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106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2343

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

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 2000’’.

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 the date of enactment

19 of this section, the Secretary and the Administrator

20 of General Services (hereinafter Administrator) shall

21 establish a process and policies for identifying, and

22 selecting, an eligible entity to which a historic light

23 station could be conveyed for education, park, recre24 ation, cultural, or historic preservation purposes,

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

26 eligible entity.
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1 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall review all applicants

2 for the conveyance of a historic light station, when

3 the agency with administrative jurisdiction over the

4 historic light station has determined the property to

5 be ‘excess property’ as that term is defined in the

6 Federal Property Administrative Services Act of

7 1949, as amended, 40 U.S.C. 472(e), and forward to

8 the Administrator a single approved application for

9 the conveyance of the historic light station. When se10 lecting an eligible entity, the Secretary shall consult

11 with the State Historic Preservation Officer of the

12 state in which the historic light station is located.

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

14 the Administrator shall convey, by quitclaim deed,

15 without consideration, all right, title, and interest of

16 the United States in and to the historic light station,

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

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

19 The conveyance of a historic light station under this

20 section shall not be subject to the provisions of 42

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

22 Law 105–383.

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

24 exterior boundaries of a unit of the National Park

25 System or a refuge within the National Wildlife Ref-
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1 uge System shall be conveyed or sold only with the

2 approval of the Secretary.

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

4 of a historic light station referenced in this para5 graph, such conveyance shall be subject to the condi6 tions set forth in subsection (c) and any other terms

7 or conditions the Secretary considers necessary to

8 protect the resources of the park unit or wildlife ref9 uge.

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

11 historic light station referenced in this paragraph,

12 such sale shall be subject to the conditions set forth

13 in subparagraph (c)(1)(A)–(D), (c)(1)(H), and sub14 section (c)(2) and any other terms or conditions the

15 Secretary considers necessary to protect the re16 sources of the park unit or wildlife refuge.

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

18 in this paragraph, the Secretary is encouraged to

19 enter cooperative agreements with appropriate eligi20 ble entities, as provided in this Act, to the extent

21 such cooperative agreements are consistent with the

22 Secretary’s responsibilities to manage and admin23 ister the park unit or wildlife refuge, as appropriate.

24 ‘‘(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, including

3 the reservation of easements and other rights on be4 half of the United States, the Administrator con5 siders necessary to ensure that—

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

7 at the historic light station remain the personal

8 property of the United States and continue to

9 be operated and maintained by the United

10 States for as long as needed for navigational

11 purposes;

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

13 the right to remove, replace, or install any Fed14 eral aid to navigation located at the historic

15 light station as may be necessary for naviga16 tional purposes;

17 ‘‘(C) the eligible entity to which the his18 toric light station is conveyed under this section

19 shall not interfere or allow interference in any

20 manner with any Federal aid to navigation, nor

21 hinder activities required for the operation and

22 maintenance of any Federal aid to navigation,

23 without the express written permission of the

24 head of the agency responsible for maintaining

25 the Federal aid to navigation;
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1 ‘‘(D) the eligible entity to which the his2 toric light station is conveyed under this section

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

4 maintain the historic light station in accordance

5 with this Act, the National Historic Preserva6 tion Act of 1966, 16 U.S.C. 470—470x–7, the

7 Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the

8 Treatment of Historic Properties, 36 CFR part

9 68, and other applicable laws, and any proposed

10 changes to the historic light station shall be re11 viewed and approved by the Secretary in con12 sultation with the State Historic Preservation

13 Officer of the state in which the historic light

14 station is located, for consistency with 36 CFR

15 part 800.5(a)(2)(vii), and the Secretary of the

16 Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, 36 CFR

17 part 67.7;

18 ‘‘(E) the eligible entity to which the his19 toric light station is conveyed under this section

20 shall make the historic light station available

21 for education, park, recreation, cultural or his22 toric preservation purposes for the general pub23 lic at reasonable times and under reasonable

24 conditions;
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1 ‘‘(F) the eligible entity to which the his2 toric light station is conveyed shall not sell, con3 vey, assign, exchange, or encumber the historic

4 light station, any part thereof, or any associ5 ated historic artifact conveyed to the eligible en6 tity in conjunction with the historic light station

7 conveyance, including but not limited to any

8 lens or lanterns, unless such sale, conveyance,

9 assignment, exchange or encumbrance is ap10 proved by the Secretary;

11 ‘‘(G) the eligible entity to which the his12 toric light station is conveyed shall not conduct

13 any commercial activities at the historic light

14 station, any part thereof, or in connection with

15 any associated historic artifact conveyed to the

16 eligible entity in conjunction with the historic

17 light station conveyance, in any manner, unless

18 such commercial activities are approved by the

19 Secretary; and

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

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

22 station conveyed under this section without no23 tice, for purposes of operating, maintaining,

24 and inspecting any aid to navigation and for

25 the purpose of ensuring compliance with this
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1 subsection, to the extent that it is not possible

2 to provide advance notice.

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

4 station is conveyed under this section shall not be

5 required to maintain any Federal aid to navigation

6 associated with a historic light station, except any

7 private aids to navigation permitted under 14 U.S.C.

8 83 to the eligible entity.

