The National Historic Preservation Act & Section 106

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) aims to preserve historic properties in the United States and its territories. Section 106 of the NHPA requires federal agencies like the Department of the Air Force (DAF) to consider how their actions could affect historic properties and to consider the input of interested parties and the public. The DAF conducted Section 106 consultation for activities proposed in the Tinian Divert Infrastructure Improvements undertaking. The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed Tinian Divert Infrastructure Improvements was prepared by the DAF in parallel to the Section 106 consultation process to assess environmental impacts associated with the project.

The U.S. Air Force & the Section 106 Process

The steps followed by the DAF in the Section 106 process are outlined below:

• Initiate: The DAF notifies the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Historic Preservation Officer (HPO) and about the undertaking and invites interested parties and the public to consult.
• Identify: The DAF determines the Area of Potential Effect (APE) and identifies historic properties in the APE. The DAF seeks information from the public and consulting parties about historic properties in the APE and why they are important.
• Determine Effects: The DAF determines how the proposed undertaking could affect historic properties. Consulting parties and the public provided input on effects.
• Resolve Adverse Effects: As potential adverse effects were identified on historic properties from the undertaking, the DAF, with input from the HPO, the public, and other consulting parties, identified measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects. The agreed upon measures to mitigate effects are outlined in an agreement document. The agreement document is provided in Appendix C of the Appendices Volume of the Final SEIS, available on the Documents page.