FINDING #3
In 2020, the ACHP published a chart on its website to assist federal agencies and the public in the development, implementation, and understanding of several types of program alternatives. This was followed in 2022 by a guide to help federal agencies considering a program alternative, titled Goal Statement Questions for Program Alternative Development, based on the recommendations from the panel focused on program comments. These questions prompt the agency to develop a goal statement that can be useful in documenting the need for and benefits of a program alternative to assist it in meeting the requirements of Section 106. Both of the tools serve to make the process of seeking a program alternative clearer and more consistent for agencies.
The ACHP also addressed the importance of partnerships and job creation, which have been a highlight of Section 3 reporting since its inception. The 2021 Report to the President recognized that partnerships can leverage limited federal resources and provide important benefits to federal agencies in the identification, protection, and use of historic properties. During the last three years, the ACHP has encouraged federal agency partnerships with preservation stakeholders in its approach to major preservation issues identified by federal land and property managing agencies in the last reporting cycle. As mentioned above, the ACHP’s Digital Information Task Force emphasized data exchange between federal agencies and state, Tribal, and local governments in considering how to increase the availability of historic properties survey data to project planning, and the ACHP’s Leveraging Federal Historic Buildings Working Group considered how federal-to-federal partnerships, as well as those between private developers and federal agencies, can help ensure the long-term preservation of federally owned historic buildings. Most recently, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, of which the ACHP is a member, announced the availability of $5 million to federally recognized Tribes to enhance Tribal engagement in the environmental review and authorization process for Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41) covered projects to make project review more timely and efficient. The funding comes from appropriations in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to the FAST-41 Environmental Review Improvement Fund (ERIF).
FINDING #5
The final finding underscores the importance of collaboration with Indian Tribes and NHOs in property management activities and infrastructure planning. The ACHP’s work over the reporting period supports the goals of a variety of the Biden Administration’s initiatives and priorities, such as the Indigenous Sacred Sites Memorandum of Understanding, the Department of the Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, and the recently released Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Indigenous Knowledge. This work has included adopting a Policy Statement on Burial Sites, Human Remains, and Funerary Objects and incorporating the concerns of Tribes, NHOs, and other Indigenous Peoples into the ACHP’s climate change and housing policy statements. ACHP staff have also continued to assist other federal agencies to advance issues of importance to Tribes and NHOs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACHP published advice to federal agencies, encouraging them to be flexible and give consideration to conditions affecting the ability of Tribes and NHOs to respond within the typical regulatory timeframes, recognizing the vital and legal role of government-to-government consultation in the identification and protection of historic properties. The spread of COVID-19 led to the closure or disruption of many governmental offices nationwide, including those of Tribal governments. Despite the difficulties Tribes and federal agencies were facing due to the pandemic, adequate consultation still had to be carried out, even with Tribes whose offices were closed or short-staffed. ACHP advice encouraged federal agencies to reach out to Tribes and be creative in approaches to consultation and consider temporarily turning to virtual meetings. The advice recommended that agencies acknowledge the hardships a Tribe may be encountering because of the pandemic and inquiring about ways the agency may be able to assist. This unprecedented event nevertheless demonstrated the benefit of developing and maintaining close working relationships between federal agencies and Tribes.
FINDING #4
The ACHP also identified the increased use of program alternatives as a means for improving the efficiency and cost effectiveness of project review for infrastructure projects affecting historic properties on federal lands. Over the last three years, the ACHP has worked with numerous agencies to evaluate, develop, and implement programmatic approaches to property management and infrastructure project review, including the following: the ACHP’s Exemption Regarding Historic Preservation Review Process for Undertakings Involving Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) (2022); the ACHP’s Exemption from Historic Preservation Review for General Services Administration Routine Operations and Maintenance (2023); and the Department of the Army’s Program Comment for Army Vietnam War Era Historic Housing, Associated Buildings and Structures, and Landscape Features (1963-1975) (2023). The EVSE and the General Services Administration’s (GSA) exemptions are the first to be approved by the ACHP in 17 years. The ACHP itself was the proponent for the EVSE exemption, which can be used by any federal agency that has a project that fits the criteria within the exemption. As of the publication of this report, ACHP staff are working with federal agencies on more program alternatives than ever before. Program alternatives in development are discussed further in Chapter 2. In order to improve the use of program comments, which is another form of program alternative available in the Section 106 regulations, the ACHP formed a panel of its members in November 2022 to carry out a review of their development and use. The panel considered the successes and challenges key stakeholders have had in developing and using program comments and issued recommendations in September 2021 identifying actions the ACHP can take to improve the use of program comments as a tool for Section 106 review efficiency.
14
IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A Report on Federal Historic Properties • 2024 | 15
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker