Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

NHPA Section 110 Goals
NHPA Section 110 is intended to ensure that
historic preservation is fully integrated into the
ongoing programs of all federal agencies. It sets
forth broad responsibilities and a few specific
benchmarks to fulfill this goal. In a broad sense,
the statute requires federal agencies to assume
responsibility for identifying and protecting
historic properties and avoid unnecessary damage
to them. Agencies are also charged with the
affirmative responsibility for considering projects
and programs that further the purposes of the
NHPA, and the statute declares that the costs of
preservation activities are eligible project costs in
all undertakings.
1992 amendments to the Act further
strengthened the provisions of Section 110 and
established specific benchmarks for compliance.
In this context, the statute requires the head of
each federal agency to assume responsibility for
the preservation of historic properties owned or
controlled by the agency, establish a broad
preservation program for historic properties, and
to the maximum extent feasible, to use historic
properties available to it in carrying out its
responsibilities, including construction, lease, or
purchase of new properties. It further directs that
preservation-related activities, and all other
activities that may impact historic properties, be
carried out in cooperation with other federal, state,
and local agencies; American Indian tribes; and
the general public. Finally, it directs federal
agencies to establish preservation programs to
identify, evaluate, and nominate properties under
their jurisdiction to the National Register and to
maintain and manage such properties in a manner
that considers their preservation. Finally, agency
procedures for compliance with Section 106 of the
Act are to be consistent with regulations issued by
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
DOE is committed to a comprehensive
cultural resource management approach that
addresses all cultural resources at INL in full
compliance with all Sections of the NHPA. A
broad range of ongoing INL CRM Office activities
fulfill Section 110 requirements. This includes, but
is not necessarily limited to: archaeological survey
and recording of previously unknown resources,
assessment and updated documentation of
previously recorded archaeological resources,
National Register nominations, artifact analyses,
and archival research. All of these activities
enhance resource protection and preservation.
Identification
Efforts to identify cultural resources have been
ongoing at INL for decades. Appendices H and I
provide lists of the cultural resources that have
been identified during this time, organized
according to resource type. Every year more
resources are added to this inventory through two
basic processes. In one process, resources are
inventoried for purposes of long-term planning
and compliance with provisions in the National
Historic Preservation Act and the Archaeological
Resources Protection Act that require federal
agencies to ultimately locate and evaluate the
cultural resources on lands under their jurisdiction.
In the second process of identification, cultural
resources that may be subject to impact as a result
of INL activities are inventoried.
Methods for identification of cultural
resources at INL vary according to the type of
resource under consideration. For the most part,
archaeological sites are identified through
intensive, systematic pedestrian surface survey in
most INL areas. Limited test excavation may also
be employed to assess the nature and extent of
subsurface cultural deposits at potentially
significant archaeological sites. Historic
architectural properties, structures, and objects
generally exhibit some type of surface
manifestation as well, but not always, and INL
historic archives are often consulted to assist with
identification of these cultural resources. Direct
communication is necessary to identify and
characterize most American Indian cultural
resources such as sacred sites or traditional use
areas. Even in areas that are widely recognized as
sensitive to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes,
detailed inventory of the resources, tangible and
intangible, of potential concern and importance is
impossible without tribal input.
DOE-ID’s commitment to locating cultural
resources at INL is critical to their long-term
stewardship. The archaeological sites, historic
architectural properties, traditional cultural areas
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