II

Calendar No. 756

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2343

[Report No. 106–380]

To amend the National Historic Preservation Act for purposes of establishing

a national historic lighthouse preservation program.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 4, 2000

Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself and Mr. LEVIN) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

AUGUST 25, 2000

Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of July 26, 2000, by Mr.

MURKOWSKI with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

3 Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000’’.

4 SEC. 2. PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC LIGHT STATIONS.

5 Title III of the National Historic Preservation Act,

6 16 U.S.C. 470w—470w–6, is amended by adding at the

7 end the following new section:

8 ‘‘§ 308. Historic lighthouse preservation

9 ‘‘SEC. 308. HISTORIC LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION.

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

11 historic light station program, the Secretary shall—

12 ‘‘(1) collect and disseminate information con13 cerning historic light stations, including historic

14 lighthouses and associated structures;

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

16 history, practice, and contribution to society of his17 toric light stations;

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

19 the history of light stations;

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

21 and

22 ‘‘(5) assess the effectiveness of the program es23 tablished by this section regarding the conveyance of

24 historic light stations.

25 ‘‘(b) CONVEYANCE OF HISTORIC LIGHT STATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Within one year of the date of enactment

2 of this section, the Secretary and the Administrator

3 of General Services (hereinafter Administrator) shall

4 establish a process and policies for identifying, and

5 selecting, an eligible entity to which a historic light

6 station could be conveyed for education, park, recre7 ation, cultural, or historic preservation purposes,

8 and to monitor the use of such light station by the

9 eligible entity.

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

11 applications for the conveyance of a historic light

12 station, when the agency with administrative juris13 diction over the historic light station has determined

14 the property to be ‘excess property’ as that term is

15 defined in the Federal Property Administrative Serv16 ices Act of 1949, as amended, 40 U.S.C. 472(e), and

17 forward to the Administrator a single approved ap18 plication for the conveyance of the historic light sta19 tion. When selecting an eligible entity, the Secretary

20 shall consult with the State Historic Preservation

21 Officer of the state in which the historic light station

22 is located.

23 ‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in paragraph (B),

24 the Administrator shall convey, by quitclaim deed,

25 without consideration, all right, title, and interest of
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1 the United States in and to the historic light station,

2 subject to the conditions set forth in subsection (c)

3 after the Secretary’s selection of an eligible entity.

4 The conveyance of a historic light station under this

5 section shall not be subject to the provisions of 42

6 U.S.C. 11301 et seq. or Section 416(d) of Public

7 Law 105–383.

8 ‘‘(B)(i) Historic light stations located within the

9 exterior boundaries of a unit of the National Park

10 System or a refuge within the National Wildlife Ref11 uge System shall be conveyed or sold only with the

12 approval of the Secretary.

13 ‘‘(ii) If the Secretary approves the conveyance

14 of a historic light station referenced in this para15 graph, such conveyance shall be subject to the condi16 tions set forth in subsection (c) and any other terms

17 or conditions the Secretary considers necessary to

18 protect the resources of the park unit or wildlife ref19 uge.

20 ‘‘(iii) If the Secretary approves the sale of a

21 historic light station referenced in this paragraph,

22 such sale shall be subject to the conditions set forth

23 in subparagraph (c)(1)(A)–(D), (c)(1)(H), and sub24 section (c)(2) and any other terms or conditions the
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1 Secretary considers necessary to protect the re2 sources of the park unit or wildlife refuge.

3 ‘‘(iv) For those historic light stations referenced

4 in this paragraph, the Secretary is encouraged to

5 enter cooperative agreements with appropriate eligi6 ble entities, as provided in this Act, to the extent

7 such cooperative agreements are consistent with the

8 Secretary’s responsibilities to manage and admin9 ister the park unit or wildlife refuge, as appropriate.

10 ‘‘(c) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—

11 ‘‘(1) The conveyance of a historic light station

12 shall be made subject to any conditions, including

13 the reservation of easements and other rights on be14 half of the United States, the Administrator con15 siders necessary to ensure that—

16 ‘‘(A) the Federal aids to navigation located

17 at the historic light station in operation on the

18 date of conveyance remain the personal property

19 of the United States and continue to be oper20 ated and maintained by the United States for

21 as long as needed for navigational purposes;

22 ‘‘(B) there is reserved to the United States

23 the right to remove, replace, or install any Fed24 eral aid to navigation located at the historic
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1 light station as may be necessary for naviga2 tional purposes;

3 ‘‘(C) the eligible entity to which the his4 toric light station is conveyed under this section

