Congress is debating a transportation bill that will have major implications for CRM. We need your help in urging members of Congress to support provisions that help protect historic properties.
The BUILD America 250 Act would provide hundreds of billions in dollars to states for highway, transit and other transportation projects for the next five years. In the name of “project streamlining,” the bill would exempt a broad swath of transportation projects from 4(f) reviews that State DOTs must undertake to protect historic sites.
Not only would this threaten properties of historic and cultural significance; it would bypass public consultation for communities, Tribes and others. And it could invite significant litigation that will end up slowing projects.
There is a much better way to improve project delivery: programmatic agreements between state DOTs, FHWA and the ACHP. In fact, many states already use them.
That’s why ACRA and its preservation partners are urging Congress to remove the exemption and replace it with a requirement that all states enter into PAs. Instead of a one-size-fits-all exemption from Congress, PAs give each state the ability to tailor its Section 106 program to its specific needs.
The BUILD America 250 bill is making its way through Congress as we speak. Please contact your Representative today to ask them to fix the bill, so we can continue building a better transportation system while preserving our heritage.
While discussing the implications of the BUILD America 250 Act and how it affects compliance and verification processes for historic properties, I’ve been looking into how other industries handle independent compliance audits. Does the American Cultural Resources Association recommend any specific frameworks for digital data integrity during public consultations, similar to the independent auditing standards used in secure online sectors, like the ones detailed in the report at https://bdbetbdguide.com, or do we rely strictly on state-level programmatic agreements to manage data transparency?
Hi Bill –
As an organization we have not recommended any specific frameworks at this time, but we are working with other preservation organizations on such issues. We will definitely provide more information as it becomes available!