The Department of the Interior can improve the federal permitting process by ensuring adequate funding for SHPOs and THPOs, maintaining staff levels and providing training, and encouraging the use of programmatic approaches to Section 106, according to public comments ACRA has filed with the agency.
ACRA’s comments are in response to Interior’s May 20 request for information (RFI), which seek feedback from the public to help it “in identifying existing regulations that can be modified or repealed, consistent with applicable law, to ensure that DOI administrative actions do not undermine the national interest and that DOI achieves a meaningful reduction in regulatory burdens while continuing to meet statutory obligations, advance American energy independence, and ensure the responsible stewardship of the Nation’s public lands and resources.”
The RFI notes that it is part of the Department’s implementation of recent executive orders and other directives from President Trump, including the January 20 executive order that declared an energy emergency, that, according to the RFI, “seek to deconstruct the regulatory burden that has been self-imposed on our Nation’s interests.”
In its comments, ACRA said that Section 106 and its accompanying regulations “provide a clear, consistent roadmap to enable projects to move forward while considering their impact on the country’s cultural heritage. They provide a multitude of ways to make the process more efficient, like programmatic agreements and program comments. Consultation is the key to Section 106 as it gives all interested parties, including citizens, a voice in the process – most vitally Tribal nations, to whom the federal government has a government-to-government trust responsibility. The Section 106 process as established in statute and the regulations promotes open collaboration among stakeholders so that any conflicts are addressed early in the process. This early engagement typically results in the swift approval of the majority of infrastructure projects.
Stating that “the federal permitting process can be faster and more efficient,” ACRA offered three recommendations to the Department:
Ensuring funding for SHPO/THPOs. Highlighting the fact that SHPOs and THPOs are on the front lines of project review, ACRA urged the Department to issue a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for fiscal year 2025, which the Department has yet to do; and calls on the Department to support adequate funding for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) in fiscal year 2026, notwithstanding the administration’s proposal to eliminate nearly all HPF funding next year.
Ensure adequate staff levels and provide staff with training. Expressing concern about reductions in staff at the Department, ACRA’s comments point out that “[a]ny regulatory framework is only as good as the people tasked with implementing it. ACRA urges the Department to “carefully consider the impact that RIFs have on its ability to carry out congressionally authorized duties and ensure that staff are sufficiently trained in regulatory processes so that projects are carried out both efficiently and in accordance with the law.”
Encourage the use of programmatic approaches. Citing a recent programmatic agreement between federal transportation agencies and Connecticut, ACRA urges the Department to “use such tools, which already are available under the existing regulations, to strike the right balance between building the infrastructure we need and protecting and preserving our nation’s irreplaceable heritage.”
The Department has extended the public comment period for the RFI until July 21. Click here to submit a comment.