Title 36—Parks, Forests, and Public Property--Volume 1
PART 63—DETERMINATIONS OF ELIGIBILITY FOR INCLUSION IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
§ 63.1   Purpose and authorities.
(a) These regulations have been developed to assist Federal agencies in identifying and evaluating the eligibility of properties for inclusion in the National Register. The regulations explain how to request determinations of eligibility under section 2(b) of Executive Order 11593 and the regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (36 CFR part 800) for implementation of sections 1(3) and 2(b) of Executive Order 11593 and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended Federal agencies request determinations of eligibility in considering historic properties on lands under their jurisdiction or control or on lands to be affected by proposed actions.
§ 63.2   Determination of eligibility process.
The Department of the Interior will respond within 45 days of receipt of a documented request for a determination of eligibility from a Federal agency when it is submitted in accordance with the following regulations and is accompanied by documentation that clearly portrays the nature and significance of the property.
(a) The agency shall consult the State Historic Preservation Officer as the first step in identifying historic properties for information concerning:
(1) Properties listed in the National Register.
(2) Properties in the process of nomination to the National Register.
(3) Properties determined eligible by the Secretary of the Interior for listing in the National Register.
(4) Any other available information that would assist in identifying properties in the area affected by the proposed action.
(b) If the State Historic Preservation Officer has inadequate information to document the presence or absence of historic properties in the project area, the Federal agency should refer to the Department of the Interior's criteria for the identification of historic properties and the guidelines for level of documentation to accompany requests for determinations of eligibility for inclusion in the National Register published as a notice in the Federal Register.
(c) The agency shall, in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer, apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation contained in 36 CFR 60.6 to all potentially eligible properties that may be affected by the proposed action. If a property appears to meet the Criteria and the State Historic Preservation Officer agrees, the agency should follow the procedures in § 63.3. If there is a question whether the Criteria are met, the agency shall complete the procedures in § 63.3(d). A question on whether a property meets the Criteria exists when the agency and the State Historic Preservation Officer disagree or when the agency determines that a question exists. The Department of the Interior will provide general and specific advice concerning the identification of historic properties and will bring to the attention of a Federal agency any information received from the public regarding potential historic properties in the area affected by its plans or projects.
(d) The agency shall submit a letter of request for a determination of eligibility with a description, statement of significance, photographs, and a map, or a statement in accord with § 63.3 below, if applicable, directly to the Keeper of the National Register, National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240. If available, the opinion of the State Historic Preservation Officer on the eligibility of the property should also be forwarded with the request.
(e) The Keeper, National Register, will respond in writing to the agency's request within 45 days of receipt of a documented request submitted in accord with § 63.2(d) of these procedures. If the opinion of the State Historic Preservation Officer is not included with the request, the Keeper of the National Register will provide to the State Historic Preservation Officer a copy of the request and will ask for his opinion on the property. If the Keeper does not receive the State Historic Preservation Officer's response within three weeks of the State Historic Preservation Officer's receipt of a letter from the Keeper requesting an opinion, the Keeper will proceed with the determination and will inform the agency that the State Historic Preservation Officer did not give an opinion. If the Keeper of the National Register determines that documentation submitted with the request is not sufficient to make a professional evaluation of the significance of the property, he will advise the agency in writing of the additional information needed. The Keeper of the National Register will respond to the agency's request within 45 days of receipt of documentation on the property requested by the Keeper.
§ 63.3   Procedures to be applied when the Agency and the State Historic Preservation Officer agree a property is eligible.
If during the consultation described in § 63.2(c), both the agency and the State Historic Preservation Officer agree that a property meets the Criteria, the Federal agency or the State Historic Preservation Officer shall forward to the Keeper of the National Register (a) a letter signed by the agency stating that the agency and the State Historic Preservation Officer agree that the property is eligible for inclusion in the National Register, and (b) a statement signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer that in his opinion the property is eligible for the National Register. Either the letter or the statement must contain substantive information on the property, including a description, specific boundaries, its significance under National Register Criteria, and an explanation of why the property is eligible for listing in the National Register. The Keeper of the National Register shall give written notice of his determination to both the agency and the State Historic Preservation Officer within 10 working days of receipt. If the property has not been accurately identified and evaluated, the Keeper will inform the agency and the State Historic Preservation Officer within 10 working days and will recommend that the agency follow the process set forth at § 63.2. Notwithstanding such recommendation, the Federal agency or the Keeper of the National Register may consider the property eligible for the purpose of obtaining the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's comments. Documentation concerning properties determined eligible for the National Register shall be kept on file by the agency and the State Historic Preservation Officer.
§ 63.4   Other properties on which determinations of eligibility may be made by the Secretary of the Interior.
(a) The Keeper of the National Register will make determinations of eligibility on properties nominated by Federal agencies under section 2(a) of Executive Order 11593 prior to returning the nominations for such properties to the agency for technical or professional revision or because of procedural requirements. Such determinations of eligibility will be made only if sufficient information exists to establish the significance of the property and its eligibility for the National Register
(b) Any property or district removed from the National Register for procedural deficiencies in the nomination and/or listing process shall automatically be considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register without further action and will be published as such in the Federal Register.
(c) If necessary to assist in the protection of historic resources, the Keeper, upon consultation with the appropriate State Historic Preservation Officer and concerned Federal agency, if any, may determine properties to be eligible for listing in the National Register under the Criteria established by 36 CFR part 60 and shall publish such determinations in the Federal Register. Such determinations may be made without a specific request from the Federal agency or, in effect, may reverse findings on eligibility made by a Federal agency and State Historic Preservation Officer. Such determinations will be made after an investigation and an onsite inspection of the property in question.
§ 63.5   Federal Register publication of properties determined eligible.
In addition to written notice to the Federal agency and the State Historic Preservation Officer, public notice of properties determined eligible for the National Register will be published in the Federal Register at regular intervals and in a cumulative annual edition usually issued in February. Determinations in accord with § 63.3 will be identified with an asterisk.
§ 63.6   Review and nomination of properties determined eligible.
The Keeper of the National Register will conduct an annual review of the condition of properties determined eligible for the National Register. The Keeper of the National Register will obtain from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation information on decisions made concerning eligible properties in accord with memorandum of agreement under the Council's “Procedures for the Protection of Historic and Cultural Properties” (36 CFR part 800). If there is no memorandum of agreement or if no provision has been made in a memorandum of agreement for nomination of an eligible property and if the property retains the characteristics that made it eligible for the National Register, the Keeper of the National Register will take the following steps:
(a) For a property owned by a Federal agency, or under the jurisdiction or control of the agency to the extent that the agency substantially exercises the attributes of ownership, the Keeper of the National Register will request the Federal agency to nominate the property to the National Register within six months.
(b) If the property is not under Federal jurisdiction or control, the Keeper of the National Register will request that the State Historic Preservation Office nominate the property to the National Register within six months.
(c) If the Keeper of the National Register determines that a property has lost the characteristics that made it eligible for the National Register, he will inform the State Historic Preservation Officer and the Federal agency and remove the property from the list of eligible properties.