Leger Fernández, Pingree Condemn Rushed Effort to Gut Tribal Consultation and Historic Preservation Protections

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs, and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, condemned a proposal released by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) that would rush through sweeping changes to the regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. “History is not an obstacle for development. It is the story of who we are, and it should not be bulldozed without thought,” said Leger Fernández. “This week, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) will vote on drastic changes to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act regulations that will gut historic preservation reviews and tribal consultation. Section 106 is one of the most important promises our nation has made: before the federal government destroys, it must listen to the people from the community; listen to tribes and local governments. But the Trump administration wants to destroy that promise. By gutting tribal consultation and stripping protections for places of deep cultural and spiritual significance, they are saying that corporate profits are more important than our shared history. Worse still, they want to rush the proposed changes, giving ACHP members only a week to review and vote on sweeping changes. I call on the ACHP to protect our history and rescind its rushed and ill-conceived changes to the Section 106 historic preservation regulations.” “The ACHP’s decision to rewrite Section 106—behind closed doors, on an absurdly rushed timeline, and without meaningful input from states, Tribes, preservation experts, or the public—is beyond reckless and will dramatically weaken one of our nation’s most important historic preservation laws,” Congresswoman Pingree said . “For nearly 60 years, the National Historic Preservation Act has ensured that communities have a voice before the federal government moves forward with projects that could affect the places, stories, and cultural resources that help tell our nation’s story. These changes would make it easier for federal agencies to ignore public input, sideline Tribes, and rush ahead with projects that could permanently damage irreplaceable historic and cultural resources. Unfortunately, that is exactly how this Administration operates. They have shown time and again that they’re not interested in respecting the full scope of America’s history—only in fast-tracking the president’s vanity projects and giving sweetheart deals to donors and supporters. As the Ranking Member on the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the ACHP, I will fight every attempt to weaken these critical safeguards or silence the communities and experts who deserve to have a seat at the table when it comes to preserving our shared history.” Background: On Friday, July 17, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) released a proposal that would make sweeping changes to the regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The ACHP provided only one week for members to review and vote on 50 pages of proposed regulatory changes. The proposed changes are a stark departure from current practices that would: Severely limit the inclusion of states and local governments in the historic preservation process within their own jurisdictions; Make tribal consultation an optional rather than required step for nearly all federal projects; Make public participation in the historic preservation process at the discretion of federal agencies; and exclude traditional cultural properties from historic preservation protections that are not “geographically compact,” thereby limiting protection for many tribal cultural resources. The ACHP is an independent federal agency consisting of 24 members representing federal agencies, state and local governments, tribal governments, and historic preservation organizations. The ACHP advises the President and Congress on historic preservation and oversees the Section 106 process, which forms the bedrock of historic preservation in the United States. ###