II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1403

To amend the National Historic Preservation Act for purposes of establishing

a national historic lighthouse preservation program.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 7, 1997

Mr. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the National Historic Preservation Act for purposes of establishing a national historic lighthouse preservation program.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Historic

5 Lighthouse Preservation Act of 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC LIGHT STATIONS.

7 Title III of the National Historic Preservation Act

8 (16 U.S.C. 470w–470w–6) is amended by adding at the

9 end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 308. Historic lighthouse preservation

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide a national

3 historic light station program, the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(1) collect and disseminate information con5 cerning historic light stations, including historic

6 lighthouses and associated structures;

7 ‘‘(2) foster educational programs relating to the

8 history, practice, and contribution to society of his9 toric light stations;

10 ‘‘(3) sponsor or conduct research and study into

11 the history of light stations;

12 ‘‘(4) maintain a listing of historic light stations;

13 and

14 ‘‘(5) assess the effectiveness of the program es15 tablished by this section regarding the conveyance of

16 historic light stations.

17 ‘‘(b) CONVEYANCE OF HISTORIC LIGHT STATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) Within one year of enactment, the Sec19 retary and the Administrator of General Services

20 (hereinafter Administrator) shall establish a process

21 for identifying, and selecting, an eligible entity to

22 which a historic light station could be conveyed for

23 education, park, recreation, cultural and historic

24 preservation purposes.

25 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall review all applicants

26 for the conveyance of a historic light station, when
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1 the historic light station has been identified as ex2 cess to the needs of the agency with administrative

3 jurisdiction over the historic light station, and for4 ward to the Administrator a single approved applica5 tion for the conveyance of the historic light station.

6 When selecting an eligible entity, the Secretary may

7 consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer

8 of the state in which the historic light station is lo9 cated. A priority of consideration shall be afforded

10 public entities that submit applications in which the

11 public entity enters into a partnership with a non12 profit organization whose primary mission is historic

13 light station preservation.

14 ‘‘(3) The Administrator shall convey, by quit

15 claim deed, without consideration, all right, title,

16 and interest of the United States in and to the his17 toric light station, together with any related real

18 property, subject to the conditions set forth in sub19 section (c) upon the Secretary’s selection of an eligi20 ble entity. The conveyance of a historic light station

21 under this section shall not be subject to the provi22 sions of 42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.

23 ‘‘(c) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) The conveyance of a historic light station

2 shall be made subject to any conditions as the Ad3 ministrator considers necessary to ensure that—

4 ‘‘(A) the lights, antennas, sound signal,

5 electronic navigation equipment, and associated

6 light station equipment located on the property

7 conveyed, which are active aids to navigation,

8 shall continue to be operated and maintained by

9 the United States for as long as needed for this

10 purpose;

11 ‘‘(B) the eligible entity to which the his12 toric light station is conveyed under this section

13 shall not interfere or allow interference in any

14 manner with aids to navigation without the ex15 press written permission of the head of the

16 agency responsible for maintaining the aids to

17 navigation;

18 ‘‘(C) there is reserved to the United States

19 the right to relocate, replace, or add any aid to

20 navigation or make any changes to property

21 conveyed under this section as may be nec22 essary for navigation purposes;

23 ‘‘(D) the eligible entity to which the his24 toric light station is conveyed under this section

25 shall maintain the property in accordance with
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1 the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966,

2 16 U.S.C. 470–470x, the Secretary’s Historic

3 Preservation Standards, and other applicable

4 laws; and

5 ‘‘(E) the United States shall have the

6 right, at any time, to enter property conveyed

7 under this section without notice for purposes

8 of maintaining and inspecting aids to naviga9 tion and ensuring compliance with paragraph

10 (C), to the extent that it is not possible to pro11 vide advance notice.

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, the Administrator, and any

13 eligible entity to which a historic light station is con14 veyed under this section, shall not be required to

15 maintain any active aids to navigation associated

16 with a historic light station.

