Resolve, Authorizing the State To Convey to the Passamaquoddy Tribe the State's Interest in a Parcel of Land in the Town of Meddybemps
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1921
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: O'NEIL, MOORE, NEWELL

Legislative Document
No. 1921
H.P. 1429
House of Representatives, January 14, 2022
Resolve, Authorizing the State To Convey to the Passamaquoddy 
Tribe the State's Interest in a Parcel of Land in the Town of 
Meddybemps
Received by the Clerk of the House on January 12, 2022.  Referred to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative O'NEIL of Saco.  (GOVERNOR'S BILL)
Cosponsored by Senator MOORE of Washington and
Representative: NEWELL of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
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 1.08 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 2679, Page 152.
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 1.08-acre 
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.
The resolve allows the Passamaquoddy Tribe to take ownership of the parcel of 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.