SUBJECT: The Regulatory Program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Sacramento District (USACE) proposes to develop a programmatic agreement (PA) as a program alternative for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act within the State of Utah. This notice is to inform interested parties of the proposed PA development and to solicit comments.
AUTHORITY: In accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (Section 106) (codified at 54 U.S.C. § 306108), and all applicable regulations, and consistent with 36 CFR § 800.14(b), the Corps Districts propose to develop a PA as an alternative procedure for Section 106 compliance.
LOCATION: The proposed PA would apply to undertakings administered under the Regulatory Program in the State of Utah for which the Corps is the lead federal agency for compliance with Section 106. The proposed PA would exclude undertakings that occur on or affect tribal lands, as defined in 36 CFR § 800.16(x), unless the affected tribe requests in writing to have the proposed project considered in accordance with the PA.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Each year, the Corps completes consultation with the Utah State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) on undertakings subsequently authorized under the Regulatory Program. To ensure compliance with Section 106, reduce agency workload and increase efficiency and consistency within the Regulatory Program, the USACE seeks to develop alternative procedures under a state-wide Program-level PA with the SHPO and Advisory Council on Historic Properties (ACHP). Our goal is to reduce the overall permit application review times for activities subject to Department of the Army (DA) authorization by accomplishing the objectives of Section 106 in a more flexible and expeditious manner.
The following is a proposed framework of actions to be included in the proposed PA.
- Exclusion from consultation with the SHPO on a project-by-project basis regarding a finding of “no historic properties affected” when there are no identified cultural resources within the Corps’ area of potential effect (APE) and the following conditions are met:
(a) Completion of a defined minimum level of effort regarding cultural resource identification;
(b) Consultation with appropriate interested and consulting parties, including but not limited to federally-recognized tribes;
(c) Internal review of a “no historic properties affected” determination by a person meeting specified qualifications and appropriate documentation of such review; and
(d) Submittal of an annual report to SHPO summarizing the covered activities.
- Exclusion from consultation with the SHPO on a project-by-project basis regarding a finding of “no historic properties affected” when there are historic properties and/or potential historic properties identified within the Corps’ APE, but the historic properties will not be affected and the following conditions are met:
(a) Completion of a defined minimum level of effort regarding cultural resource identification;
(b) Consultation with appropriate interested and consulting parties, including but not limited to federally-recognized tribes;
(c) Appropriate avoidance measures are included in the project proposal to ensure avoidance of any identified historic properties and/or potential historic properties;
(d) Internal review of “no historic properties affected” determination by a person meeting specified qualifications and appropriate documentation of such review; and
(e) Submittal of an annual report to SHPO summarizing the covered activities.
- Exclusion from consultation with the SHPO on a project-by-project basis regarding a finding of “no adverse effect” for a defined list of activities on a defined list of historic property types (e.g., trenching through a historic-era ditch for utility line installation where the disturbed section of ditch would be returned to pre-project contours), when the following conditions are met:
(a) Completion of a defined minimum level of effort regarding cultural resource identification;
(b) Consultation with appropriate interested and consulting parties, including but not limited to federally-recognized tribes;
(c) Appropriate minimization measures and post-construction reporting measures are included in the project authorization to ensure effects to historic properties are minimized;
(d) Internal review of “no adverse effect” determination by a person meeting specified qualifications and appropriate documentation of such review; and
(e) Submittal of an annual report to SHPO summarizing the covered activities.
CONSIDERATION OF COMMENTS: The benefit, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the use of the proposed PA, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. USACE is soliciting comments from the public, Federal, State, and local agencies and officials, Native American tribes, and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the potential benefits and impacts of the proposal, as well as recommendations and considerations for development of the proposed PA. Any comments received will be considered by USACE during development of the proposed PA. Comments are also used to determine the overall public interest of the proposed PA development. USACE is also interested in receiving comments related to the proposal's potential effects on overall permit application review times for activities subject to DA authorization.
SUBMITTING COMMENTS: Written comments, referencing Public Notice SPK-2020-00215 must be submitted to the office listed below on or before June 1, 2020:
Ms. Erin Hess
Cultural Resources Specialist, Regulatory Division
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District
1325 J Street, Room 1350
Sacramento, CA 95814-2922
Email: Erin.E.Hess@usace.army.mil
Please note that all comment letters received are subject to release to the public through the Freedom of Information Act. If you have questions or need additional information please contact the Ms. Hess at the address above.