The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)

What is the National Historic Preservation Act?

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) is our country’s policy for the protection of important historic buildings and archeological sites. The NHPA establishes the following:

1. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation: A non-regulatory council that advises on historic preservation issues and develops guidance and policies for federal implementation of the Act.
   
   
2. State Historic Preservation Offices: A state agency that maintains a historic site inventory, nominates new NRHP sites, and participates in Section 106 review.
   
   
3. National Register of Historic Places: The nation's official list of historic sites, buildings, districts, structures, and objects that qualify for national preservation.
   
   
4. The Section 106 review process: Requires federal agencies to evaluate the impacts of actions they authorize, fund, or carry out to historic properties and cultural resources

Learn More about the National Historic Preservation Act here >>

A Brief History of the NHPA

Prior to the 1960’s, awareness around historic preservation in the U.S. was largely nonexistent except for a couple of efforts that paved the way for comprehensive preservation in the future. Those early preservation efforts included the following:

• Antiquities Act of 1906: President Teddy Roosevelt signed this Act, which established national monuments
  
  
• Historic Sites Act of 1935: Established national policies for historic site inventories and organized national parks under the National Parks Service
  
  
• National Trust for Historic Preservation: A trust established by Congress to acquire and preserve historic sites and objects

Then things changes with the implementation of the Interstate Highway System and the Urban Renewal Program in the 1950s and 1960s, which led to widespread destruction of many historic properties and districts. This destruction increased public awareness around the cultural effects of urban renewal.  In response, the NHPA was passed by President Johnson in 1966. 

What is the Section 106 Review Process?

Section 106 of the NHPA requires federal agencies to evaluate the impacts of actions they authorize, fund, or carry out to historic properties and cultural resources. Federal agencies evaluate their impacts by requiring their project proponents to undergo Section 106 Review with the State Historic Preservation Office to ensure that there are no impacts to sites that are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The important distinction in Section 106 is that it requires evaluation of impacts to cultural resources ONLY when and where the project involves a federal permit, federal lands, or federal funds.

So, for example, if a project is impacting wetlands within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ jurisdiction (federal trigger: Clean Water Act Section 404), cultural resources must be evaluated at the discrete wetland location (which is the extent of USACE jurisdiction) but not in the non-regulated private uplands. In this same example, if a project was to avoid all impacts to wetlands (and other waters of the U.S.) and thereby avoiding USACE permitting altogether, then the project would NOT require Section 106 review since there is no federal trigger. Or, as another example: if a project is federally-funded (federal trigger: funding) up to 100 percent of the project may have to be assessed for cultural resources because the entire project is within a federal action.

Learn more about Section 106 Review here >>

How Do I Know if Section 106 Applies to My Project?

Want to find out if Section 106 or state regulations apply to your project, or find next steps to walk through the Section 106 process?  Transect Reports can help.

Learn more about Transect Reports here >>