08/19/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/19/2024 09:12
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) recently announced a new proposal to accelerate historic preservation review timelines for climate-friendly buildings, housing and transportation projects that are supported by the federal government.
Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, federal agencies are required to consider the effects of projects they fund or carry out on historic properties through a formal review process. ACHP's draft program comment outlines new streamlined approaches for federal agencies to comply with these Section 106 requirements while promoting timely, climate-friendly upgrades to buildings.
If adopted, the program comment would make it easier to renovate, preserve and reuse historic buildings in ways that reduce GHG emissions and increase climate resilience. It covers all building upgrades that receive federal funding or require federal approval and would remain in effect from the date of adoption through 2044.
The ACHP draft program comment provides different tiers of Section 106 exemptions, depending on a building's age and historic nature, for upgrades conducted primarily to reduce energy use or GHG emissions of the building or to enhance climate resilience of the building.
In the following scenarios in which a building upgrade has no or minimal potential to adversely affect historic properties, a federal agency may proceed without conducting further Section 106 review:
In the following scenarios with older and historic buildings, exemptions may also be made when the federal agency satisfies certain conditions:
These proposed changes would facilitate energy efficiency, clean energy and other green building upgrades for historic buildings through reduced complexity and improved streamlining.
ACHP is accepting written comments on the draft program comment until Oct. 9. We encourage the USGBC community to review the draft and provide feedback if interested.