Ever wonder what Section 106 Consultation looks like?
What is Section 106?
The portion of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) that is concerned with Federal undertakings. That is, a project, activity, or program either funded, permitted, licensed, or approved by a Federal Agency. Undertakings may take place either on or off federally controlled property and include new and continuing projects, activities, or programs and any of their elements not previously considered under Section 106.
Who participates in the consultation?
It’s mostly people with various interests meeting about aspects of an a proposed project to collectively discuss the goals of the proposal, how it might affect historic properties and seeking to understand each other’s perspectives in hopes of reaching agreement.
In the photo above are two consulting parties for the Leeward Bikeway project—Chad Taniguchi of the Hawaii Bicycling League and Steve Vendt of the Hawaiian Railway Society—in the conference room at Hawaii Department of Transportation waiting for the final meeting. The parties have reached agreement on the proposed design and mitigation measures and are waiting for the Memorandum of Agreement to be finalized in the next few weeks.