Script for Webinar #3
SECTION 106: TXDOT’S FOUR-STEP PROCESS
What happens during the historic preservation process?

I. INTRODUCTION TO WEBINAR 
Slide 1
Welcome back to TxDOT’s Historic Preservation webinar series! This webinar is all about TxDOT’s four-step Section 106 process. 
Slide 2
This is the third of seven webinars about our commitments to Historic Preservation at TxDOT. The goal with this webinar series is to provide you with all the information you need to become an informed participant in the Section 106 process. The previous webinars will provide you with a general understanding of our overall historic preservation process. You can find a great overview in Webinar 1. Be sure to download the handouts for links to other helpful resources and a glossary of terms we use throughout the series.
Slide 3
In this webinar, we’re going to dive into some of the details about our four-step process. By the end, you’ll know more about how we make decisions and how you can be involved each step of the way. 
 
II. THE FOUR-STEP SECTION 106 PROCESS
Slide 4
Let’s start with a little reminder: Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act helps protect cultural resources from harmful federal projects. Because TxDOT receives Federal Highway Administration money, it must follow this law and evaluate how its projects impact cultural resources. When a project requires the Section 106 review process, our archeologists and historians follow four steps: Notify, Identify, Evaluate, and Decide. 
In this webinar, we’ll discuss these steps one by one, but it’s important to note that some steps can happen at the same time. For example: we might notify you that a project is starting, and at the same time, ask for help identifying important places in your community. 

III. STEP 1: NOTIFY
Slide 5
TxDOT does not make decisions about cultural resources alone! Our first step is to connect with our partners. We contact groups and individuals that may be interested in the project or concerned about how the project could impact cultural resources in their community. 
TxDOT reaches out using a variety of methods including letters, meetings, and media.  
No matter your experience or knowledge, we want to hear from you! You are critical to the success of the Section 106 process in your community.  

IV. STEP 2: IDENTIFY
Slide 6
Before TxDOT can identify cultural resources, we need to know where to look. This means we must define the Area of Potential Effect. The APE is a specific geographic area where the project may impact cultural resources. Here, the dashed red line shows the above-ground APE and the solid red line shows the archeology APE. TxDOT’s archeologists and historians can only conduct studies inside their specific APE.
Slide 7
Once the APE is set, our archeologists and historians use several online databases to see if there is any information about previously recorded cultural resources. If there is no information, or if several years have passed since the last document, we may conduct a new survey. A survey includes a combination of research and physically searching the APE for cultural resources.
Slide 8
Public input is very helpful during the identification step! While we can often spot older properties, we need you to tell us which are important to your community. We will share our results and offer you an opportunity to comment. For example, during a project in Baylor County, a resident wrote us a letter telling us how the community used and cherished an historic bridge. 
If our survey does not find cultural resources in the APE, we end the search and complete the project as planned. TxDOT fulfilled its Section 106 requirements and the historic preservation process is complete. 

V. STEP 3: EVALUATE 
Slide 9
However, if there are cultural resources in the APE, we continue to Step 3 and evaluate their historical significance. As a reminder “historic” doesn’t simply mean “old.” TxDOT evaluates historical significance using the same requirements as the National Register of Historic Places. This means a resource must be important to local, state, or national history. For example, we may find several historic-age homes in a neighborhood but determine that only one is historically significant. 
Slide 10
Our professional archeologist and historians follow widely accepted evaluation standards, but we don’t determine significance alone. We consult with the Texas Historical Commission, federally recognized tribes, and other groups and individuals like you.  
Your role during the evaluation step is to tell us why a place is important to you or your community and to share any information you have about its history. 
If a property does not qualify for the National Register, the Section 106 process is complete, and we can proceed with the project as planned. If our team determines a cultural resource does meet the National Register requirements, the Section 106 process continues.   

VI. STEP 4: DECIDE
Slide 11
The last step is often the hardest! We’ve identified cultural resources in the APE that qualify for the National Register. But now, we need to figure out how the proposed project may impact them—and what to do about it. 
To make the right decision, TxDOT develops different design options. We seek public comment on these designs so that we can pick a solution that balances our transportation needs with historic preservation.   
Slide 12
Design options allow TxDOT to test different preservation outcomes. An option can completely avoid cultural resources; minimize impacts to cultural resources, or impact cultural resources. The tricky part can be finding an option that both protects cultural resources and meets the transportation need. 
What does this look like in practice? We may re-route a road to avoid an archeological site. We could shift a new road so it passes through the yard and not through an historic house, minimizing impacts to the historic property. However, sometimes there is no option that avoids impacts to cultural resources.
This example shows an interchange project in Round Rock, Texas. The initial design took land from an historic district. TxDOT selected a design option that minimized the impact on the historic district.  
Your role during this step is to help us think of those options that will avoid or minimize cultural resource impacts. But remember, it’s about balance: TxDOT still needs to plan projects safely and efficiently.  
Slide 13
Once we’ve arrived at the best design solution, TxDOT’s historians and archeologists must formally assess how the project impacts cultural resources in the APE. This assessment is called a “Determination of Effect” and it is part of the Section 106 process.
We make this determination by asking questions like: Why is the resource significant and what are its most important features? And, will the project cause negative effects to the resource? We also seek input from the Texas Historical Commission and consulting parties on this assessment.
There are three determinations of effect:
* “No historic properties affected” means the proposed project does not impact any cultural resources. 
* “No adverse effect” means the proposed project impacts a cultural resource, but the impact isn’t negative or adverse. Either of these determinations completes the Section 106 process. 
* An “adverse effect” means the proposed project would negatively impact or destroy a cultural resource. TxDOT must resolve or mitigate an adverse effect to complete Section 106.
Slide 14
If we have an adverse effect determination, TxDOT must make up for the impact or loss through mitigation. When impacts are unavoidable, we want to preserve the history and legacy of the cultural resource for future generations. 
How does TxDOT do this? At archeological sites, we excavate, study, and curate artifacts. At historic sites, we document resources through architectural drawings, written reports, and photographs. We also write brochures and web sites that share the story of the resource with a larger audience.  
These mitigation projects help us learn more about our past. Your role in mitigation is to tell us what kinds of information you want TxDOT to preserve and how you want to share it with your community. 

VII. RECAP
Slide 15
Let’s summarize our discussion with some key takeaways:  
Section 106 is a process for considering how the project impacts cultural resources.
Our four steps are, Notify, Identify, Evaluate, and Decide. Our professional staff are trained to carry out each of these steps. 
But we can really use your help in each step of the process. TxDOT considers the views of consulting parties and the public in Section 106. Your input helps us arrive at the best possible option that balances historic preservation with progress. 

VIII. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Slide 16
Thanks for listening to this webinar about TxDOT’s four-step Section 106 process. Tune into the other webinars in this series to learn more about how TxDOT manages cultural resources. In the meantime, check out the video description or the handout for links to helpful online resources. 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 additional information about TxDOT’s Section 106 process:
• Historic Resources Toolkit (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/environmental/compliance-toolkits/historic-resources.html) 
• Archeological Sites and Cemeteries Toolkit (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/environmental/compliance-toolkits/toolkit.html)
• TxDOT’s Programmatic Agreement with FHWA (https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/env/tribal/section-106.pdf)
• TxDOT’s Memorandum of Understanding with the THC (https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=5&ti=43&pt=1&ch=2&sch=H&rl=Y)
	To find out 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 lists public meeting schedules (https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/get-involved/about/hearings-meetings.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)