Script for Webinar #1
INTRODUCTION: TXDOT’S COMMITMENT TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION 
Introduction to Section 106 and the National Historic Preservation Act.

I. INTRODUCTION 
Slide 1
Welcome to our webinar series about how TxDOT fulfills its historic preservation responsibilities and commitments. 
Slide 2
This is the first of seven webinars about historic preservation at TxDOT. Our goal with this series is to provide you with all the information you need to become an informed participant in the historic preservation review process. Be sure to download the handouts for links to other helpful resources and a glossary of terms we use throughout the series.
Slide 3
The Texas Department of Transportation is a state agency that builds and manages our state’s transportation system. We’re made up of engineers, planners, designers, architects, administrators, financial experts, and other professionals. Our mission is to connect you with Texas. This means building safe and reliable transportation networks that link Texans through roads, highways, hike and bike trails, ferries, airports, and railroads.
Slide 4
Building roads isn’t as simple as picking a spot on a map and hiring a construction crew. Project planning takes several years and involves a thorough evaluation of how the road, bridge, or highway will impact the surrounding area. This evaluation looks at natural, historical, and community resources and is part of what TxDOT calls “environmental review.” These processes are required by laws like the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.
TxDOT recognizes there are places that are important to your community’s history and heritage. As you go through this webinar series, think about the places important to you and see how we can work together to protect them.  
Slide 5
In this webinar, we will introduce the Section 106 process of the National Historic Preservation Act and explain TxDOT’s efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect historic resources. At the end of this webinar, you will know why historic preservation is important to TxDOT, and how you can get involved. 

II. NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT AND SECTION 106
Slide 6
Why does TxDOT care about cultural resources?
In 1966, Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act, a federal law that established “a comprehensive program to preserve the historical and cultural foundations of the nation as a living part of community life.”   
Slide 7
Section 106 of this law requires federal agencies to consider how their projects could impact cultural resources, like historic buildings and sites. 
Slide 8
Although TxDOT is a state agency, we receive funding from the Federal Highway Administration for many of our projects. To streamline project planning, FHWA gave TxDOT the power to make decisions on its behalf. This means that TxDOT often acts like a federal agency, so it must comply with Section 106, the federal law.
Slide 9
Section 106 applies any time federal property, money, or approvals are involved in a project. We ask ourselves these questions: Does the project involve federal property? Will the project receive federal money? Does the project require a federal permit or license? In short, federal involvement triggers the Section 106 process. So, when any federal agency is involved in a TxDOT project, we must work with them to comply with Section 106. 
Slide 10
Now we know that TxDOT must evaluate how its projects impact cultural resources, but what exactly are cultural resources? 
To TxDOT historians and archeologists cultural resources is a broad term that collectively refers to places and things that are historically or culturally significant. In practice this can mean buildings and bridges, archeological sites and cemeteries, sacred or religious landmarks, agricultural landscapes, and objects like sculptures and roadside markers. 
Slide 11
Section 106 does not offer blanket protection to all cultural resources. You probably know many older notable places in your communities, but Section 106 only applies if they qualify for the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is the official list of our nation’s cultural resources. We’ll explore more about the National Register in Webinars 3 and 6.
Slide 12
The Section 106 process involves several players, starting with the federal agency (here, it’s TxDOT in place of FHWA). Others may include the State Historic Preservation Office (the Texas Historical Commission), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, federally recognized tribes or Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, and consulting parties. 
Slide 13
Consulting party and public participation is key to the Section 106 process. When TxDOT historians and archeologists identify cultural resources in a project area, we want to hear from the people and organizations that care about these resources. This means you!
Public participation is the cornerstone of effective government. We know that Texans value the places that reflect their community’s history, so your participation helps us do just that! 
Be sure to watch Webinar 4 to learn more about consulting parties—including how you can become one.

