National Historic Historic Lighth Lighthouseouse Preservation Preservation Act 2009Act 2009 Program Highlights Report Program2009 ProgramProgram Highlights Highlights Highlights Report Report Report National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act 2009 Program Highlights Report National Historic Historic Lighth Lighthouseouse Preservation Preservation Act 2009Act 2009 Program Highlights Report Program2009 ProgramProgram Highlights Highlights Highlights Report Report Report NHLPA Program Overview to attend a site visit on a date set by the GSA and the USCG. Applicants have 90 days to complete the application and return it to the NPS after the The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation site visit. Act of 2000 (NHLPA), P.L. 106-355 amended the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 The NPS evaluates the applications received from (NHPA). The Department of Homeland interested parties and determines the most suitable Security‟s United States Coast Guard (the USCG), applicant for each historic property. Subsequently, the Department of Interior‟s National Park the Secretary of the Interior notifies the GSA of Service (the NPS), and the General Services its recommended steward, or informs the GSA Administration (the GSA) implement the NHLPA that there were no suitable applicants for the through a unique federal partnership aimed at property. The GSA proceeds to convey preserving the historic and cultural significance of ownership of the property to the selected steward America‟s historic light stations. According to (Figure 1). the NHLPA, the term „historic light station‟ includes the “light tower, lighthouse, keepers In the event that there are no responses to the dwelling, garages, storage sheds, oil house, fog NOA, no applicants, or no suitable applicant, the signal building, boat house, barn, pumphouse, GSA conducts a sale of the property consistent tramhouse support structures, piers, walkways, with the NHLPA‟s public sale provisions. underlying and appurtenant land and related real Figure 1: NHLPA Process Flowchart property and improvements associated therewith.” USCG Identifies USCG Sends GSA Excess Historic GSA Issues NOA Report of Excess The NHLPA gives priority to public bodies and Lighthouses non-profit organizations to acquire a historic light NO Public Sale station at no-cost (i.e. conveyed without monetary (60-Days) Eligible Expressions of Interest? GSA Forwards Eligible GSA Schedules Site consideration) through a competitive application YES Expressions of Interest to Visit with NPS & process administered by the NPS. If no steward is NPS USCG identified through this process, the NHLPA NO Public Sale Final Applications Due Applications authorizes the GSA to conduct a public sale of the 90 Days after Site Visit Submitted to NPS? NPS Reviews YES light station. Application(s) NO Public Sale Overview of the NHLPA Process DOI Recommends Single Applicant to GSA? GSA Conveys to YES Recommended The USCG identifies which historic light stations Steward are excess to its needs and submits a Report of Excess (ROE) for each light station to the GSA. National NHLPA Program Many of the excess light stations reported to date Accomplishments are active Aids to Navigation (ATONs). Since the enactment of the NHLPA in 2000, 58 The GSA announces the availability of the light stations have been conveyed to new public historic light station to federal, state and local and private stewards for other uses through no- government organizations and non-profit cost transfers to public bodies and non-profit organizations through the issuance of a Notice of organizations, and public sales. Of the 58 historic Availability (NOA). Interested parties have 60 light stations conveyed, 43 light stations were days to submit a letter expressing interest in conveyed through no-cost transfers, and 15 light stations were sold to private entities (Table 1). applying for the light station. Table 1: Total No-Cost Transfers, and Public Sales The NPS forwards the NHLPA application to all No-Cost Transfers 43 eligible entities that expressed interest during the Public Sales 15 NOA period. Applicants are given an opportunity Total 58 Page 1 May 2010 National Historic Historic Lighth Lighthouseouse Preservation Preservation Act 2009Act 2009 Program Highlights Report Program2009 ProgramProgram Highlights Highlights Highlights Report Report Report See Appendix A for a summary of the light for-profit organizations. Approximately 37% of stations that have been conveyed in the NHLPA light stations were conveyed to State and Local Program as of May, 2010. The number of no-cost governments; and two light stations were transfers and public sales peaked in 2006, when conveyed to other Federal agencies, specifically 11 light