Archeology for Interpreters > 8. Cultural Resource Management (CRM)

Federal legislation

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), As Amended

NHPA is responsible for expanding the National Register of Historic Places and establishing the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO). Federal archeologists deal most often with sections 106 and 110 of the Act. Section 106 requires federal agencies to “take into account” the effects of a federal or federally assisted undertaking in any state of the Union on “any district, site, building, structure or object that is included in or eligible for the National Register” before federal funding for the project is approved. Among other criteria, archeological sites may be significant because they “have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.” Section 110 calls for the preservation and use of any historic property owned or controlled by a federal agency.

Determining eligibility and resolving adverse effects of federal actions on archeological resources under NHPA often involves several phases of archeological activity from scoping to surveying (Phase I) to testing to full excavation or mitigation (Phase III).

Although the information in the National Register is part of the public record, Section 304 of the NHPA, as amended in 1992 and Section 9(a) of the Archeological Resources Protection Act (see below) provide the legal authority for restricting information about archeological properties. Such information may be withheld from the public if:

• disclosure will cause a significant invasion of privacy
• disclosure will risk harm to the historic resource, or
• disclosure will impede the use of a traditional religious site by practitioners.

Section 106: Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires Federal agencies to take into account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties and afford the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation a reasonable opportunity to comment on such undertakings. The procedures in this part define how Federal agencies meet these statutory responsibilities. The section 106 process seeks to accommodate historic preservation concerns with the needs of Federal undertakings through consultation between the Agency Official and other parties with an interest in the effects of the undertaking on historic properties, commencing at the early stages of project planning. The goal of consultation is to identify historic properties potentially affected by the undertaking, assess its effects and seek ways to avoid, minimize or mitigate any adverse effects on historic properties.

The Agency Official must complete the section 106 process “prior to the approval of the expenditure of any Federal funds on the undertaking or prior to the issuance of any license.” This does not prohibit an Agency Official from conducting or authorizing nondestructive project planning activities before completing compliance with Section 106, provided that such actions do not restrict the subsequent consideration of alternatives to avoid, minimize or mitigate the undertaking's adverse effects on historic properties. The Agency Official shall ensure that the section 106 process is initiated early in the undertaking's planning, so that a broad range of alternatives may be considered.

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• Distance learning
• Home
• 1. Introduction
• 2. What is Archeology?
• 3. What are Archeological Resources?
• 4. What do Archeologists Do?
• 5. How do Archeologists Figure Out How Old Things Are?
• 6. What are Our Personal and Professional Responsibilities?
• 7. What are Issues of Sensitivity?
• 8. Cultural Resource Management (CRM)
  • Introduction
  • Federal legislation
    • Antiquities Act of 1906
    • National Park Service Organic Act of 1916
    • Historic Sites Act of 1935
    • Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960
    • National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), As Amended
    • National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
    • Archeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974 (AHPA)
    • Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA)
    • Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987
    • Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA)
  • State, tribal and local laws and policies
  • NPS policies
  • Other resources
  • Suggested reading
  • Links to additional resources
• 9. Use What You Know: Highlighted Case Study
• 10. Additional Resources
• Glossary
• Course Certificate
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• Table of Contents