FAQ

This is the FAQ in government-speak. Included are the regulation citations.

You may also find answers to some of your questions in the Section 106 Regulations, 36 Part 800.

Below are the questions and answers in plain English.  If you clicked on the above links, read a couple of lines, and your eyes glazed over, try the version below.  If you’re a lawyer, you might prefer the links above.

General Section 106 Questions

What is Section 106?

“Section 106″ refers to the section of the law – the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended – that requires federal agencies to consider how their actions might impact historic properties, and try to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects on those historic properties.

What actions by federal agencies require a Section 106 review?

Any action that has the potential to impact historic properties requires a review. Federal involvement in a project could be funding, permitting, licensing a project. It’s up to the federal agency to determine exactly which of their actions will require us to review the project, but examples of such actions are HUD- or USDA-funded housing rehabilitations, FCC-licensed cellular communication towers, road or bridge projects receiving funding from the Federal Highway Administration, FDIC licensing of bank branches, etc. 

At what point in the project should the Section 106 review take place?

The Section 106 review should take place as early in the process as possible.  It is meant to be used as a planning tool, so that should an action have an adverse effect on an historic property, an alternative course of action could be considered.  Legally, the review must be completed before the federal funds are spent or the federal license or permit is issued.

What happens if we submit the review after the work has been completed?

That’s known as a foreclosure. It means that our opportunity to comment on the effects of the project has been foreclosed.  It will then be up to your federal agency to determine what action to take.  However, it is likely that the funding or license/permit could be in jeopardy.

Why doesn’t the SHPO do the Section 106 review?

The long, legal answer is that the law requires the federal agency – or their federally-delegated authority – to do the work, to provide the SHPO with information about the project and any potential historic properties that may be affected by that project.  The SHPO is a consulting party, which means that we advise the federal agencies in carrying out their responsibilities.  We aren’t a regulatory agency. We can’t approve or dis-approve your funding/permit/license. That’s up to the federal agency involved in your project.

The short, more practical answer is that the SHPO simply doesn’t have the staff or the funding to do that kind of work.  If we were responsible for doing all of the research necessary for the thousands of projects we review every year, you’d never get your response from us.  And our lack of response would gum up your paperwork trail that you have to submit to get your funding or licensing.

What is a federally-delegated authority?

The federally-delegated authority is the state, local, or tribal government who has been given the legal responsibility for complying with federal laws for the project.  Consultants are not federally-delegated authorities.

What is the role of a consultant?

Consultants are hired to do the research on behalf of the federally-delegated authority.   The consultants do not have legal responsibility for making sure that all the applicable laws and regulations are complied with.

Why doesn’t the information submitted for a NEPA review suffice for a Section 106 review?

Most of the time, information that is collected for the NEPA review is not enough for a Section 106 review.  Section 106 can be done as a component of a NEPA review, but Section 106 and NEPA are covered by two different laws and they require different information.

What is the area of potential effects (APE)?

The APE includes any geographic area that could be impacted by your project.  In most cases the APE is NOT simply the physical boundary of the project. Direct and indirect impacts of the project must be considered.  For example, if you are widening a road from two lanes to four lanes, the direct impact would be the footprint of the project.  If there are mature trees being removed for the road widening, there could be an indirect impact on the landscape along the road.  It is even possible that the widening of this road would result in future development along the road – this is an indirect, or secondary effect. This development may not occur immediately after the road widening, but perhaps in the next few years.  The APE should incorporate the areas that may be subject to future development and the impacts of this development.

On projects such as facade improvements in an historic commercial area, although there may be only one or two buildings that are directly affected by the work being done, the surrounding buildings will indirectly be affected by the appearance of those buildings. The APE should include those other buildings that could be indirectly impacted.

What is a historic property?

As defined by the Section 106 regulations, a historic property is one that is listed in, or eligible to be listed in, the National Register of Historic Places.  It is not necessary for a property to be formally listed on the Register for the Section 106 process. If the property is considered eligible to be listed, then it is also historic.

What makes something eligible for the National Register? 

The National Register criteria will tell you if the property is eligible for listing. How to Apply the National Register Criteria for listing may be of help if you are unfamiliar with the National Register.  Keep in mind that for most HUD-funded rehabilitation projects we are generally not looking at the house as being individually eligible, but as being eligible as part of a historic district.

How do I find out if my property is listed in the National Register?

You could search the National Register  or check the Michigan SHPO’s Historic Sites Online.  Keep in mind that for housing rehabilitation projects, most houses are not individually eligible, but are eligible as part of a historic district.  When searching, you should look for a wider geographic area and not just the address of the project.

The SHPO reviewed a property several years ago and it was not eligible.  Recently, the SHPO determined that it is eligible. What’s up?

There are a couple of reasons something that wasn’t eligible a few years back might be eligible now. 

The first is that the general cut-off for eligibility for the National Register is fifty years.  The property may have been less than 50 years old the last time we reviewed it. 

Also, the perception of significance may change over time.   A few decades ago a ranch house would not likely have been considered historic.  Now, preservationists are reconsidering modern suburb planning and design, and those post-war ranch houses might be deemed historic.

Also, our office does not have information on every historic structure or district in the state. We wish we did, and we spend a lot of time gathering information, but the fact is that we have a very small staff and an equally small budget.  The most likely explanation is that when you sent in the property for review a few years ago, we didn’t have any information in our office. In the meantime, we’ve gotten more information and now understand that that property is historic – or more likely that the property is part of a neighborhood that is eligible as a historic district.

Why is one property historic and a similar property not historic?

Generally it is because the first property has integrity and the second does not.  Integrity means that those things that define the property’s character have survived.  Severe alterations to the original appearance may reduce the integrity of a property.  However, properties change over time, and the addition of an element or two that is not original does not necessarily compromise integrity.

What if I don’t want my property to be historic?

While a property owner may object to the listing of their property on the National Register and that property will not be listed, it does not make the property any less eligible to be listed. And for the purposes of Section 106, we are to consider those properties that are eligible as well as those that are listed.

What is an adverse effect?

An adverse effect is when a project will alter a historic property, either directly or indirectly, so that its eligibility for inclusion in the National Register is diminished.  A project that diminishes the integrity of the property’s location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, or association would have an adverse effect.

Adverse effects include, but are not limited to:

• Demolition of all or part of a property.
• Alteration that is not consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
• Removal of a property from its historic location.
• Changing the character of the property’s use or physical features within its setting that contribute to its historic significance.
• Introduction of elements that diminish the integrity of the property’s significant historic features.
• Neglect of a property that causes its deterioration.
• Transfer, lease, or sale of property out of Federal ownership or control without adequately ensuring the property’s long-term preservation.

 

What information is required for a Section 106 review?

The regulations specify what is required for a Section 106 review.  We found that because many people submitting projects for review were unfamiliar with exactly what information was needed, we were repeatedly requesting more information, which slowed down the review process. It was easier for us and for them to develop a standard application.  If you answer all of the questions on the application, you will have submitted the appropriate information. We may still need to contact you for clarification of additional information, but most projects that completely answer all of the questions will have provided us with enough information in the initial submission.

Where can you get a copy of this application?  On our Forms page!  It comes with instructions. Please, please, please read the instructions before filling out the form.  Most of the time when we have to request more information – and slow down the review process – it’s because the applicant did not read the instructions.  They’re quite self-explanatory. If you have any questions the instructions don’t answer, give us a call. We’d love to help you out before you send it in.  The application is a Word document. Download it to your computer, open it up, and start typing the answers. If it looks like there isn’t enough room for everything you need to tell us, don’t worry. The space for the answers grows as you type.  When you’re done, print it off, attach the necessary maps and photos, and mail it to us.  Sorry, we don’t have the capability to receive submissions via email yet, but we’re working on it. (Like everything in government, this will move with all the speed of a glacier.  I’m hoping to have an online submission process working sometime before I retire!)

Because we receive so many HUD and USDA rehabilitation projects, we have a separate submission form for those.  Unfortunately, the rehab cards are not available online. If you need some of the Housing Rehabilitation Inventory Cards, call me – 517.335.2723.  We’ll get them right out to you in the mail.  The response sheets that are submitted with the rehab card are available online on our Forms page.

How does the SHPO make decisions?

We follow the regulations set out in 36 CFR Part 800. Although it may seem rather arbitrary if you are not familiar with the regulations and the process, it’s not. If you ever have a question about our decisions, call or write us and we’ll try to clarify things. 

HUD-Specific Questions

In addition to the questions below, you may find it useful to read the “HUD Memo” that contains information for communities in Michigan receiving HUD funding. It’s that 16-page memorandum that we send to communities in response to a funding notice.  We also have a “plain English” version of that, in case the official version cures your insomnia.

We have funding from HUD/MSHDA to build a new house.  Does my project need to be reviewed? If so, can I just use the rehab card?

The SHPO reviews new construction as well as rehabilitation projects.  You’ll need to fill out our longer form rather than the rehab card.  New construction projects need to be reviewed by an archaeologist, and the information on the rehab cards does not provide the archaeologists with the information that they need.

I’ve checked Historic Sites Online and our project house is not listed there. Do I still need to submit the project for review?

Yes.  The properties on Historic Sites Online are only those for which someone has taken the time to do the research and submit the National Register nomination.  Section 106 requires you also to consider properties that are eligible for listing in the National Register.  There are far more properties that are eligible for listing than there are listed.

The Historic Significance Response Sheet was returned with the “Please submit work specifications for review” box checked.  What criteria does the SHPO use to review the specifications?

Our staff architects review the specifications to make sure that they conform with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.  Projects that are not consistent with those standards would be an adverse effect. 

My response from the SHPO states that the project will have no adverse effect provided the following condition(s) is/are met. What does that mean?

That generally means that the specifications you sent in did not entirely meet the Standards for Rehabilitation.  If you follow the condition(s) outlined in the letter, then you will meet the Standards.  If you do not wish to follow the condition(s), then the project will have an adverse effect on the historic property.

How long does it take for the SHPO to review my project?

By law, the SHPO has 30 calendar days to review your project, beginning on the date it was received by our office. 

Does it always take 30 days? No, we try to get the projects reviewed as quickly as possible.  However, we only have two staff members doing the reviews, and we get thousands of projects submitted each year.  How long it actually takes to review a project depends on a number of factors, such as how many other projects were submitted at the time yours arrived in our office (spring and summer are the busy time of the year with a lot of people wanting to get their projects underway during the construction season).  Projects that don’t require a review by an architect or an archaeologist can be reviewed faster than those that do simply because there are fewer people involved in the process.

In general, I try to review the rehab projects within a week of their arrival.  If I’m really busy, it could take two weeks, but that doesn’t happen often.  If you haven’t received a response within about a month of sending it, call me – 517.335.2723.  In the past, we’ve had submissions and responses go astray in the mail. We may not have received your project, and I’d prefer that you call me and resubmit your information than to have you waiting for a response and delaying your project.  Also, you’d be surprised how many Historic Significance Response Sheets are submitted without return addresses on them.  We can’t respond if we don’t know where to send the response.  A surprising number of projects are submitted with Housing Rehabilitation Inventory Cards but no response sheets.  Again, I have no idea who sent the card in and can’t respond.  I’d hate to have you lose your project funding because your submission is pinned to my cubicle wall with no return address.

NOTE: The above refers to “normal” timelines. As long as the federal government is spending stimulus funds and HUD’s NSP funds, expect reviews to take much longer.  We’re reviewing projects as fast as we can, but the volume is enormous.  How fast we can turn your project around depends on how many other projects arrive at the same time as yours.  Expect review times to take close to 30 days.  If it is close to 30 days after you sent a project for us to review and you haven’t received a response from us, give us a call and we’ll try to see where it is in the system. 

I sent in the rehab card and response sheet and you sent me a letter requesting more information.  What’s up? I thought the rehab review process was supposed to be easier than the long form!

Trust me, the rehab card/response sheet system is far easier than filling out the long form for each project!  However, sometimes I do ask for more information.  When your rehab card comes in, I check the map on the back against the map information in our office.  Usually it’s a pretty straight-forward task – the project is either located in a historic district, or it isn’t, and I send back the response accordingly.  However, our office doesn’t have all the information about every historic structure/district in the state.  There are some places we suspect may have a district eligible for listing on the National Register, but we don’t have any information. In those cases I’ll ask for photographs of a block or two of the street keyed to a map and some historic information.  I’ll also ask for the plans and specifications to be sent in. If it turns out to be located in an eligible district, then I won’t have to waste your time by asking for the specs; if it turns out not to be historic, then I just check the first line on the response sheet and send that back to you.

Can’t you just come out and look at the project in person?

No, sorry.  As much as I’d love to come out and see your town and check out the project, we don’t have any money for travel these days. Plus, I get a couple thousand rehab cards submitted each year. I’d never get any responses sent out if I were always on the road.

Your letter requested “[a] brief history of the property, including available information about the date of construction, the designer and/or builder, the early owners, and any other significant facts related to the structure.”  I don’t have a clue where to find that information!!

There are some general resources that you could try for information:

• City of county assessor’s offices
• Colleges and universities, particularly those whose faculty are interested in local history
• Local historians
• Local historic district commissions
• Local historical societies
• Local, regional, or state libraries
• Long-term property owners and neighbors

The following specific resources might be more likely to provide you with the information.  Some of these records are available at your local library, others are available at city, township, or county government offices.

• City directories
• City atlases and plat maps
• County and local histories
• Deed records
• Property abstracts
• Tax records

 

We have an emergency and need to demolish a building. It’s been neglected for years and is a health hazard. We’re using federal funding for the demo. Do we need to consult with the SHPO or can we just demolish the building?

The federal regulations are very specific about what constitutes an emergency for the purposes of Section 106.  36 CFR Part 800.12 addresses procedures to be followed in emergency situations.  An emergency is defined as an action undertaken in response to a “disaster  or emergency declared by the President of the United States, a tribal government, a state governor, or  to other immediate threats to life, public health, public safety, or property.”  In those instances, the federal agency must notify the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation  and the SHPO of the action and give the SHPO seven days to comment.  If the SHPO objects to the action within the time period, the agency must follow standard procedure.

Section 106 regulations are clear that emergencies must be of a unique and unusual community/neighborhood-wide nature, not concerning single buildings.  Also, emergencies must be the result of a sudden event or a natural disaster.  A gradually deteriorating situation over a period of time resulting in part from neglect or diminished maintenance would generally not be considered an emergency.

What on earth is a USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle map and where do I get one?

The USGS quad maps are the types of maps used by the archaeologists.  When you send in your map, they compare it to the information on the maps in their office.

The USGS quad maps are maps produced by the US Geological Survey using contour markings to show the shape and elevation of terrain. These maps show and  name natural and cultural features. Those at a scale of 1:24000 (1 inch = 2000 feet) show enough detail to be useful for the purposes of this review.  Maps at other scales (for example, 1:50,000 [1 centimeter = 0.5 kilometer], 1:100,000 [1 centimeter = 1 kilometer], 1:250,000 [1 inch = about 4 miles], 1:500,000 [1 inch = about 8 miles], and 1:1,000,000 [1 inch = about 16 miles] don’t produce enough detail to be useful for our archaeologists.

Most USGS maps are bounded by two lines of latitude and two lines of longitude.  A 7.5 minute map shows an area that covers 7.5 minutes of latitude and 7.5 minutes of longitude.

Quad maps may be purchased for $6.00 from the USGS Store or you can print one off through TerraServer USA.   Make sure if you go to TerraServer USA that you are getting a map with squiggly lines (the Topo map). We cannot use aerial photographs instead of the USGS quad maps, we need the shaded relief maps. They can also be found through the Michigan DNR’s website.

How do I find out what the section, township, and range are for my project?

You can find the section, township, and range information in county plat books.  Where do you find a county plat book?  You could try your local library, they should have a copy. Or, you could use the DNR online plat maps.  Those might be a bit trickier to use.  Clicking on the state map will open a county map.  Make sure you take note of the appropriate township and range (remember, the “township” you are looking for is a number followed by N or S, notthe name of the township like “Alaiedon Twp” or “Vevay Twp”). Click on that township and it will open a separate map with the sections.  Since these maps date back to the 1800s, they may lack modern landmarks that will help you. 

These sources also offer plat maps for purchase or download (warning: plat books can be expensive – you might want to check your local library first).

If you have the legal land description for your project’s location, the information will be in there (for example, if the legal description reads something like:NE1/4NW1/4SW1/4, sec 22, T. 31 N., R. 18 W, then your Section is 22, Township is 31N and Range is 18W.) 

If you’re really stuck, you could check with the local (county, township or village/city) planning department, they may have the information for you.