Resolve, Authorizing the State To Convey to the Passamaquoddy Tribe the State's Interest in a Certain Parcel of Land in the Town of Meddybemps
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1560
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: MOORE

Legislative Document
No. 1560
S.P. 502
In Senate, April 22, 2021
Resolve, Authorizing the State To Convey to the Passamaquoddy 
Tribe the State's Interest in a Certain Parcel of Land in the Town of 
Meddybemps
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on April 20, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator MOORE of Washington.  (GOVERNOR'S BILL)
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Sec. 1.  Authority to convey state land.  Resolved: That, notwithstanding any 
provision of law to the contrary, the State may transfer a certain parcel of land described in 
section 2 to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, subject to such terms and conditions described in 
sections 3 to 6.
Sec. 2.  Description of land transferred.  Resolved: That the land authorized to 
be conveyed pursuant to this resolve is a parcel of land of approximately 3.2 acres located 
on the northern side of State Route 191 in Meddybemps, Washington County, described in 
a deed recorded in the Washington County Registry of Deeds, Book 2462, Page 212.
Sec. 3.  Land subject to terms and conditions.  Resolved: That the State may 
convey the parcel described in section 2 upon such terms and conditions as the 
Commissioner of Environmental Protection considers appropriate and necessary to ensure 
access to the property transferred, compliance with encumbrances of record and inclusion 
of any new restrictions determined necessary by the Department of Environmental 
Protection or the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Sec. 4.  Land to be transferred as is.  Resolved: That the land described in section 
must be transferred by release deed "as is" with no representations or warranties as to 
title, subject to any and all terms, conditions, encumbrances, restrictions and liens of record, 
including those described in section 3.
Sec. 5.  Release of liability for historical contamination.  Resolved: That the 
Passamaquoddy Tribe's compliance with the terms, conditions, encumbrances and 
restrictions described in section 3 releases the Passamaquoddy Tribe of any state 
environmental contamination claims, including natural resource damage claims, that have 
or in the future may accrue to the State or its agencies as a result of the historic 
contamination of the land by parties other than the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
Sec. 6.  Repeal.  Resolved: That sections 1 to 4 of this resolve are repealed 5 years 
from its effective date.
SUMMARY
This resolve authorizes the State to convey to the Passamaquoddy Tribe a certain parcel 
of land located on the northern side of State Route 191 in Meddybemps, Washington 
County, which is a portion of a site known as the Eastern Surplus Company Superfund site 
that has been designated a Superfund site due to the presence of hazardous substances, 
materials or wastes.
This resolve allows the Passamaquoddy Tribe to take ownership of the land without 
assuming liability for historical contamination that the tribe did not cause and permits 
continued access to the land by the State and the United States to address remaining and 
future contamination at this or nearby lands.