[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20723-20724]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10259]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 81 / Friday, April 26, 2002 / 
Notices  

[[Page 20723]]



ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION


Clarification of Exemption Regarding Historic Preservation Review 
Process for Projects Involving Historic Natural Gas Pipelines

AGENCY: Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

ACTION: Notice of clarification of exemption regarding historic natural 
gas pipelines.

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SUMMARY: The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation clarifies its 
exemption from historic preservation review for projects involving 
historic natural gas pipelines by answering five questions that were 
posed after the exemption went into effect.

DATES: The exemption went into effect on April 5, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Address all questions about this 
clarification to Javier Marques, Office of General Counsel, Advisory 
Council on Historic Preservation, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Suite 
809, Washington,DC 20004. Telephone: 
202-606-8503. Facsimile: 202-606-8672. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 5, 2002, the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation (``Council'') published in the Federal Register a 
Notice of Exemption Regarding Historic Preservation Review Process for 
Projects Involving Historic Natural Gas Pipelines (67 FR 16364). Since 
then, several questions regarding the interpretation and application of 
the exemption have been brought to the Council's attention. The purpose 
of this notice is to provide answers to those questions and to clarify 
the exemption. The following information constitutes the Council's 
formal views on the interpretation and application of the exemption and 
should be considered by all parties when taking actions under the 
exemption.
    There are cases where the applicant, a Federal agency and a State 
Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) have completed the section 106 
process for a Federal action concerning a historic natural gas pipeline 
prior to the effective date of the exemption. Does the exemption 
supersede agreements that have been previously executed under Section 
106?
    Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the exemption will 
supersede any Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in existence when the 
exemption went into effect. Note, however, that the exemption only 
applies to the effects of an action on historic natural gas pipelines. 
Accordingly, those portions of an MOA that deal with impacts on other 
historic properties remain in effect. If the agreement was a 
Programmatic Agreement (PA) developed in accordance with the Council's 
Section 106 regulations, the provisions of the PA remain applicable. 
See provision III of the exemption.
    Some abandonments filed under section 7(b) of the Federal Natural 
Gas Act do not involve taking a historic pipeline permanently out of 
service or do not remove facilities from interstate commerce. Do these 
situations trigger the exception to the exemption that would require 
the applicant to meet the documentation standards contained in the 
exemption?
    No. If the pipeline facilities will remain in operation and in 
interstate service, and therefore subject to subsequent Federal 
jurisdiction, the applicant for a section 7(b) abandonment is not 
required to comply with the documentation standards. For abandonments 
that would take facilities out of service permanently, or that would 
involve the sale of the facilities to a new owner who would remove the 
facilities from use in interstate commerce, the required documentation 
would be a condition for the abandonment.
    If only a portion of a historic pipeline facility is proposed for 
abandonment, must the applicant meet the documentation requirements for 
the entire facility?
    No. Only the portion proposed for abandonment must be documented 
before the Federal approval is granted. However, as the documentation 
for the segment to be abandoned may well include much of the 
information needed should future segments be abandoned, applicants may 
wish to consider providing documentation for other segments, up to and 
including the entire pipeline facility, to eliminate the need for a 
subsequent documentation effort should another segment or the entire 
pipeline facility be proposed for abandonment in the future.
    What is the timing for completion of the documentation requirements 
specified in the exception to the exemption?
    The documentation requirements can be completed at any time prior 
to the formal Federal action approving the abandonment. Given that the 
time period for the Federal agency to review the proposed action is 
usually several months, it is anticipated that there will be sufficient 
time to complete the requirements so that processing of the Federal 
approval will not be delayed. Subject to their individual legal 
authorities, Federal agencies may condition their approval of the 
abandonment on satisfactory completion of the documentation 
requirements, after which the abandonment would take effect. Applicants 
are encouraged to undertake preparation of the documentation as soon as 
the abandonment process is initiated in order to avoid any subsequent 
delays.
    If the applicant pursues the process laid out in the exemption and 
the opinion of the SHPO is sought regarding the eligibility of the 
pipeline facilities for the National Register of Historic Places, is 
there a time limit within which the SHPO must respond?
    Yes. While the concurrence of the SHPO must be sought in reaching a 
determination of eligibility (36 CFR 800.4(c)(2)), the Council's 
regulations (36 CFR 800.3(c)(4)) authorize the Federal agency official 
to proceed to the next step in the process based on the proposed 
determination if the SHPO fails to respond within 30 days of receipt of 
a request for review of the determination. This means also that, where 
an applicant has taken the lead in establishing the eligibility of a 
historic pipeline facility for the National Register, the same 30-day 
limit applies for the SHPO response.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 470v; 36 CFR 800.14(c).


[[Page 20724]]


    Dated: April 22, 2002.
John M. Fowler,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 02-10259 Filed 4-25-02; 8:45 am]
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