Committee approves grant to expand historic-resources review capacity under National Historic Preservation Act

The joint Fiscal Committee approved a funding request to expand the Division of Historical Resources’ capacity to handle a sustained increase in review workload tied to disaster recovery and growth in Section 106 reviews under the National Historic Preservation Act.

Ben Wilson, director of the Division of Historical Resources, told the committee the office now processes about 2,500 reviews annually and has seen a notable increase in required state and Section 106 reviews related to culvert and road repairs and other disaster-related work. Representative Mooney asked for a verbal summary and why the request identified an increase in required activities; Wilson said the frequency of post-disaster reviews and other infrastructure work has driven up the office’s review load and the requested grant would help the division build capacity to meet those legal-review obligations.

The item (FIS 26097) was moved and seconded and adopted by the committee.

Why it matters: State historic-preservation offices review projects for impacts to cultural resources and are required to complete federal and state review processes; Wilson said additional staffing and resources are needed to avoid backlog and ensure compliance with legal review duties.

What’s next: The division will use approved funding to hire or reassign staff and process the higher volume of reviews triggered by infrastructure repairs and disaster response.