FINDING: Agencies that have already used Section 106 program alternatives were able to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of project reviews. Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act has had and will continue to have a significant impact for federal agencies that manage property and approve major infrastructure projects that may cross or fall within these properties, such as pipelines, transmission lines, and communication facilities. Commitments by the Administration to advance energy development mean that more infrastructure projects will likely occur on federal land. In its oversight of the Section 106 review process, the ACHP can, and has, played an important role in advising on program improvements for infrastructure and informing federal policy on improving environmental reviews. Customizing Section 106 reviews for complex infrastructure projects and programs can improve the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and predictability of these reviews. While some agencies have utilized such tailored alternatives for transportation and communication programs, few program alternatives have been established for pipeline and transmission projects and other major infrastructure sectors. Opportunities for the ACHP to collaborate with federal agencies on establishing program improvements and alternatives have been significantly enhanced by the ACHP’s membership on the Permitting Council. Recommendations: ›› Agencies should strengthen and expand the use of Section 106 program alternatives to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of project review for energy and infrastructure projects affecting historic properties on federal lands. ›› The Administration should continue to include the ACHP in policy level workgroups to identify ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of environmental reviews for infrastructure projects while promoting effective historic preservation outcomes. ›› The ACHP should continue outreach to industry, state and tribal officials, and other key stakeholders to identify and implement effective opportunities for improving Section 106 reviews for infrastructure projects. ›› Agencies should identify opportunities to improve coordination, collaboration, and support for the role of State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers in Section 106 reviews on infrastructure projects. FINDING: Efforts to identify historic properties and ensure that consistent information about historic property inventory efforts are made available electronically can better inform and improve real property management and federal and non-federal planning. As illustrated in Chapters 2 and 3, there are a multitude of property management databases within federal agencies and State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices. While the FRPP was intended to be a single government-wide inventory and tracking system for the government’s real property, it has not been used as a stewardship tool and likely lacks the attributes to function as such. Neither federal building nor land managing agencies’ Section 3 reports note a movement to its increased use as the mechanism to track sufficiently detailed
56 | IN A SPIRIT OF STEWARDSHIP: A REPORT ON FEDERAL HISTORIC PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 2018
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