H. R. 5094

One Hundred Ninth Congress

of the

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and six 

An Act 

To require the conveyance of Mattamuskeet Lodge and surrounding property, including the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, to the State of 

North Carolina to permit the State to use the property as a public facility 

dedicated to the conservation of the natural and cultural resources of North 

Carolina.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lake Mattamuskeet Lodge 

Preservation Act’’. 

SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF MATTAMUSKEET LODGE, MATTAMUSKEET 

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, NORTH CAROLINA. 

(a) CONVEYANCE REQUIRED.—Within six months after the date 

of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

through the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

shall convey to the State of North Carolina, without consideration, 

all right, title, and interest of the United States, except for certain 

utility and road easements, in and to a parcel of real property 

consisting of approximately 6.25 acres and containing 

Mattamuskeet Lodge and surrounding property, including the 

Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge headquarters, as depicted 

on the map entitled ‘‘Lake Mattamuskeet Lodge/Pump Station’’ 

and dated January 10, 2006, for the purpose of permitting the 

State to use the property as a public facility dedicated to the 

conservation of the natural and cultural resources of North Carolina. 

(b) RESTORATION AND MAINTENANCE OF LODGE.—The 

Mattamuskeet Lodge is listed on the National Register of Historic 

Places, and, as a condition of the conveyance of the lodge under 

subsection (a), the State shall agree to restore and maintain the 

lodge in accordance with—

(1) the Standard for the Treatment of Historic Properties 

with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and 

Reconstructing Historic Buildings, as prescribed pursuant to 

section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

470f), Part 800 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations; and 

(2) the General Statutes of North Carolina, Chapter 121, 

Article 1. 

(c) AS IS CONVEYANCE.—The conveyance under subsection (a) 

shall be subject to the condition that the State accept the real 

property described in such subsection in its condition at the time 

of the conveyance, commonly known as conveyance ‘‘as is’’. 
H. R. 5094—2

(d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The State shall cover the costs 

of any survey and the cost of recordation of deeds in connection 

with the conveyance under this section. Except as provided in 

subsection (e), all other costs associated with the conveyance shall 

be paid by the Secretary. 

(e) LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

the Secretary shall not retain liability for any environmental 

remediation that may be required with regard to the real property 

conveyed under this section under any applicable environmental 

authorities for—

(1) costs or performance of response actions required under 

the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 

and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601, et seq.) at or related 

to the property; or 

(2) costs, penalties, fines, or performance of actions related 

to noncompliance with applicable environmental authorities at 

or related to the property or related to the presence, release, 

or threat of release of any hazardous substance, pollutant, 

or contaminant, hazardous waste, hazardous material, or petroleum product or derivative of a petroleum product of any kind 

at or related to the property, including contamination resulting 

from migration. 

(f) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—If the Secretary determines at 

any time that the real property conveyed under this section is 

not being used in accordance with the purpose of the conveyance 

specified in subsection (a) or the State is not complying with the 

condition of the conveyance under subsection (b), all right, title, 

and interest in and to the property shall revert, at the option 

of the Secretary, to the United States, and the United States 

shall have the right of immediate entry onto the property. Any 

determination of the Secretary under this subsection shall be made 

on the record after an opportunity for a hearing. 

(g) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—The Secretary shall 

cooperate with the State to develop a memorandum of agreement 

encompassing mutually beneficial opportunities to use the property 

to be conveyed under this section to provide visitor services, to 

construct and utilize facilities and utilities, and to implement wildlife conservation projects.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.