9 ‘‘(3) In addition to any term or condition estab10 lished pursuant to this subsection, the conveyance of

11 a historic light station shall include a condition that

12 the historic light station, or any associated historic

13 artifact conveyed to the eligible entity in conjunction

14 with the historic light station conveyance, including

15 but not limited to any lens or lanterns, at the option

16 of the Administrator, shall revert to the United

17 States and be placed under the administrative con18 trol of the Administrator, if—

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

20 thereof, or any associated historic artifact

21 ceases to be available for education, park, recre22 ation, cultural, or historic preservation purposes

23 for the general public at reasonable times and

24 under reasonable conditions which shall be set

25 forth in the eligible entity’s application;
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1 ‘‘(B) the historic light station or any part

2 thereof ceases to be maintained in a manner

3 that ensures its present or future use as a site

4 for a Federal aid to navigation;

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

6 thereof, or any associated historic artifact

7 ceases to be maintained in compliance with the

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

9 470—470x–7, the Secretary of the Interior’s

10 Standards for the Treatment of Historic Prop11 erties, 36 CFR part 68, and other applicable

12 laws;

13 ‘‘(D) the eligible entity to which the his14 toric light station is conveyed, sells, conveys, as15 signs, exchanges, or encumbers the historic

16 light station, any part thereof, or any associ17 ated historic artifact, without approval of the

18 Secretary;

19 ‘‘(E) the eligible entity to which the his20 toric light station is conveyed, conducts any

21 commercial activities at the historic light sta22 tion, any part thereof, or in conjunction with

23 any associated historic artifact, without ap24 proval of the Secretary; or
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1 ‘‘(F) at least 30 days before the reversion,

2 the Administrator provides written notice to the

3 owner that the historic light station or any part

4 thereof is needed for national security purposes.

5 ‘‘(d) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—

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

7 description of any historic light station conveyed

8 under this section. The Administrator, in consulta9 tion with the Commandant and the Secretary, may

10 retain all right, title, and interest of the United

11 States in and to any historical artifact, including

12 any lens or lantern, that is associated with the his13 toric light station and located at the light station at

14 the time of conveyance. Wherever possible, such his15 torical artifacts should be used in interpreting that

16 station. In cases where there is no method for pre17 serving lenses and other artifacts and equipment in

18 situ, priority should be given to preservation or mu19 seum entities most closely associated with the sta20 tion, if they meet loan requirements.

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

22 at, the historic light station at the time of convey23 ance shall remain the personal property of the

24 United States under the administrative control of

25 the Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard.
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1 ‘‘(3) All conditions placed with the quitclaim

2 deed of title to the historic light station shall be con3 strued as covenants running with the land.

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

5 under this section.

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

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

8 ‘historic light station’ includes the light tower, light9 house, keepers dwelling, garages, storage sheds, oil

10 house, fog signal building, boat house, barn, pump11 house, tramhouse support structures, piers, walk12 ways, underlying and appurtenant land and related

13 real property and improvements associated there14 with; provided that the ‘historic light station’ shall

15 be included in or eligible for inclusion in the Na16 tional Register of Historic Places.

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en18 tity’ shall mean:

19 ‘‘(A) any department or agency of the Fed20 eral Government; or

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

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

24 in which the historic light station is located,
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1 nonprofit corporation, educational agency, or

2 community development organization that—

3 (i) has agreed to comply with the con4 ditions set forth in subsection (c) and to

5 have such conditions recorded with the

6 deed of title to the historic light station;

7 and

8 (ii) is financially able to maintain the

9 historic light station in accordance with

10 the conditions set forth in subsection (c).

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

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

13 operated and maintained by the United States, ex14 ternal to a vessel or aircraft, intended to assist a

15 navigator to determine position or safe course, or to

16 warn of dangers or obstructions to navigation, and

17 shall include, but not be limited to, a light, lens, lan18 tern, antenna, sound signal, camera, sensor, elec19 tronic navigation equipment, power source, or other

20 associated equipment.

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

22 the Secretary of the Interior.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. SALE OF HISTORIC LIGHT STATIONS.

2 Title III of the National Historic Preservation Act,

3 16 U.S.C. 470w—470w–6, is amended by adding at the

4 end the following new section:

5 ‘‘§ 309. Historic light station sales

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

7 conveyance of a historic light station pursuant to section

8 308, the historic light station shall be offered for sale.

9 Terms of such sales shall be developed by the Adminis10 trator of General Services and consistent with the require11 ments of section 308, subparagraphs (c)(1)(A)–(D),

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

13 shall include all necessary covenants to protect the histor14 ical integrity of the historic light station and ensure that

15 any Federal aid to navigation located at the historic light

16 station is operated and maintained by the United States

17 for as long as needed for that purpose.

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

19 light station:

20 ‘‘(1) located on public domain lands shall be

21 transferred to the National Maritime Heritage Grant

22 Program, established by the National Maritime Her23 itage Act of 1994, Public Law 103–451, within the

24 Department of the Interior; and

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

26 Coast Guard shall be credited to the Coast Guard’s
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1 Operating Expenses appropriation account, and shall

2 be available for obligation and expenditure for the

3 maintenance of light stations remaining under the

4 administrative control of the Coast Guard, such

5 funds to remain available until expended; provided

6 further, that such funds shall be available in addi7 tion to funds available in the Operating Expense ap8 propriation for this purpose.

9 SEC. 4. FUNDING.

10 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the

11 Secretary of the Interior such sums as may be necessary

12 to carry out this Act.

Æ