Home News ACHP Issues Program Comment for GSA on Select Repairs and Upgrades

ACHP Issues Program Comment for GSA on Select Repairs and Upgrades

August 7, 2009 – In early August via an unassembled vote, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) issued a Program Comment for the General Services Administration (GSA), setting forth the way in which GSA will comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for select repairs and upgrades to windows, lighting, roofing, and heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems within historic public buildings. As a model federal agency alternative pursuant to Section 800.14(e) of the ACHP's regulations, the Program Comment will streamline select review protocols for GSA, facilitating their execution of repair and upgrade projects funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) and other sources.

Under Section 800.14(e) of the regulations, agencies can request the ACHP to provide a Program Comment on a particular category of undertakings in lieu of conducting individual reviews of individual undertakings, as set forth in 36 CFR 800.4 through 800.7. An agency can meet its Section 106 responsibilities for considering the effects of particular aspects of those undertakings on historic properties by following the steps set forth in the Program Comment.

Projects reviewed via the Program Comment must not adversely affect the qualities that qualify a historic property for the National Register of Historic Places. The projects must also be designed by qualified preservation architects who meet the Secretary of the Interior's professional standards, and follow GSA's Technical Preservation Guidelines (below); these guidelines were determined by the National Park Service (NPS) to be consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. Work involving historic materials will be executed by qualified firms specializing in the repair and restoration of historic buildings, under the supervision of GSA preservation staff who also meet the Secretary of the Interior's professional standards.

The Program Comment is the result of consultation among the GSA, the ACHP, the NPS, the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC), and the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO).

Download the Program Comment (PDF). The GSA's Technical Preservation Guidelines are below, and are available on GSA's website. View the list of ARRA-funded projects slated for review via the Program Comment.

GSA's Technical Preservation Guidelines for the GSA Program Comment on Select Repairs and Upgrades

• Windows
• Lighting
• Roofing
• Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems

Posted August 12, 2009

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