Proposed rule on protection of historic properties

By Lauren LeuckApril 8, 2024

Comments are due to the Federal Register on or before April 9, 2024. Information regarding how to submit comments is below.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works released a proposed rule to remove Appendix C from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program’s permitting regulations on February 12, 2024. The Corps will instead follow the Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act implementing regulations, at 36 C.F.R. § 800 (800 regulations), when processing permit applications. The proposed rule can be found here.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation oversees federal agency compliance with the NHPA and issues regulations defining how agencies meet their statutory responsibilities under Section 106 of the NHPA to consider the effect of an undertaking on any historic property. The ACHP regulation, also found in the 800 regulations, has been updated since initial promulgation to account for NHPA amendments. The removal of Appendix C and exclusive use of the 800 regulations will enable the Corps to deliver consistency across its districts and ensure implementation of regulations reflective of the NHPA changes.

UPDATE: Based on several requests, the Corps does anticipate taking public and Tribal comment on the supplemental draft guidance under development with the ACHP for the Corps’ Regulatory Program. This guidance will likely include illustrative examples on the application of the 36 C.F.R. Part 800 regulations to potential permitting scenarios. The Corps will publicly announce when this guidance is available for comment.

Virtual meetings were held to provide an overview of the proposed rule and gather additional input. Recordings of these virtual meetings can be found below.

Comment Submittal:

You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE–2023–0004 and/or RIN 0710–AB46, by any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Email: historicpropertyreg@usace.army.mil.

Include the docket number, COE–2023–0004, in the subject line of the message.

Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW–CO–R, 441 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20314–1000

Public Virtual Meeting on February 22, 2024 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST

Slides for the webinar are here.

Recording of the webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXJYbpI5szs.

Tribal Virtual Meeting on March 21, 2024 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT

Recording of the webinar: https://www.zoomgov.com/rec/share/k2x-bA2D03i2kROIRFuYcg9hNfKeUDJ_Q84TsrIRFpF_dAmN2psw6zj2TKh-7IFD.q0x2WmsFLD-DSry0

Passcode: w2PN=tF%

Webinar with the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers

Recording of the webinar: https://www.zoomgov.com/rec/share/6gt369-DdM2-tCS_pMbNs11it1kn8AdLTeh_Lq__igw3hsLi73Z0d-cnjhPD-zrN.JyvxEvDbh-krI1JT

Passcode: d1@?Zt*m