NCHRP Research Report 1133: Preparing Successful No-Effect and No Adverse-Effect Section 106 Determinations: A Handbook for Transportation Cultural Resource Practitioners provides a guide for cultural resource staff at state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other organizations on the development and dissemination of Section 106 determinations for findings of No Effect and No Adverse Effect to historic properties from transportation projects. A sequential set of recommendations provides advice for practitioners on preparing robust Section 106 No-Effect and No-Adverse-Effect findings. The development of the recommendations was enriched by the identification and evaluation of case studies representing a nationwide sampling of relevant projects.

Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, federal agencies must consider the effect of an undertaking on historic properties. For transportation undertakings, state DOTs frequently act as the federal agency representative and evaluate the effects on historic properties as part of the transportation project development process. State DOTs must be equipped not only to make such evaluations but also to clearly communicate the findings to federal agencies, state historic preservation officers (SHPOs), tribal historic preservation officers, other consulting parties, and members of the public. Federal regulations at 36 CFR 800.5 detail undertakings that result in Adverse, No-Effect, and No-Adverse-Effect findings. The criterion for determining an Adverse Effect is welldocumented, despite these instances being a minority of Section 106 determinations. However, resources for preparing successful No-Effect and No-Adverse-Effect determinations are less developed.

Under NCHRP Project 25-65, “Preparing Successful No-Effect and No-Adverse-Effect Section 106 Determinations: A Handbook for Transportation Cultural Resource Practitioners,” WSP USA Inc. was tasked to develop a handbook to provide recommendations for cultural resources staff at state DOTs and other organizations, such as SHPOs, to produce robust and defensible Section 106 determinations. The handbook contains (1) the criteria and features that make a property eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, (2) aspects of historic integrity that convey a property’s significance, (3) Section 106 regulations relevant to findings of Adverse Effect, (4) resources available for use in the effects assessment process, and (5) the interests of partners and stakeholders throughout the review process. The research resulted in recommendations to refine the state of practice that include (1) proactive identification of and consultation with stakeholders, (2) understanding and defining project parameters, (3) properly defining the area of potential effects, (4) the proper steps for the identification of historic properties as required by 36 CFR Part 800.4, (5) the assessment of effects detailed in 36 CFR 800.5, and (6) resolving disputes over the effects findings. The handbook also includes an appendix of case studies.

Documentation of the development of the handbook and the entire research effort for NCHRP 25-65 is available as NCHRP Web-Only Document 412: Creating a Handbook for Successful No-Effect and No-Adverse-Effect Section 106 Determinations. That publication and two additional deliverables—the implementation plan and a PowerPoint summary of the research—can be found on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for NCHRP Research Report 1133 and looking under “Resources.

Publication Info

102 pages |  8.5 x 11 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/28911