Practical Guidance for Developing Implementation Guidelines for Federal On-Scene Coordinators to Protect Historic Properties During Emergency Response

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 1997, the national Programmatic Agreement on Protection of Historic Properties during Emergency Response under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (PA) was signed. The agreement, developed by the National Response Team (NRT), provides federal On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) with an effective approach for considering the protection of historic properties during emergency response. In January 2002, the nation's first regional implementation guidelines for the PA were completed and signed by federal, state, and tribal representatives in Alaska. This paper presents suggestions for successful implementation of the PA gained through the development of regional implementation guidelines and use of the PA. Awareness of these “tips for success” and the guidelines themselves may help other regions develop their own procedures to protect historic properties in a way that contributes to the overall success of emergency response. This paper provides practical guidance on: (1) how federal OSCs may obtain reliable and timely historic properties expertise; (2) how that expertise can be successfully integrated into an Incident Command System; and (3) how State Historic Preservation Officers, federal land-management agencies, tribal representatives, and responsible parties can provide historic properties protection support to federal OSCs during both pre-incident planning and emergency response.