Federal Project Review

The Section 106 review process is a consultative process between the SHPO, the federal agency (or their delegate), and consulting parties.

Federal agencies often look to those applying for grants, loans, licenses, or permits to initiate the consultation with the SHPO. Under the ACHP's current 36 C.F.R. Part 800 regulations that took effect August 5, 2004, the federal agency may authorize the applicant or consultants to gather information on properties that might be affected by the undertaking and to exchange information with the SHPO. According to the ACHP, the authorization should be communicated to the SHPO in writing or by email; however, the regulations state that the federal agency is to make findings regarding the existence of historic properties within the undertaking's area of potential effects (APE) and regarding the undertaking's effects on them.

During the course of the review, the DHPA staff (acting as the Indiana SHPO) will share pertinent information in its possession about the significance of properties within the APE. The federal agencies are obligated under the regulations to gather information and then make findings based on that information. The DHPA staff is not authorized to perform the agencies' responsibilities for them. Rather, the DHPA's role, as the staff to the SHPO, is to comment on whether historic properties will be affected, how they may be affected, and how any adverse effects on historic properties may be avoided, reduced, or mitigated. Adverse effects that cannot be avoided often are mitigated through stipulations included in a formal document called a memorandum of agreement.

Please note that our office has a 30-day review period (36 CFR part 800.3(c)(4)) from the date of receipt of each submission. If additional information is requested, a new 30-day review period begins from the date of receipt of the new information. You must provide all the required information requested on the Review Request Submittal Form to allow for timely review.

The following is a list of federal and state agencies that routinely participate in the Section 106 process. Please remember this is by no means a comprehensive list.

• Federal Communications Commission
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Federal Highway Administration, Indiana Division
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• U.S. Department of the Interior includes links to all its Bureaus: National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Indian Affairs, Land Management, Surface Mining, Minerals Management Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Reclamation.
• Indiana Department of Transportation Cultural Resources Office
• Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority
• Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs

A historic property is a building, site, district, structure, or object that is either listed in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Determining whether a particular property is historic is part of the Section 106 review process. For Section 106 to apply, it is not necessary that it be known at the outset whether there are historic properties within the project’s area of potential effects. Information on listed and surveyed properties in Indiana can be found in the State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database.

The APE is defined as: The geographic area or areas within which an undertaking may cause changes in the use or character of historic properties, if any such properties exist, and includes effects that are direct or indirect, cumulative, later in time, or at a distance.

A wide range of project impacts, from outright demolition to visual and audible intrusions that alter the characteristics that qualify historic properties for inclusion in or eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places in a manner that would diminish the integrity of the property.

By law, U.S. citizens have a voice when federal actions will affect properties that qualify for the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s official list of historic properties. Write to the federal agency responsible for the proposed project and request to become a consulting party. Be sure to explain why your participation would be valuable to a successful resolution. Consulting parties should convey their concerns, in writing, and provide supporting documentation to the federal agency and its consultants responsible for the proposed project.

Protecting Historic Properties: A Citizen’s Guide to Section 106 Review is designed to help you understand the Section 106 process and make your voice heard.

Some typical consulting parties include representatives of local governments, federally recognized Native American tribes, local historical societies or preservation groups, and the general public. There are several websites that can help you find organizations that may be interested consulting parties for Section 106 projects in Indiana.

The Indiana Historical Society provides information on the programs and services of the organization. The website also provides a list of local historical societies and county historians in Indiana sorted by county. Local historical societies and county historians can provide additional information on the history of a particular area. They may possess county histories and historical atlases, which are good resources for historical documentation.

Indiana Landmarks is Indiana’s statewide nonprofit organization. It has regional offices throughout the state, making its staff a great resource at the local/regional level. Additionally, it maintains a directory of preservation organizations within each county.