§305104 Terms of Conveyance

Summary

When a historic light station is given to a nonfederal owner, the transfer must include rules to protect navigation aids and the site’s historic use. The rules cover 8 kinds of things, including that Federal navigation aids stay U.S. property and can be removed, replaced, or installed by the United States; the new owner must not interfere with those aids and must allow U.S. crews to enter without notice to operate or inspect them; the new owner must keep and pay for the site’s upkeep following the Secretary of the Interior’s historic rules and get approval for changes; the site must be open to the public for education, park, recreation, cultural, or historic preservation purposes at reasonable times; and the owner cannot sell, encumber, or run commercial activities at the site or with artifacts like lenses or lanterns without the Secretary’s approval. The new owner is not required to maintain Federal aids except for any private aid the owner is allowed under section 83 of title 14. The transfer must also say the property or artifacts can revert to the United States, at the Administrator’s choice, for 6 reasons: the site stops being available to the public as promised; it is no longer kept so it can host a Federal aid to navigation; it is not maintained under the required historic rules and laws; it is sold or encumbered without Secretary approval; commercial activity happens without Secretary approval; or the Administrator gives the owner at least 30 days’ written notice that the site is needed for national security. If someone who earlier got the light station from the federal government wants to convey it to someone else, the Secretary will review the new owner’s ability to follow the original conditions and can require information. If the new owner cannot comply, the Secretary will tell the Administrator, who can invoke reversionary rights or take other action to protect U.S. interests.