Amendment to the Bureau of Land Management National Programmatic Agreement
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov
February 11, 2014
In Reply Refer To:
8100 (240) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 02/12/2014
Instruction Memorandum No. 2014-049
Expires: 09/30/2015
To: All State Directors
From: Assistant Director, Resources and Planning
Subject: Amendment to the Bureau of Land Management National Programmatic Agreement. DD: 05.09/2014; 08/09/2014
Program Area: Cultural Resources Management and Tribal Consultation
Purpose: Inform the state directors that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) national Programmatic Agreement (PA) has been amended to extend the deadline for revising state-specific BLM State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) protocols by one year, to February 9, 2015.
Policy/Action: The 2012 PA established new criteria for the BLM SHPO protocols and required the BLM state offices to review existing protocols to determine if they required revision and to inform the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) of the result of that review. It further required that protocol revisions be completed within 24 months, or by February 9, 2014. Not all BLM state offices have been able to meet this deadline. The attached amendment to the PA provides state directors an additional year to complete the revision of their BLM SHPO protocols, including appropriate tribal consultation and public involvement.
States that have not executed revised protocols are urged to complete their revisions expeditiously. Signed protocol revisions must be provided to the ACHP, NCSHPO, and the BLM Preservation Board and posted on the internet. Revisions that are still in progress, State Directors shall submit progress reports on May 9, 2014 and August 9, 2014. Reports should include the current status, outstanding actions, completion date, and any issues. They may be transmitted electronically to Robin Hawks, BLM Preservation Officer (rhawks@blm.gov).
States not meeting the new deadline must follow 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.7, 36 CFR 800.8(c) or other applicable program alternative under 36 CFR 800.14 to meet their responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act beginning February 9, 2015. States that will not complete protocol revisions by the new deadline are advised to prepare personnel to implement the standard 36 CFR 800 process for meeting section 106 responsibilities well in advance. Your staff may contact the BLM Preservation Officer Robin Hawks for help in identifying training materials and providers.
Timeframe: The amendment is effective immediately. State progress reports are due on May 9, 2014 and August 9, 2014.
Budget Impact: No budget impact is anticipated as a result of the attached amendment and there will be long term savings resulting from maintaining the efficiencies of state specific protocols under the BLM alternative process authorized by the 2012 PA. States that are unable to meet the new revision deadline may experience a budget impact from losing the authority to operate under a state specific BLM SHPO protocol.
Background: The PA establishes a relationship between the BLM, ACHP and NCSHPO. It also provides the authority for the BLM to use an alternative more efficient process for meeting some of its responsibilities under Section 106 of NHPA instead of the 36 CFR Part 800 regulations, for routine undertakings. This alternative process is defined on a state specific basis through the development of two-party BLM SHPO protocols.
The 2012 PA established new standards for protocols and a requirement that public outreach and tribal consultation inform the revision process. Some states have faced significant challenges in completing revisions, including extended vacancies in the senior program staff positions, and did not meet the 24 month deadline for protocol revision. If protocols are not revised by the due date, the BLM must follow the standard 36 CFR part 800 regulations.
In order to meet the BLM compliance responsibilities and prevent disruption of the BLM’s efforts to implement the 2012 national PA, the BLM has executed an amendment to the PA to extend the protocol revision deadline to February 9, 2015. States are strongly encouraged to conclude the revision process expeditiously, but the amendment will insure that the BLM has sufficient time to conduct appropriate tribal consultation, and for the BLM and SHPOs to reach agreement on a state specific process that both meets the 2012 PA criteria and works better than the standard 36 CFR part 800 regulations.
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: The execution of the addendum to the 2012 PA requires amendment of the BLM Manual Section 8100 Appendix 13 (the PA), to add the addendum.
Coordination: This IM was developed by WO-240 in coordination with the BLM Preservation Board.
Contact: If you or your staffs have any questions, please call Robin Hawks, Ph.D., Preservation Officer, rhawks@blm.gov or (202) 912-7241.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Joseph Stout Robert M. Williams
Acting, Assistant Director Division of IRM Governance,WO-860
Resources and Planning
1 Attachment