The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) created the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), an independent Federal agency, to advise the President and Congress on matters involving historic preservation. The ACHP is 19-member Council appointed by the US president and it consists of a chairman, vice chairman, 6 private citizens, a governor and a mayor. The ACHP is authorized to review and comment on all actions licensed by the Federal government which will have an effect on properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, or eligible for such listing. Section 106 of this Act requires the Federal agencies to consider historical preservation values in their planning and decision-making. The agency must confer with the State Historic Preservation Officer (an official appointed in each State or territory to administer the National Historic Program) and the NHPA. The National Register is an inventory of the United States' historic resources and is maintained by the National Park Service. Items included in the inventory are “buildings, structures, objects, sites, districts, and archeological resources”. The properties in the inventory are significant nationally and most are significant primarily at the State or local level. Section 106 also includes significant properties, which have not yet been listed or formally determined to be eligible for listing. Federal actions that may alter the properties in the inventory include, but are not limited to, “construction, rehabilitation, and repair projects, demolition, licenses, permits, loans, loan guarantees, grants, and Federal property transfers”. The agency sponsoring of one of these activities is obligated to seek ACHP comments.
Anytime the National Historic Preservation Act is invoked there has to be a Section 106 review. The an independent Federal agency the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation together with the State Historic Preservation Office are involved in the review process. An executive director and a professional staff of historians, architects, archaeologists, planners, lawyers and administrators do the day-to-day review of Section 106 as the Council only meets four times a year. The initiation of Section 106 is through a Federal agency involved in the project, although in some cases the local government units can be involved in this. The review may also include the participation of people who are affected by the proposed project namely “local governments, representatives of local tribes, applicants for Federal grants, licenses or permits”. The general public together with the Council ensure the compliance of the Federal agency to Section 106 however at times where the general public is involved in the consulting process the “consultation does not mandate a specific outcome”.
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