To amend section 7 of Public Law 100-515 (16 U.S.C. 1244 note) to promote continued use of the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Gateway National Recreation Area by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 477 To amend section 7 of Public Law 100–515 (16 U.S.C. 1244 note) to promote continued use of the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Labora- tory at Gateway National Recreation Area by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 10, 2019 Mr. PALLONE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend section 7 of Public Law 100–515 (16 U.S.C. 1244 note) to promote continued use of the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Gateway Na- tional Recreation Area by the National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administration. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. TRANSFER OF THE JAMES J. HOWARD MARINE 3 SCIENCES LABORATORY. 4 Section 7 of Public Law 100–515 (16 U.S.C. 1244 5 note) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting 6 the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H477.IH H477 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 477 IH ‘‘(b) TRANSFER FROM THE STATE TO THE NA- 1 TIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 3 provision of law, or the provisions of the August 13, 4 1991, Ground Lease Agreement (‘Lease’) between 5 the Department of the Interior and the State of New 6 Jersey (‘State’), upon notice to the National Park 7 Service, the State may transfer without consider- 8 ation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 9 Administration may accept, all State improvements 10 within the land assignment and right of way, includ- 11 ing the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Labora- 12 tory (‘Laboratory’), two parking lots, and the sea- 13 water supply and backflow pipes as generally de- 14 picted on the map entitled ‘Gateway National Recre- 15 ation Area, James J. Howard Marine Science Lab- 16 oratory Land Assignment’, numbered 646/142,581A, 17 and dated April 2018 (‘Map’) and any related State 18 personal property. 19 ‘‘(2) LEASE AMENDMENT.—Upon the transfer 20 authorized in paragraph (1), the Lease shall be 21 amended to exclude any obligations of the State and 22 the Department of the Interior related to the Lab- 23 oratory and associated property and improvements 24 transferred to the National Oceanic and Atmos- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H477.IH H477 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 477 IH pheric Administration. However, all obligations of 1 the State to rehabilitate Building 74 and modify 2 landscaping on the surrounding property as depicted 3 on the Map, under the Lease and pursuant to sub- 4 section (a), shall remain in full force and effect. 5 ‘‘(3) USE BY THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT- 6 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.—Upon the transfer 7 authorized in paragraph (1), the Administrator of 8 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- 9 tion is authorized to use the land generally depicted 10 on the Map as a land assignment and right of way 11 and associated land and appurtenances for continued 12 use of the Laboratory, including providing mainte- 13 nance and repair, and access to the Laboratory, the 14 parking lots and the seawater supply and back flow 15 pipes, without consideration, except for reimburse- 16 ment to the National Park Service of agreed upon 17 reasonable actual costs of subsequently provided 18 goods and services. 19 ‘‘(4) AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NATIONAL 20 PARK SERVICE AND THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 21 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.—Upon the transfer 22 authorized in paragraph (1), the Director of the Na- 23 tional Park Service and the Administrator of the 24 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H477.IH H477 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 477 IH shall enter into an agreement addressing responsibil- 1 ities pertaining to the use of the land assignment 2 within the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway Na- 3 tional Recreation Area as authorized in paragraph 4 (3). The agreement shall prohibit any new construc- 5 tion on this land, permanent or nonpermanent, or 6 significant alteration to the exterior of the Labora- 7 tory, without National Park Service approval. 8 ‘‘(5) RESTORATION.— 9 ‘‘(A) Notwithstanding any provision of the 10 Lease to the contrary, if the State does not 11 transfer the improvements as authorized in 12 paragraph (1), and these improvements are not 13 used as or in support of a marine science lab- 14 oratory, the State shall demolish and remove 15 the improvements and restore the land in ac- 16 cordance with the standards set forth by the 17 National Park Service, free of unacceptable en- 18 cumbrances and in compliance with all applica- 19 ble laws and regulations regarding known con- 20 taminants. 21 ‘‘(B) If the National Oceanic and Atmos- 22 pheric Administration accepts the improvements 23 as authorized in paragraph (1) and these im- 24 provements are not used as or in support of a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H477.IH H477 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 477 IH marine science laboratory, the National Oceanic 1 and Atmospheric Administration shall be re- 2 sponsible for demolishing and removing these 3 improvements and restoring the land, in accord- 4 ance with the standards set forth by the Na- 5 tional Park Service, free of unacceptable en- 6 cumbrances and in compliance with all applica- 7 ble laws and regulations regarding known con- 8 taminants.’’. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Jan 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H477.IH H477 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS