Federal Historic Preservation Laws at a Glance
|Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act||Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act||Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act|
|Citations||16 USC § 470f;
36 CFR Part 800
|42 USC § 4332;
40 CFR Part 1500
|49 USC § 303;
23 USC § 138;
23 CFR § 771.135
|National Register listed or eligible.||All environmental resources, including cultural and historic.||Historic sites (national, state or local); parks; wildlife refuges; and recreation areas.|
|Any proposed federal or federally-assisted "undertaking."||"Major federal action."||"Approval" of transportation project.|
|Any "effect."||"Significantly affecting the quality of the human environment."||"Use" (subject to "de minimis" exception); or constructive use ("substantially impair").|
|Standard for Consideration||"Take into account."||Disclose and consider
|Avoid unless not feasible and prudent; all possible planning to minimize harm.|
|Procedure v. Substance||Primarily procedural but may result in a substantive Memorandum of Agreement.||Procedural||Substantive|
|"Consultation;" negotiation; Memorandum of Agreement.||Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement; public hearings.||4(f) determination or
chapter of Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment.
|Involvement of Other Agencies||State Historic Preservation Officer and sometimes the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation at the table, with an opportunity to object to effect determinations and historic significance issues.||Environmental Protection Agency review; Council on Environmental Quality referral in extreme cases. Litigation is the only way to appeal agency decisions.||Department of Transportation has final authority; Interior Department comments.
Litigation is the only way to appeal agency decisions.