Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act

The Section 106 Programmatic Agreement, formally titled the Programmatic Agreement Among the Federal Railroad Administration, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the California State Historic Preservation Officer, and the California High-Speed Rail Authority Regarding Compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as it Pertains to the California High-Speed Train Project , defines the process for how the Authority and the lead federal agency, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), shall identify, evaluate, and treat cultural resources that may be affected by the HSR project. The Authority and the FRA consulted with and sought input from Native American tribes during the development of the Programmatic Agreement. All comments received from tribes were considered and incorporated into the final Programmatic Agreement, as appropriate. The final Programmatic Agreement was executed in June 2011.

The Programmatic Agreement stipulates that consultation with Native American tribes shall occur early in the project planning process for each HSR section in an effort to identify the tribes’ concerns and allow adequate time for consideration of such concerns. The Programmatic Agreement further states that the Authority shall ensure that consultation with tribes continues throughout the Section 106 compliance process. In addition to tribal consultation and input, the Programmatic Agreement addresses other matters of tribal interest, including confidentiality of cultural resources, protocols for the treatment of Native American human remains (if discovered), provisions for tribal monitoring, and artifact curation.

• View the Programmatic Agreement