Script for Webinar #5
AREA OF POTENTIAL EFFECT: WHERE DO WE LOOK?
What is an Area of Potential Effect, for both archeology and historical studies?

I. INTRODUCTION TO WEBINAR 
Slide 1
Welcome back to TxDOT’s Historic Preservation webinar series! This webinar is all about defining the areas where we look for cultural resources.  
	 Slide 2
This is the fifth 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. If this webinar is the first you’ve tuned into, we recommend you pause and watch Webinar 1 and Webinar 3 before moving on. The previous webinars provide a great foundation for understanding the overall historic preservation 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
In this webinar, we explain the “Area of Potential Effect” (the APE). By the end of the webinar, you’ll know how we draw an archeology and above-ground APE, and why they’re sometimes different. 

II. WHAT IS THE “AREA OF POTENTIAL EFFECT” (APE) 
Slide 4
The Area of Potential Effect, or APE, covers the area where a proposed project could change or alter cultural resources. As you know, TxDOT needs to consider how a planned project could impact cultural resources and the APE tells us exactly where we need to look. Think of the APE as a 3D area. We look at the project plans and include areas where the project will be built; we look up and out to see where the project could be seen or heard, and we look below ground to see if the project could destroy buried archeological resources. 
Determining the size and shape of the APE is one of the first steps in the Section 106 process. We have standard APEs for common projects. For large or complex projects, determining the APE is often done with input from consulting parties.
It’s important to note, there may be more than one APE because the APE for archeological properties can be different than above-ground properties. 

III. ARCHEOLOGY APE
Slide 5
The archeology APE covers the area where the proposed project could impact archeological resources, which are, by definition, below the surface of the ground or water. The archeology APE will always follow the project limits and it will only go as deep as the project digging. Think about how far down we go to build bridge columns or drainage ponds. 
Slide 6
Here’s an example of how we draw the archeology APE. [CLICK] This first drawing is what we call the “plan view,” and it shows us a roadway drainage project as if we were looking down at it from above. The purple line is the project limits. The yellow area in between is our archeology APE – this where TxDOT will dig the drain, so this is where our archeologists need to look for archeology sites. Their investigation is called a “survey.” [CLICK] This second drawing is called the “section view,” and it shows us the same project from the side, as if we sliced through the ground to see a cross-section. The green line is the existing ground surface, and the red line shows us how deep we need dig to install a new drain pipe. The yellow area in between is our archeology APE. Our archeologists will not go deeper than the red line because TxDOT will not disturb anything below this line during construction.
   Slide 7
As you saw in that example, archeology surveys will always stay within the archeology APE. What if an archeological site starts in our Right of Way but then goes into private property, like in the photograph here? We still only stay within the defined APE of the project. This is for two reasons: one, TxDOT does not own the land outside the project limits and two, the project will not be built outside of TxDOT land, so that space will not be excavated or surveyed by TxDOT. 

IV. ABOVE-GROUND APE
Slide 8
In the above-ground APE, our architectural historians look to see how a project could impact historic resources, including buildings, structures, historic districts, and landscapes. The above-ground APE is often bigger than the archeology APE because it also includes areas outside the project limits, where the project can be seen, heard, or felt.
	Slide 9
The above-ground APE will always include the area where a project can directly affect historic resources. Direct effects are physical impacts, such as:
• Destroying or damaging all or part of a resource (such as demolishing an historic building); 
• Altering or adding features that change how we understand the resource (such as removing original awnings from historic commercial buildings or adding ADA ramps and railings in an historic district); 
• Relocating the historic resource (like moving an historic bridge); or 
• Changing the character of the property’s use or setting (such as expanding a road right up to the front porch of a house)
	Slide 10
Depending on what TxDOT is proposing to build, historians may also look at how a project can indirectly affect historic resources. Indirect effects are impacts that do not physically destroy or alter the historic resource, but they may change how someone experiences it. The most common indirect effect is a visual effect. For example, TxDOT built an elevated expressway just outside El Paso’s historic Chihuahuita neighborhood. Even though the expressway did not demolish or move any property in the historic district, it was visible throughout the neighborhood and it changed the way the neighborhood looked. 
       Slide 11
Traffic noise from a newly improved or built road or bridge can also affect an historic resource. For example, TxDOT added new lanes to an interstate in Fort Worth. We found that it would increase noise at Butler Place, an historic public housing development. In order to reduce the noise, TxDOT constructed a wall to help block the increased sound, or noise effects. 
	Slide 12
Sometimes, construction activities or new traffic can cause nearby historic buildings to vibrate. In one project, TxDOT needed to add new lanes to a highway in north Houston, but our architectural historians were worried the project was too close to the historic Cheek-Neal Coffee Building. Vibrations from construction equipment and traffic could affect the historic building, so we added support to the building to prevent damage and make it stronger.
	Slide 13
The size of the above-ground APE varies based on the size and type of the project, the location of the project, and the potential for direct and indirect effects. [CLICK]
When TxDOT has a small project, like repaving a road, the above-ground APE is limited to the existing road. [CLICK]
When TxDOT has a medium-sized project, like adding a new turn lane or new sidewalks to a road, then the above-ground APE includes a small area (or buffer) around the road and the area where the turn lane and sidewalks will be added. [CLICK] 
When TxDOT has a larger project, like building a brand-new road, the above-ground APE includes a large buffer surrounding the location of the new road. This is where we will look for historic resources that could be impacted by the project.
In some cases, when the project is unusual or unique, the APE may differ from these standard APEs. For example, the APE for a new overpass project might be larger to account for potential visual impacts, like in the Chihuahuita neighborhood.

V. KEY TAKEAWAYS
Slide 14
And now, our key take-aways: the Area of Potential Effect, or APE, is a three-dimensional geographic area where TxDOT historians and archeologists look for cultural resources and evaluate how a project could impact or change the cultural resources. We often have different APEs for archeology and above-ground resources. The archeology APE is always limited to the project area – it is where the project can impact archeological sites. The above-ground APE varies depending on the size, type, and location of the project. Knowing about the APE is important because the APE defines the boundary where TxDOT looks for cultural resources. We do not plan around or research resources outside the APE.

VI. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
   Slide 16
Thanks for listening to this webinar about the Area of Potential Effects. Watch the other webinars and 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 video description:
For additional information about APEs visit:
* TxDOT’s Programmatic Agreement with FHWA, which outlines standard APE sizes: (https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/env/tribal/section-106.pdf)
* TxDOT’s Standard Operating Procedure for Historic Properties and Visual Impacts Assessment (http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/env/toolkit/422-01-sop.pdf)
For more specific guidance on TxDOT’s Section 106 process, refer to TxDOT’s toolkits. 
* Archaeological 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)