The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended through 2000, requires that all Federal agencies consider the impacts to historic properties in all their undertakings, such as accelerated clean up. DOE-SR has been consulting with the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) on NHPA. SHPO is the implementing agency for NHPA in South Carolina.

Compliance with NHPA is usually done in three steps: 1) inventory resources; 2) evaluate for National Register eligibility; and 3) avoid or mitigate effects to historic properties.

DOE-SR inventoried 732 facilities, all of which were constructed between 1950 and 1989. Two hundred and thirty-two SRS structures are considered historic. Eleven properties are also individually eligible. These are: C Reactor, K Reactor, L Reactor, P Reactor, R Reactor, F Canyon, H Canyon, SRTC Main Technical Laboratory (773-A), Physics Laboratory (777-10A), Mockup Building (717-F), and Chemical Semiworks Building (678-T).

As part of the accelerated clean up, DOE-SR has developed an SRS Cold War History Programmatic Agreement (PA) to meet the requirements of NHPA, as defined in the Protection of Historic Properties regulations (36 CFR 800).

Regulation 36 CFR Part 800 (Protection of Historic Properties) specifies who has legal standing to be involved with Federal agencies as they address activities that will affect their historic properties and identify mitigation. DOE-SR has involved the following Consulting Parties.

Signatories:

• Savannah River Operations Office
  
• The Savannah River Site Office (SRSO) of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA),
  
• The DOE Headquarters (ME-75) Federal Preservation Office (FPO),
  
• South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, and
  
• The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP).

Concurring:

• The SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB),
  
• Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness (CNTA),
  
• The City of Aiken,
  
• The City of Augusta, and
  
• The City of New Ellenton.
  

The PA requires that a management plan be developed for the future management of SRS historic properties and to deal with mitigation alternatives.