5 shall not interfere or allow interference in any

6 manner with any Federal aid to navigation, nor

7 hinder activities required for the operation and

8 maintenance of any Federal aid to navigation,

9 without the express written permission of the

10 head of the agency responsible for maintaining

11 the Federal aid to navigation;

12 ‘‘(D) the eligible entity to which the his13 toric light station is conveyed under this section

14 shall, at its own cost and expense, use and

15 maintain the historic light station in accordance

16 with this Act, the National Historic Preserva17 tion Act of 1966, 16 U.S.C. 470—470x–7, the

18 Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the

19 Treatment of Historic Properties, 36 CFR part

20 68, and other applicable laws, and any proposed

21 changes to the historic light station shall be re22 viewed and approved by the Secretary in con23 sultation with the State Historic Preservation

24 Officer of the state in which the historic light

25 station is located, for consistency with 36 CFR
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1 part 800.5(a)(2)(vii), and the Secretary of the

2 Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, 36 CFR

3 part 67.7;

4 ‘‘(E) the eligible entity to which the his5 toric light station is conveyed under this section

6 shall make the historic light station available

7 for education, park, recreation, cultural or his8 toric preservation purposes for the general pub9 lic at reasonable times and under reasonable

10 conditions;

11 ‘‘(F) the eligible entity to which the his12 toric light station is conveyed shall not sell, con13 vey, assign, exchange, or encumber the historic

14 light station, any part thereof, or any associ15 ated historic artifact conveyed to the eligible en16 tity in conjunction with the historic light station

17 conveyance, including but not limited to any

18 lens or lanterns, unless such sale, conveyance,

19 assignment, exchange or encumbrance is ap20 proved by the Secretary;

21 ‘‘(G) the eligible entity to which the his22 toric light station is conveyed shall not conduct

23 any commercial activities at the historic light

24 station, any part thereof, or in connection with

25 any associated historic artifact conveyed to the
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1 eligible entity in conjunction with the historic

2 light station conveyance, in any manner, unless

3 such commercial activities are approved by the

4 Secretary; and

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

6 right, at any time, to enter the historic light

7 station conveyed under this section without no8 tice, for purposes of operating, maintaining,

9 and inspecting any aid to navigation and for

10 the purpose of ensuring compliance with this

11 subsection, to the extent that it is not possible

12 to provide advance notice.

13 ‘‘(2) Any eligible entity to which a historic light

14 station is conveyed under this section shall not be

15 required to maintain any Federal aid to navigation

16 associated with a historic light station, except for

17 any private aids to navigation permitted under 14

18 U.S.C. 83 to the eligible entity.

19 ‘‘(3) In addition to any term or condition estab20 lished pursuant to this subsection, the conveyance of

21 a historic light station shall include a condition that

22 the historic light station, or any associated historic

23 artifact conveyed to the eligible entity in conjunction

24 with the historic light station conveyance, including

25 but not limited to any lens or lanterns, at the option
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1 of the Administrator, shall revert to the United

2 States and be placed under the administrative con3 trol of the Administrator, if—

4 ‘‘(A) the historic light station, any part

5 thereof, or any associated historic artifact

6 ceases to be available for education, park, recre7 ation, cultural, or historic preservation purposes

8 for the general public at reasonable times and

9 under reasonable conditions which shall be set

10 forth in the eligible entity’s application;

11 ‘‘(B) the historic light station or any part

12 thereof ceases to be maintained in a manner

13 that ensures its present or future use as a site

14 for a Federal aid to navigation;

15 ‘‘(C) the historic light station, any part

16 thereof, or any associated historic artifact

17 ceases to be maintained in compliance with the

18 National Historic Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C.

19 470—470x–7, the Secretary of the Interior’s

20 Standards for the Treatment of Historic Prop21 erties, 36 CFR part 68, and other applicable

22 laws;

23 ‘‘(D) the eligible entity to which the his24 toric light station is conveyed, sells, conveys, as25 signs, exchanges, or encumbers the historic
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1 light station, any part thereof, or any associ2 ated historic artifact, without approval of the

3 Secretary;

4 ‘‘(E) the eligible entity to which the his5 toric light station is conveyed, conducts any

6 commercial activities at the historic light sta7 tion, any part thereof, or in conjunction with

8 any associated historic artifact, without ap9 proval of the Secretary; or

10 ‘‘(F) at least 30 days before the reversion,

11 the Administrator provides written notice to the

12 owner that the historic light station or any part

13 thereof is needed for national security purposes.

