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Eielson Air Force Base, SHPO, commission review draft programmatic agreement to streamline Section 106 reviews
Summary
Eielson Air Force Base presented a revised programmatic agreement to the commission, proposing streamlined Section 106 review procedures for cultural resources; the commission is a consulting party, not a signatory, and stakeholders asked clarifying questions about qualifications, restricted areas and emergency stipulations.
Eielson Air Force Base presented a revised draft programmatic agreement that would establish a framework for ongoing maintenance of historic buildings and a streamlined Section 106 review process; the base and state are the signatories, and the Fairbanks North Star Borough Historic Preservation Commission is a consulting party with the ability to comment.
Brooks Lawler, cultural resource program manager for the 354th Fighter Wing’s civil engineering squadron at Eielson Air Force Base, told the commission, “I'm here today with a revised draft of the programmatic agreement for ongoing maintenance, of historic buildings and streamlined section 106 review for an air force base.” Lawler proposed a meeting for consulting parties to discuss revisions and said the most substantial edits reorganized the whereas clauses and specifically referenced the 168th Air National Guard as a tenant unit.
Commissioner Poirier and others raised technical and procedural questions. Commissioners requested clarification about who signs the agreement and what role the commission would play; Lawler and commission representatives confirmed the base and the State Historic Preservation Office (and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation as a signatory) would be signatories, while the borough commission would be listed as a consulting party able to review and comment but not to sign or decide the agreement.
Commissioners probed key stipulations in the agreement. One question focused on the professional qualifications clause requiring that personnel meet the Secretary of the Interior’s professional qualification standards; commissioners noted the borough had previously recommended that designers and contractors working on the riverboat Nenana meet those standards. Commissioners also asked about stipulations that exclude survey in restricted or unsafe areas controlled by the base; lawler clarified those are impact areas that may be unsafe to enter or require security clearance. The emergency-operations stipulation (identified in the draft as Stipulation 7) would accelerate review timelines for declared emergencies, and commissioners discussed whether declared national emergencies could meaningfully change review procedures; Lawler said the only likely affecting declaration would be an energy emergency and that no energy projects were foreseen that would trigger the accelerated procedures.
Practical arrangements were discussed: Lawler offered a virtual or in-person consultation meeting (tentatively Thursday, June 5) to gather consulting-party feedback; the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society requested the ability to attend and was told there are accommodations for installation access or an alternate schedule if needed. Commissioners also expressed operational concerns about public notice and the practicality of compressed review windows (for example a seven-day comment period under emergency conditions). Josh and others urged that the base maintain clear introductions for virtual participants so consulting parties know who is on the call.
No formal commission recommendation or vote occurred at the June 3 meeting; Lawler requested additional comments and scheduled a follow-up consultation meeting to consider the commission’s input and the comments already received from the commission, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the State Historic Preservation Office.
