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Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) announced that is has approved an exemption from Historic Preservation Review of Electronic Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE). The exemption allows all federal agencies to forego the Historic Preservation Review process required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Sec. 106 NHPA) when installing certain EVSE. ACHP took this action in response to E.O. 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad”, which directs federal agencies to upgrade the entire federal fleet to clean and zero-emission vehicles, as well as E.O. 14057, “Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability.” The exemption went into effect on October 26, 2022.
On June 3, 2022, USET SPF submitted comments to ACHP expressing concern regarding the exemption from Sec. 106 NHPA for EVSE installation. Although ACHP stated that the exemption would not apply to Tribal Lands without written consent from a Tribal government, we urged that ACHP should consult with Tribal Nations prior to adopting an exemption. We also urged that ACHP and federal partners should expand funding for Tribal historic, cultural, and natural resource officers and managers to address the increased work load of cultural, environmental, and historic reviews.
ACHP has stated that, “because the exemption relies upon existing infrastructure and parking structures, any ground disturbance necessary to install the equipment will be limited to areas already disturbed.” However, USET SPF raised concerns about previously disturbed sites that may not have gone through proper review processes in the past. We will continue to monitor the implementation of this exemption and continue to advocate for the protection of our historic and sacred sites located outside Tribal Nation jurisdictional boundaries.
For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.
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