Surface Transportation Reauthorization

Current Issues in Historic Preservation

Surface Transportation Reauthorization

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed into law on August 10, 2005.

Background

The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the successor bill to Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), expired on October 1, 2003. TEA-21 authorizes federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit that enable communities and regions to achieve broad public objectives. Historic preservation has benefited tremendously under both ISTEA and TEA-21 through the Scenic Byways Program and the Transportation Enhancements Program.

In November of 2003, the House of Representatives and the Senate tooks steps to enact a bill to reauthorize TEA-21 - since expiring, TEA-21 has been operating under several extensions. The reauthorization is intended to set funding levels and transportation policy for the next six years and will address the Transportation Enhancements Program, the National Register eligibility of the Interstate Highway System, and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The Senate introduced S.1072 - the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transortation Equity Act (SAFETEA) - which calls for $318 billion, and the House introduced H.R. 3550 - the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA-LU) - which calls for $284 billion. Both bills exceed the $256 billion amount set forth by the Administration in May of 2003.

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Historic Preservation Concerns

Of greatest importance to preservationists is the treatment of historic resources under Section 4(f), which varies in each version of the bill. The Senate has opted to narrow the activities exempt from 4(f) by restricting satisfaction to those activities that are defined as having "no adverse effect" under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The House bill also uses the "no adverse effect" standard. Unlike the Senate bill, though, it does not provide for written consent by the SHPOs, nor is there an explicit call for public participation. The House bill also appears to use a different definition of "no adverse effect" than is currently applied under Section 106.

Also of concern is the possibility that funding for the popular Transportation Enhancements Program may be threatened if the House and Senate need to trim the cost of their bills. Currently, each bill keeps funding for this program intact.

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Historic Preservation Reaction

In preparation for the 2004 House-Senate Committe Conference, the NCSHPO, Preservation Action (PA), and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (Trust) prepared a joint letter to conferees outlining their specific concerns. The letter urged conferees to:

Adopt the Senate bill language regarding amendments to Section 4(f), noting that the Senate language would both streamline historic preservation reviews while still maintaining long-standing legal protections for historic resources.

Adopt the House bill language that authorizes funding for SHPOs and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs) in an effort to streamline historic preservation reviews. Funding activities would include assistance with survey and documentation and GIS mapping.

Adopt the House bill language regarding the process for developing purpose and need statements as well as developing alternatives for the review of individual transportation projects.

Adopt the Senate bill language regarding the Historic Bridge Program which creates a greater financial incentive for the restoration and reuse of historic bridges.

Consider the importance of the Transportation Enhancements Program.

Object to the exemption of the Interstate Highway System from National Register eligibility and historic preservation reviews.

Click here for a copy of the joint NCSHPO/PA/Trust letter to conferees.

In addition, the NCSHPO joined with several other organizations, including PA, the Trust, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Society for American Archaeology (SAA), the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA), and the American Cultural Resources Association (ACRA) to prepare a letter regarding Section 4(f). Click here for a copy of this letter.

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Progression of the Legislation

Conferencing of the surface transportation reauthorization began on July 22, 2004. The House-Senate conference was able to agree on a six-year, $299 billion bill, however the bill failed to pass in the 108th Congress. Instead, in October of 2004, the House of Representatives passed an eight-month extension (H.R.5183) which is set to expire on May 31, 2005.

On February 9, 2005 the House of Representatives reintroduced its surface transportation reauthorization bill, the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (TEA-LU) (H.R.3). On March 2, 2005 the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved H.R.3 by a voice voice. The bill authorizes $284 billion through FY2009 and the funding mirrors the Administration's budget request that was issued in early February. On March 10, 2005 the full House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 417 to 9. The legislation can be viewed at: thomas.loc.gov and entering "H.R.3" as the bill number.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee took up the issue on March 16, 2005 and approved a $284 billion transportation reauthorization. James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 (SAFE-TEA) (S.732). The bill introduced is essentially the same as S.1072 which was passed by the Senate in the 108th Congress, with the exception that the overall funding level was changed from $318 billion over 6 years to reflect the President's proposed funding level of $284 billion.

