The State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) issued a final completion report February 1 on its efforts to comply with the Corrective Action under which it has been operating since 2010.
The report outlines the actions that SHPD undertook to address deficiencies found in the State’s historic preservation program that caused it to be placed on “high alert status” in March 2010. The Division submitted an interim report to the National Park Service (NPS) in October 2012, and then submitted a final report in February 2013.
NPS program staff members are scheduled to conduct an on-site review and evaluation sometime in the next few months. The original final review was scheduled in March, but was postponed due to the federal government’s sequestration budget cuts.
At an information briefing to the State House of Representatives Committees on Water & Land and Ocean, Marine Resources & Hawaiian Affairs on February 15, State Historic Preservation Officer William Aila said that the State is, “not there yet, but is getting closer every day.”
Aila reviewed each of the six areas in which remedial action was required, and review progress and next steps in each: Administration; Survey & Inventory, Review & Compliance, National Register Program, Certified Local Government Program, and Preservation Plan. Of these, National Register items are substantially complete and Preservation Plan was approved.
Results have substantially improved in the areas of Review & Compliance and Certified Local Government. However, Aila said that the Department is still working on attaining the outcomes in the areas of Survey & Inventory and completing hiring for several key staff positions. He said that the Administration’s budget request to the legislature includes funding for two positions that SHPD needs to address key programs, and that they are also continuing to recruit to hire for funded positions.
Should the NPS review determine that the State failed to correct the deficiencies, the consequence would include the loss of standing for the state to review federal projects for their impacts to historic resources. The federal agencies would therefore need to utilize an alternative review mechanism, which could add delays and uncertainty to both the federal funding and approvals and to adequate protection for Hawaii’s historic properties.
The Corrective Action Plan, the SHPD Reports and NPS response are available for download via the links listed to the right.
