Preservation
Partners
Federal Agencies and Section 106
Introduction
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act (NHPA) grants legal status to historic preservation in Federal
planning, decisionmaking, and project execution.
Section 106 applies when two thresholds
are met: 1) there is a Federal or federally licensed action, including
grants, licenses, and permits; and 2) that action has the potential
to affect properties listed in or eligible for listing in the
National Register of Historic Places.
Section 106 requires all Federal agencies
to take into account the effects of their actions on historic
properties. The responsible Federal agency must consult with appropriate
State and local officials, Indian tribes, applicants for Federal
assistance, and members of the public and consider their views
and concerns about historic preservation issues when making final
project decisions.
Effects are resolved by mutual agreement,
usually among the affected State's State Historic Preservation
Officer (SHPO) or the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO),
the Federal agency, and any other involved parties. The ACHP may
participate in controversial or precedent-setting situations.
For more information on working with Section
106, click here.
Streamlining
the Section 106 Review Process
Since the 1979, federal agencies have had
the option of devising alternate procedures for implementing Section
106. The 1979 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP)
regulations defined two options: counterpart regulations and Programmatic
Agreement (PAs).
Agencies have tended to tailor the Section
106 process to their needs through agency-wide Programmatic Agreements.
Section 800.14 of the current regulations illustrate several scenarios
where agencies might pursue Section 106 responsibilities through
a PA. A number of agencies have executed PAs with the ACHP and
the NCSHPO that address a wide range of programs or undertakings.
More recently, the ACHP has expanded upon
the concept of program alternatives in its 2004 revised regulations.
The regulations promote alternative procedures, rather than focusing
on counterpart regulations. The intent of this was to remove the
impediment of requiring formal regulations to substitute for the
standard Section 106 process.
Currently, the NCSHPO is working with several
federal agencies to revise the existing PAs. These include:
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