News

National Park Service Finalizes Disposition Rule for Material Determined to be of Insufficient Archeological Interest

Date released: May 16, 2022

WASHINGTON - The National Park Service (NPS) has finalized a rule to allow deaccessioning of federally owned archeological items determined to be of insufficient national archeological interest. The rules amends Code of Federal Regulations Chapter 36 part 79.

Federal agencies, including the NPS, are responsible for millions of archeological objects around the nation. The rule will assist federal agencies in their stewardship of archeological collections which they curate on behalf of the American public.

The new rule provides agencies with a rigorous procedure to remove from collections a limited number of particular material remains that are determined to be "of insufficient archeological interest" by meeting very specific criteria. No human remains or cultural items as defined in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) may be disposed of under this rule.

Objects for disposition under the rule must be archeological "material remains.'' Examples include brick fragments retained from an excavation or soil samples that have become contaminated.

The rule will improve the cost-effectiveness of caring for federal collections. It includes a number of safeguards for protection of objects, including consultation with a Collections Advisory Committee, that may include a representative appointed by a federally-recognized tribe; notification of interested parties, including State and Tribal Historic Preservation offices and interested universities; and publishing detailed information about the proposed disposition in the Federal Register. Deaccessioned objects are not to be sold or traded as commercial goods.

The final rule was published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2022. It went into effect on May 16, 2022.

Message to Federal Agencies: Changes to the ARPA Permit Application

The Interior Departmental Consulting Archeologist obtains clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for use of the application form for Permit for Archeological Investigations on behalf of all land-managing federal agencies.
As part of the clearance process, the DCA compiled and submitted to OMB data on the use of the application form from all land-managing agencies.

In 2018, the Permit application was converted to a Common Form. Federal agencies using the Common Permit application form are individually responsible for reporting the total annual number of respondents and associated burden hour costs directly to OMB. Agency archeological staff should work with their Information Collection Clearance Officer (ICCO) to track and compile summary data about Permit applications and associated costs. The ICCO will report the data about the use of the Common Form under OMB Control number 1024-0037 to the OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. A separate Supporting Statement A (SSA) and associated Federal Register publication notices are not requiredfor use of the permit application form.

Agencies that use the Common application form collect personally identifiable information (PII) as a part of the permit application and permit issuance processes. Agency archeological staff should work with their Privacy Officer to provide an agency Statement of Records Notice (SORN) and Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA). Both may be required by OMB as supplementary documents.

Federal agencies that elect to use an agency-specific form will need to work with their ICCO to develop a new application form and a new information request for OMB clearance. The agency cannot cite OMB control number I 024-0037 as proof of compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Agency archeological staff should consult with the ICCO and Privacy Officer to develop appropriate Notices for the new application form.