Page 55 - Highway Engineering Handbook Building and Rehabilitating the Infrastructure

38 CHAPTER ONE

highway project, (2) the FWS, and (3) the state agency responsible for protecting wildlife
resources whenever the waters of any stream or other body of water are proposed to be
impounded, diverted, or otherwise modified. Full consideration and evaluation of the costs
and benefits on a resource and public welfare must be performed including proposed miti-
gation measures for potential impacts.

Section 6(f) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965. 16 USC 460-4 to -11,
Public Law 88-578, protects public recreational land developed using federal funds under
this act. Replacement lands converted to nonrecreational uses must be approved by the
Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

1.4.5 Federal Requirements Protecting Significant
Historical and Cultural Resources

National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The purpose of the NHPA is to protect the
historical and cultural foundations of the nation. The NHPA created the Advisory Council
on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and provides for the review of federal projects that may
affect a significant historic site. Section 106 of the NHPA requires all federal agencies to
take into account the effects of their actions on significant historic properties. In the Section
106 process, a federal agency must identify affected historic properties, evaluate the effects
of an action on such properties, and explore ways to avoid or mitigate those effects.
The NHPA established a partnership with the states, as administered through State
Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs) appointed by the governor of each state, to estab-
lish a statewide cultural resources preservation program tailored to state and local needs.
The federal agency often conducts the Section 106 process with the ACHP, SHPOs, repre-
sentatives of Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, and other interested parties.
On large projects, a programmatic agreement (PA) or a memorandum of agreement
(MOA) is often needed. A PA clarifies roles, responsibilities, and expectations of all par-
ties engaged in federal projects that may have an effect on a historic property. An MOA
specifies the mitigation measures that the lead federal agency must take to ensure the pro-
tection of a property’s historic values.
While the NHPA is the principal federal law concerning the preservation of significant
historic resources, there are other statutes that relate to various aspects of the federal his-
toric preservation program. These range from the protection of archeological sites on fed-
eral lands, to the recognition of properties of traditional cultural or religious significance to
Native Americans. These include
• Archeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974 (AHPA)
• Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA)
• American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (AIRFA)
• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA)
The ACHP has established implementing regulations for the protection of historic prop-
erties (36 CFR 800). These procedures must be followed for federal undertakings. An
undertaking is defined as any project, activity, or program that can result in changes in the
character or use of historic properties, if any such historic properties are located in a defined
area of potential effects (APE).
Under these procedures, an opportunity for early public involvement must be provided
for federal actions during the phase of the project development process. For categorically
excluded projects, when properties eligible for inclusion on the National Register of