14 ‘‘(d) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—

15 ‘‘(1) The Administrator shall prepare the legal

16 description of any historic light station conveyed

17 under this section. The Administrator, in consulta18 tion with the Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, and

19 the Secretary, may retain all right, title, and interest

20 of the United States in and to any historical arti21 fact, including any lens or lantern, that is associated

22 with the historic light station and located at the

23 light station at the time of conveyance. Wherever

24 possible, such historical artifacts should be used in

25 interpreting that station. In cases where there is no
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1 method for preserving lenses and other artifacts and

2 equipment in situ, priority should be given to preser3 vation or museum entities most closely associated

4 with the station, if they meet loan requirements.

5 ‘‘(2) Artifacts associated with, but not located

6 at, the historic light station at the time of convey7 ance shall remain the personal property of the

8 United States under the administrative control of

9 the Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard.

10 ‘‘(3) All conditions placed with the quitclaim

11 deed of title to the historic light station shall be con12 strued as covenants running with the land.

13 ‘‘(4) No submerged lands shall be conveyed

14 under this section.

15 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

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

17 ‘historic light station’ includes the light tower, light18 house, keepers dwelling, garages, storage sheds, oil

19 house, fog signal building, boat house, barn, pump20 house, tramhouse support structures, piers, walk21 ways, underlying and appurtenant land and related

22 real property and improvements associated there23 with; provided that the ‘historic light station’ shall

24 be included in or eligible for inclusion in the Na25 tional Register of Historic Places.
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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en2 tity’ shall mean:

3 ‘‘(A) any department or agency of the Fed4 eral Government; or

5 ‘‘(B) any department or agency of the

6 State in which the historic light station is lo7 cated, the local government of the community

8 in which the historic light station is located,

9 nonprofit corporation, educational agency, or

10 community development organization that—

11 (i) has agreed to comply with the con12 ditions set forth in subsection (c) and to

13 have such conditions recorded with the

14 deed of title to the historic light station;

15 and

16 (ii) is financially able to maintain the

17 historic light station in accordance with

18 the conditions set forth in subsection (c).

19 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL AID TO NAVIGATION.—The term

20 ‘Federal aid to navigation’ shall mean any device,

21 operated and maintained by the United States, ex22 ternal to a vessel or aircraft, intended to assist a

23 navigator to determine position or safe course, or to

24 warn of dangers or obstructions to navigation, and

25 shall include, but not be limited to, a light, lens, lan-
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1 tern, antenna, sound signal, camera, sensor, elec2 tronic navigation equipment, power source, or other

3 associated equipment.

4 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

5 the Secretary of the Interior.’’.

6 SEC. 3. SALE 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:

10 ‘‘§ 309. Historic light station sales

11 ‘‘SEC. 309. HISTORIC LIGHT STATION SALES.

12 ‘‘(a) In the event no applicants are approved for the

13 conveyance of a historic light station pursuant to section

14 308, the historic light station shall be offered for sale.

15 Terms of such sales shall be developed by the Adminis16 trator of General Services and consistent with the require17 ments of section 308, subparagraphs (c)(1)(A)–(D),

18 (c)(1)(H), and subsection (c)(2). Conveyance documents

19 shall include all necessary covenants to protect the histor20 ical integrity of the historic light station and ensure that

21 any Federal aid to navigation located at the historic light

22 station is operated and maintained by the United States

23 for as long as needed for that purpose.

24 ‘‘(b) Net sale proceeds from the disposal of a historic

25 light station:
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1 ‘‘(1) located on public domain lands shall be

2 transferred to the National Maritime Heritage Grant

3 Program, established by the National Maritime Her4 itage Act of 1994, Public Law 103–451, within the

5 Department of the Interior; and

6 ‘‘(2) under the administrative control of the

7 Coast Guard shall be credited to the Coast Guard’s

8 Operating Expenses appropriation account, and shall

9 be available for obligation and expenditure for the

10 maintenance of light stations remaining under the

11 administrative control of the Coast Guard, such

12 funds to remain available until expended; provided

13 further, that such funds shall be available in addi14 tion to funds available in the Operating Expense ap15 propriation for this purpose.

16 SEC. 4. FUNDING.

17 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the

18 Secretary of the Interior such sums as may be necessary

19 to carry out this Act.

Calendar No. 756

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2343

[Report No. 106–380]

A BILL

To amend the National Historic Preservation Act

for purposes of establishing a national historiclighthouse preservation program.

AUGUST 25, 2000

Reported with amendments