17 ‘‘(3) In addition to any term or condition estab18 lished pursuant to this subsection, the conveyance of

19 a historic light station shall include a condition that

20 the property in its existing condition, at the option

21 of the Administrator, revert to the United States

22 if—

23 ‘‘(A) the property or any part of the prop24 erty ceases to be available for education, park,

25 recreation, cultural, and historic preservation
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1 purposes for the general public at reasonable

2 times and under reasonable conditions which

3 shall be set forth in the eligible entity’s applica4 tion;

5 ‘‘(B) the property or any part of the prop6 erty ceases to be maintained in a manner that

7 ensures its present or future use as an aid to

8 navigation or compliance with the National His9 toric Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 470–470x,

10 the Secretary’s Historic Preservation Stand11 ards, and other applicable laws; or

12 ‘‘(C) at least 30 days before the reversion,

13 the Administrator provides written notice to the

14 owner that the property is needed for national

15 security purposes.

16 ‘‘(d) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—The legal de17 scription of any historic light station, and any real prop18 erty and improvements associated therewith, conveyed

19 under this section shall be determined by the Adminis20 trator. The Administrator may retain all right, title, and

21 interest of the United States in and to any historical arti22 fact, including any lens or lantern, that is associated with

23 the historial light station whether located at the light sta24 tion or elsewhere.
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1 ‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CONVEYEES.—Each eligi2 ble entity to which a historic light station is conveyed

3 under this section shall use and maintain the light station

4 in accordance with this section, and have such terms and

5 conditions recorded with the deed to title to the light sta6 tion and any real property conveyed therewith.

7 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

8 ‘‘(1) HISTORIC LIGHT STATION.—The term

9 ‘historic light station’ includes the light tower, light10 house, keepers dwelling, garages, storage sheds, sup11 port structures, piers, walkways, and underlying

12 land; provided that the light tower or lighthouse

13 shall be—

14 ‘‘(A) at least 50 years old;

15 ‘‘(B) evaluated for inclusion in the Na16 tional Register of Historic Places; and

17 ‘‘(C) included on the Secretary’s listing of

18 historic light stations.

19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en20 tity’ shall mean any department or agency of the

21 Federal government, any department or agency of

22 the state in which the historic light station is lo23 cated, the local government of the community in

24 which the historic light station is located, nonprofit
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1 corporation, educational agency, or community devel2 opment organization that—

3 ‘‘(A) has agreed to comply with the condi4 tions set forth in subsections (c) and to have

5 those conditions recorded in the conveyance

6 documents to the light station and any real

7 property and improvements that may be con8 veyed therewith;

9 ‘‘(B) is financially able to maintain the

10 light station (and any real property and im11 provements conveyed therewith) in accordance

12 with the conditions set forth in subsection (c);

13 and

14 ‘‘(C) can indemnify the Federal govern15 ment to cover any loss in connection with the

16 light station and any real property and im17 provements that may be conveyed therewith, or

18 any expenses incurred due to reversion.’’.

19 SEC. 3. SALE OR SURPLUS LIGHT STATIONS.

20 Title III of the National Historic Preservation Act

21 (16 U.S.C. 470w–470w–6) is amended by adding at the

22 end the following new section:

23 ‘‘§ 309. Historic light station sales

24 ‘‘In the event no applicants are approved for the con25 veyance of a historic light station pursuant to section 308,
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1 the historic light station shall be offered for sale. Terms

2 of such sales shall be developed by the Administrator of

3 General Services. Conveyance documents shall include all

4 necessary covenants to protect the historical integrity of

5 the site. Net sale proceeds shall be transferred to the Na6 tional Maritime Heritage Grant Program, established by

7 the National Maritime Heritage Act of 1994, Public Law

8 103–451, within the Department of the Interior.

9 SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF HISTORIC LIGHT STATIONS TO FED10 ERAL AGENCIES.

11 Title III of the National Historic Preservation Act

12 of 1966, 16 U.S.C 470–470x, is amended by adding at

13 the end the following new section:

14 ‘‘§ 310. Transfer of historic light stations to Federal

15 agencies

16 ‘‘After the date of enactment, any department or

17 agency of the Federal government, to which a historic

18 light station is conveyed, shall maintain the historic light

19 station in accordance with the National Historic Preserva20 tion Act of 1966, 16 U.S.C. 470–470x, the Secretary’s

21 Historic Preservation Standards, and other applicable

22 laws.
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1 SEC. 5. FUNDING.

2 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the

3 Secretary of the Interior such sums as may be necessary

4 to carry out this Act.

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