stations were transferred under the thePublic NPS Benefitand U.S. Conveyances Fish and Wildlife and Public Service. Sales by NHLPA Program (Figure 2). There has been a Type of Organization reduction of annual conveyances since 2006 due Figure 4: No-Cost Transfers and Public Sales by to outstanding environmental and state Grantee bottomlands issues. Federal Transfer 3% Figure 2: No-Cost Transfers and Public Sales Public Sales 26% Local Government Total 2 21% 58 15 12 Year 2010 2 Year 2009 7 Year 2008 7 4 State Government Year 2007 5 7% 25 Year 2006 11 Year 2005 9 Year 2004 9 Not-for-Profit 43% Year 2003 2 Year 2002 6 Light station grantees have used the light stations The 58 conveyed light stations are located in 20 in many creative ways to comply with conditions states, with the majority concentrated in the Great of conveyance under the NHLPA Program. For Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast Regions example, the St. Augustine Lighthouse, which (Figure 3). was conveyed to the St. Augustine Light and Public Benefit Conveyances and Public Sales Museum, Inc. in 2002, is used to educate visitors Figure 3: No-Cost Transfersby and State Public Sales by State about its rich archeological and maritime history. Others They coordinate a Keepers‟ Program, which Washington 8 Michigan 2 9 allows individuals to learn day-to-day operations Rhode Island for administering a historic light station. 2 Ohio 3 Most of the light stations conveyed to date Georgia Maryland 2 8 continue to operate as ATONs. In these cases, Delaware access is reserved in the deed for the USCG to 2 maintain and operate the ATON. In addition, California 2 some of the light stations were conveyed with the original Fresnel lens, which are considered iconic Virginia Maine 4 and symbolic artifacts to light stations enthusiasts 6 Alaska and historians. New York 4 6 Information about specific light stations in the No-cost transfers have been more frequent than NHLPA Program is available at: public sales in the NHLPA Program. The ratio of no-cost transfers to public sales has been http://www.nps.gov/maritime/ltsum.htm approximately 3:1 (Figure 4). Of the 43 light stations that have been transferred at no-cost, the majority of light stations were conveyed to not- Page 2 May 2010 National Historic Historic Lighth Lighthouseouse Preservation Preservation Act 2009Act 2009 Program Highlights Report Program2009 ProgramProgram Highlights Highlights Highlights Report Report Report 2009 NHLPA Program Recommendations from the Secretary of the Interior To The GSA Accomplishments In 2009, the Secretary of the Interior made six Historic Bottomlands Lease Agreement in the recommendations on light stations under the State of Michigan NHLPA Program to the GSA. Four The USCG asserts that it relinquishes its federal recommendations were for no-cost transfers to right of navigational servitude over state-owned designated public entities, and two bottomlands upon the conveyance of an offshore recommendations were for no suitable applicants light station out of federal ownership. With the which led to public sales. Four recommendations exception of light stations resting on coastal of the NPS to the Secretary are pending approvals structures owned and maintained by the U.S. from the Secretary (Figure 5). See Appendix B for Army Corps of Engineers, the new steward must the names and states of the light stations for which enter into an occupancy agreement with the state recommendations have been made. holding fee ownership of the bottomlands beneath Figure 5: Status of 2009 NPS Recommendations the light station. Without such legal occupancy, the new steward could be found trespassing on the state‟s bottomlands. The USCG and the GSA have worked with agencies in several states including Ohio, New York, and Rhode Island to ensure successful conveyance of light stations resting on bottomlands. A similar development occurred recently in the state of Michigan, when the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance (MLA) reached historic bottomlands lease agreements that will facilitate the conveyance of offshore light stations in that state. Specifically, the groups negotiated rights of occupancy for Detour Reef No-Cost Transfers Lighthouse and Harbor Beach Lighthouse, to a local non-profit organization and a local In 2009, the GSA conveyed five historic light government, respectively. stations to not-for-profit organizations (Table 2). Agreements for these two light stations were These light stations were transferred at no-cost to reached in November 2009, after many years of the new stewards for public use purposes. negotiations to ensure protection of the state bottomlands, and preservation of the light stations NHLPA Section 308 (c) Part 1 Subpart E requires that occupy the