III. THE SECTION 106 PROCESS
Slide 14
The Section 106 process occurs during TxDOT’s project planning stage. We divide into four steps: Notify, Identify, Evaluate, and Decide. We’ll briefly introduce them here but tune into Webinar 3 for an in-depth discussion of the process. 
Slide 15
The first step is Notify. TxDOT will use multiple methods to notify interested parties and members of the public when a project might impact cultural resources.
Your role is to read and respond to any emails or letters you may receive from TxDOT. You can also share your input at a public meeting. If you’d like to become a formal participant in the Section 106 process, let us know!  
Slide 16 
The second step is Identify. TxDOT determines where to look for cultural resources in the project area, and then conducts surveys to find archeology sites and resources that are at least 45 years old. 
TxDOT’s professional historians and archeologists are trained to identify and evaluate cultural resources, but we are not always familiar with the project area. We need your help to know what’s important in your community!
Slide 17
The third step is Evaluate. TxDOT determines if the cultural resources we found tell us an important story about a community’s history. If they do, they may qualify for inclusion in the National Register. 
Your role during this step is to tell us why an identified place is important to you or your community. Do you know its history or know someone else who does? Do you have old photos or documents of it that you can share? 
Slide 18
The fourth step is Decide. During this step, TxDOT uses all of the information gathered during the previous steps to decide how best to proceed. Engineers want to build safe, efficient roads, and historians and archeologists want to protect cultural resources. This means we try to find the best option that balances progress and preservation. 
Ideally, TxDOT projects would always avoid cultural resources, but this is not always possible. If the project damages cultural resources, TxDOT will make up for the loss through a process called mitigation. Mitigation projects preserve the stories of the impacted resources and helps us learn more about our past. 
Your role during this step is to help TxDOT think of ways a proposed project can avoid or minimize impacts to cultural resources. If impacts are unavoidable, how can we help preserve the story for future generations?  

IV. WHAT IS THE ANTIQUITIES CODE OF TEXAS?
Slide 19
Before we wrap up, we want to briefly mention another historic preservation law. Many states require state agencies to identify cultural resources and consider how their projects impact them—in other words, a state-level version of Section 106. In Texas, this law is the Antiquities Code of Texas. 
The ACT requires state and local agencies to notify and consult with the Texas Historical Commission when their project involves ground disturbance on publicly owned land (for example, projects involving the state highway system). The ACT also requires agencies get a permit from the THC for archeological excavations. TxDOT must comply with the ACT regardless of federal participation in a project.

V. KEY TAKEAWAYS
Slide 20
Let’s finish with a quick recap:
Section 106 requires federal agencies to consider how their project could impact cultural resources. 
TxDOT complies with Section 106 when our projects involve federal money, property, or permits.  
TxDOT looks for cultural resources that qualify for the National Register of Historic Places.
Many people and organizations are involved in the Section 106 process, including YOU.
Our goal is to balance preservation with progress.

VI. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Slide 21
Thanks for listening to this introduction about TxDOT’s responsibilities and work in the historic preservation process. Tune into the other webinars in this series to learn more about how we do the work and how you can get involved. In the meantime, check out the video description below for links to helpful online resources and handouts. Head to TxDOT’s Beyond The Road website for videos, podcasts, and story maps about the interesting resources we’ve uncovered during our projects. Sign up for our newsletter and learn more about how you can get involved.

LINKS FOR THE VIDEO DESCRIPTION
For more information about Section 106 and the NHPA:
* TxDOT’s Archeology and History page (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/environmental/archaeology-history.html)
* Texas Historical Commission’s page about the Section 106 Review Process: (https://www.thc.texas.gov/project-review/national-historic-preservation-act/section-106-review-process).
* A Citizen’s Guide to Section 106 Review on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s (ACHP) website: (https://www.achp.gov/digital-library-section-106-landing/citizens-guide-section-106-review).
* ACHP’s Protecting Historic Properties page: (https://www.achp.gov/protecting-historic-properties).
* Antiquities Code of Texas (https://www.thc.texas.gov/project-review/antiquities-code-texas#:~:text=The%20Antiquities%20Code%20of%20Texas,historic%20buildings%20on%20public%20land.&text=The%20law%20also%20established%20the,historic%20buildings%20and%20archeological%20sites.)
For more specific guidance on TxDOT’s Section 106 process, refer to TxDOT’s toolkits. 
* Archeological Sites and Cemeteries Toolkit: (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/environmental/compliance-toolkits/toolkit.html)
* Historic Resources Toolkit (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/environmental/compliance-toolkits/historic-resources.html) 
For information about TxDOT projects and how to get involved visit:
* Getting Involved in Historic Preservation at TxDOT: (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/environmental/historic-preservation.html)
* TxDOT’s public involvement page (which lists public meeting schedule) (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/get-involved.html)
* TxDOT’s project tracker (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/project-tracker.html)
Contact us: (https://www.txdot.gov/contact-us/form.html?id=env-asc-email)