, the Institute, and any subsequent

9 conveyee of the Institute under subsection (g), shall co10 operate with the official referred to in the preceding sen11 tence in the inspections of that official under this sub12 section.

13 (g) SUBSEQUENT CONVEYANCE.—

14 (1) REQUIREMENT.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

16 subparagraph (B), the Institute shall convey,

17 without consideration, all right, title, and inter18 est of the Institute in and to the lighthouses

19 conveyed to the Institute under subsection

20 (a)(1), together with any real property and im21 provements associated therewith, to one or more

22 entities identified under paragraph (2) and ap23 proved by the committee established under

24 paragraph (3) in accordance with the provisions

25 of such paragraph (3).
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1 (B) EXCEPTION.—The Institute, with the

2 concurrence of the committee and in accordance

3 with the terms and conditions of subsection (b),

4 may retain right, title, and interest in and to

5 the following lighthouses conveyed to the Insti6 tute:

7 (i) Whitehead Island Light.

8 (ii) Deer Island Thorofare (Mark Is9 land) Light.

10 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara12 graph (B), the Institute shall identify entities

13 eligible for the conveyance of a lighthouse under

14 this subsection. Such entities shall include any

15 department or agency of the Federal Govern16 ment, any department or agency of the Govern17 ment of the State of Maine, any local govern18 ment in that State, or any nonprofit corpora19 tion, educational agency, or community develop20 ment organization that—

21 (i) is financially able to maintain the

22 lighthouse (and any real property and im23 provements conveyed therewith) in accord24 ance with the conditions set forth in sub25 section (b);
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1 (ii) agrees to permit the inspections

2 referred to in subsection (f); and

3 (iii) agrees to comply with the condi4 tions set forth in subsection (b) and to

5 have such conditions recorded with the

6 deed of title to the lighthouse and any real

7 property and improvements that may be

8 conveyed therewith.

9 (B) ORDER OF PRIORITY.—In identifying

10 entities eligible for the conveyance of a light11 house under this paragraph, the Institute shall

12 give priority to entities in the following order,

13 which are also the exclusive entities eligible for

14 the conveyance of a lighthouse under this sec15 tion:

16 (i) Agencies of the Federal Govern17 ment.

18 (ii) Entities of the Government of the

19 State of Maine.

20 (iii) Entities of local governments in

21 the State of Maine.

22 (iv) Nonprofit corporations, edu23 cational agencies, and community develop24 ment organizations.
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1 (3) SELECTION OF CONVEYEES AMONG ELIGI2 BLE ENTITIES.—

3 (A) COMMITTEE.—

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby es5 tablished a committee to be known as the

6 Maine Lighthouse Selection Committee (in

7 this paragraph referred to as the ‘‘Com8 mittee’’).

9 (ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee

10 shall consist of five members appointed by

11 the Secretary as follows:

12 (I) One member, who shall serve

13 as the Chairman of the Committee,

14 shall be appointed from among indi15 viduals recommended by the Governor

16 of the State of Maine.

17 (II) One member shall be the

18 State Historic Preservation Officer of

19 the State of Maine, with the consent

20 of that official, or a designee of that

21 official.

22 (III) One member shall be ap23 pointed from among individuals rec24 ommended by State and local organi25 zations in the State of Maine that are
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1 concerned with lighthouse preserva2 tion or maritime heritage matters.

3 (IV) One member shall be ap4 pointed from among individuals rec5 ommended by officials of local govern6 ments of the municipalities in which

7 the lighthouses referred to in sub8 section (a) are located.

9 (V) One member shall be ap10 pointed from among individuals rec11 ommended by the Secretary of the In12 terior.

13 (iii) APPOINTMENT DEADLINE.—The

14 Secretary shall appoint the members of the

15 Committee not later than 180 days after

16 the date of the enactment of this Act.

17 (iv) MEMBERSHIP TERM.—

18 (I) Members of the Committee

19 shall serve for such terms not longer

20 than 3 years as the Secretary shall

21 provide. The Secretary may stagger

22 the terms of initial members of the

23 Committee in order to ensure continu24 ous activity by the Committee.
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1 (II) Any member of the Commit2 tee may serve after the expiration of

3 the term of the member until a suc4 cessor to the member is appointed. A

5 vacancy in the Committee shall be

6 filled in the same manner in which the

7 original appointment was made.

8 (v) VOTING.—The Committee shall

9 act by an affirmative vote of a majority of

10 the members of the Committee.

11 (B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Committee

13 shall—

14 (I) review the entities identified

15 by the Institute under paragraph (2)

16 as entities eligible for the conveyance

17 of a lighthouse; and

18 (II) approve one such entity, or

19 disapprove all such entities, as entities

20 to which the Institute may make the

21 conveyance of the lighthouse under

22 this subsection.

23 (ii) APPROVAL.—If the Committee ap24 proves an entity for the conveyance of a
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1 lighthouse, the Committee shall notify the

2 Institute of such approval.

3 (iii) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Committee

4 disapproves of the entities, the Committee

5 shall notify the Institute and, subject to

6 subsection (e)(2)(B), the Institute shall

7 identify other entities eligible for the con8 veyance of the lighthouse under paragraph

9 (2). The Committee shall review and ap10 prove or disapprove of entities identified

11 pursuant to the preceding sentence in ac12 cordance with this subparagraph.

13 (C) EXEMPTION FROM FACA.—The Fed14 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)

15 shall not apply to the Committee, however, all

16 meetings of the Committee shall be open to the

17 public and preceded by appropriate public no18 tice.

19 (D) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall

20 terminate 8 years from the date of the enact21 ment of this Act.

22 (4) CONVEYANCE.—Upon notification under

23 paragraph (3)(B)(ii) of the approval of an entity for

24 the conveyance of a lighthouse under this subsection,
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1 the Institute shall, with the consent of the entity,

2 convey the lighthouse to the entity.

3 (5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CONVEYEES.—Each

4 entity to which the Institute conveys a lighthouse

5 under this subsection, or any successor or assign of

6 such entity in perpetuity, shall—

7 (A) use and maintain the lighthouse in ac8 cordance with subsection (b) and have such

9 terms and conditions recorded with the deed of

10 title to the lighthouse and any real property

11 conveyed therewith; and

12 (B) permit the inspections referred to in

13 subsection (f).

14 (h) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—The exact acreage

15 and legal description of any lighthouse, and any real prop16 erty and improvements associated therewith, conveyed

17 under subsection (a) shall be determined by the Secretary.

18 (i) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

19 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for

20 the next 7 years, the Secretary shall submit to Congress

21 a report on the conveyance of lighthouses under this sec22 tion. The report shall include a description of the imple23 mentation of the provisions of this section, and the re24 quirements arising under such provisions, in—
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1 (1) providing for the use and maintenance of

2 the lighthouses conveyed under this section in ac3 cordance with subsection (b);

4 (2) providing for public access to such light5 houses; and

6 (3) achieving the conveyance of lighthouses to

7 appropriate entities under subsection (g).

8 (j) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Sec9 retary may require any additional terms and conditions

10 in connection with a conveyance under subsection (a) that

11 the Secretary considers appropriate in order to protect the

12 interests of the United States.

Æ