On May 17, 2005, the full Senate passed a $295 billion transportation reauthorization. Included in the bill was the preferred language regarding Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act (see above more more info). The legislation can be viewed at: thomas.loc.gov and entering "S.732" as the bill number.

After passing the Senate, the bill moved to the House-Senate Conference Committee, which is chaired by Representative Don Young (R-AK), chairman of the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. During the week of June 6th, the House-Senate Conference Committee began negotiation of the transporation reauthorization measure.

The members of the Committee were:

House of Representatives: Don Young (R-AK), Thomas Petri (R-WI), Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Howard Coble (R-NC), John Duncan (R-TN), John Mica (R-FL), Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), Steven LaTourette (R-OH), Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Richard Baker (R-LA), Gary Miller (R-CA), Robin Hayes (R-NC), Robert Simmons (R-CT), Henry Brown (R-SC), Sam Graves (R-MO), Bill Shuster (R-PA), John Boozman (R-AR), James Oberstar (D-MN), Nick Rahall (D-WV), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Corrine Brown (D-FL), Bob Filner (D-CA), Eddie Bernice Johnson, (D-TX), Gene Taylor (D-MS), Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Ellen Tauscher(D-CA), Jim Nussle (R-IA), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), John Spratt (D-SC), John Kline (R-MN), Ric Keller (R-FL), John Barrow (D-GA), Joe Barton (R-TX), Charles Pickering (R-MS), John Dingell (D-MI), Thomas Davis (R-VA), Todd Platts (R-PA), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Christopher Cox (R-CA), Dan Lungren (R-CA), Bennie Thompson(D-MS), F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Lamar Smith (R-TX), John Conyers (D-MI), Richard Pombo (R-CA), Greg Walden (R-OR), Ron Kind (D-WI), David Dreier (R-CA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), James McGovern (D-MA), Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Dave Reichert (R-WA), Bart Gordon (D-TN), Bill Thomas (R-CA), Jim McCrery (R-LA), Charles Rangel (D-NY), and Tom Delay (R-TX).

Senate: James Inhofe (R-OK), John Warner(R-VA), Christopher Bond (R-MO), George Voinovich (R-OH), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD), Jim DeMint (R-SC) Johnny Isakson(R-GA), David Vitter (R-LA) Charles Grassley (R-IA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Wayne Allard (R-CO), Ted Stevens (R-AL), Trent Lott (R-MS) James Jeffords (I-VT), Max Baucus (D-MT), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Thomas Carper (D-DE), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Barack Obama (D-IL), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Tim Johnson (D-SD).

During the conference, several extensions were passed, enabling spending to continue. Finally, on July 29, 2005, the House and Senate agreed to a bill. The bill does incorporate the language developed by Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) that permits the satisfaction of Section 4(f) requirements only when a determination of "no adverse effect" is made under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The inclusion of this language is favorable to preservationists. In addition, the bill contains other historic preservation provisions including language exempting the federal highway system, as a whole, from eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places; however, elements of the system that possess national or exceptional historic significnace (such as a highway bridge or a highly significant engineering feature) may be exempt from this. The bill also authorizes research and educational programs related to historic bridges and grant funds of the rehabilitation of transporation-related resources.

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Latest News

On August 10, 2005, President Bush signed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) which authorizes $285 billion for transportation spending. The legislation incorporated the compromise language developed by Senator George Voinovich (R-OH).

Transportation reauthorization was just one of the issues preservationists advocated for during their 2005 Annual Meeting/Lobby Day.

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For More Information

For information regarding Surface Transporation Reauthorization, please see the NCSHPO Weekly Legislative Update (available to NCSHPO members only) and/or the Federal Highway Administration's website.

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