[Federal Register: November 18, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 222)]
[Notices]
[Page 69959-69961]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18no05-41]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Air Force
Program Comment for Capehart and Wherry Era Housing and
Associated Structures and Landscape Features (1949-1962)
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Force, and
Department of the Army.
ACTION: Notice of Approval of Program Comment on Air Force and Navy
Capehart and Wherry Era Housing.
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SUMMARY: On November 18th, 2004 the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation (Council) approved a program comment that facilitates the
Navy's and Air Force's compliance with the National Historic
Preservation Act, with regard to management of their inventories of
Capehart and Wherry Era housing units, associated structures, and
landscape features.
Authority: 36 CFR 800.14.
DATES: The program comment went into effect on November 18th, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Address comments to: HQ AF/ILE, Environmental Programs,
ATTN: Lt Col Douglas Burkett, 1260 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC,
20030-1260 (AIR FORCE) Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command
(BDD), ATTN: Dr. Jay Thomas, 1322 Patterson Ave SE Ste 1000, Washington
Navy Yard DC 20374-5065.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lt Col Douglas Burkett at (703) 604-
0632 or Dr. Jay Thomas at (202) 685-9196.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 470f, requires Federal agencies to consider
the effects of these undertakings on historic properties and provide
the Council a reasonable opportunity to comment with regard to such
undertakings. The Council issued the regulations that set forth the
process through which Federal agencies may comply with these
requirements. Those regulations are codified under 36 CFR part 800
(``Section 106 regulations''). The Section 106 regulations, under 36
CFR 800.14(e), provide that an agency may request the Council for a
``Program Comment'' allowing it to comply with Section 106 for a
category of undertakings in lieu of conducting a separate review for
each individual undertaking under the regular consultation process.
I. Background
According to the requirements for obtaining a Program Comment, the
Navy and Air Force formally requested the Council comment on Capehart
and Wherry Era family housing and associated structures and landscape
features in lieu of requiring separate reviews under Sec. Sec. 800.4
through 800.6 of the Section 106 regulations for each individual
undertaking. The Navy and Air Force identified the category of
undertakings as maintenance, repair, layaway, mothballing,
privatization and transfer out of federal agency ownership, substantial
alteration through renovation, demolition, and demolition and
replacement, affecting Navy and Air Force family housing built between
1949 and 1962 termed `Capehart and Wherry'. The Air Force and Navy also
specified the likely effects that these management actions would have
on historic properties and the steps the Air Force and Navy would take
to ensure that the effects are taken into account. The Air Force and
Navy included in their request to the Council the public comments that
it received from a 60-day public comment opportunity provided through
an earlier notice (69 FR 48462, August 10, 2004). The Council
subsequently published a notice of intent to issue the Program Comment
(69 FR 54763, September 10, 2004) and notified the State Historic
Preservation Officers (SHPOs), the National Conference of State
Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), the National Trust for
Historic Preservation (NTHP), Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
(THPOs), and the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation
Officers, and requested their views on the Air Force and Navy's
proposed Program Comment. During its November 18, 2004 business
meeting, the Council membership (with the Department of Defense
recusing itself) voted unanimously to approve and issue the Program
Comment found at the end of this notice. The vote was 16 in favor of
approving and issuing the Program Comment, 0 votes against, and 1
abstention (the Department of Defense), with 3 voting members absent.
Neither the Council nor the Air Force and Navy have engaged in
consultation with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations,
pursuant to 36 CFR 800.14(e)(4), since such consultation is not
warranted. All Air Force and Navy actions considered under this Program
Comment will be undertaken on Air Force and Navy property. The Program
Comment will not affect historic properties of religious and cultural
significance, regardless of location, to any Indian tribe or Native
Hawaiian organization since any Capehart and Wherry actions that would
affect these types of properties are specifically excluded under the
Program Comment.
II. Response to Public Comments
Clarify a separate step for identifying properties of particular
importance. The proposed comment does not include a specific process
for identifying properties of particular importance. This Program
Comment now includes a specific process of identifying properties of
particular importance. The Air Force and Navy will notify the Council,
NCSHPO, and NTHP whether any of these properties are of particular
importance and permits an opportunity to review the findings.
Report for the General Public: The requirement to prepare a report
for the general public should be separated out from the requirement to
revise the historic context study, and should be more clearly
delineated as a separate deliverable item. The Program Comment
[[Page 69960]]
reflects two distinct deliverables; the resulting publicly accessible
context study will be placed on a public web site and copies of the
report will be provided to all SHPOs, the NCSHPOs, the Council, and the
NTHP.
The Air Force and Navy should issue a specific directive to
installations requiring consideration of the design guidelines in order
to implement the program comment. The intent of the Program Comment is
that the Navy and Air Force apply the design guidelines consistently at
any installation where Capehart and Wherry units will be retained. In
accordance with 36 CFR 800.14(e)(6), the Council may withdraw the
Program Comment if it determines that the consideration of historic
properties is not being carried out in a manner consistent with the
Program Comment.
Properties of ``Particular Importance''--Require a commitment to
some degree of preservation. The Program Comment reflects both a
process for determining properties of particular importance as well as
a commitment to consider the preservation of these properties through
continued use as military housing, within funding and mission
constraints.
Affirmatively encourage the use of historic preservation tax
credits. The Program Comment obliges the Navy and Air Force to advise
developers involved in housing privatization initiatives that Wherry
and Capehart properties may be eligible for historic preservation tax
credits.
III. Text of the Program Comment
1. Introduction
This Program Comment, adopted pursuant to 36 CFR 800.14(e),
demonstrates Department of the Air Force (Air Force) and Department of
the Navy (Navy) compliance with their responsibilities under Section
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act with regard to the
following actions in the management of the Wherry and Capehart Era
family housing: Maintenance, repair, layaway, mothballing,
privatization and transfer out of federal agency ownership, substantial
alteration through renovation, demolition, and demolition and
replacement of Wherry and Capehart Era housing, associated structures
and landscape features that may be eligible for listing on the National
Register of Historic Places.
2. Treatment of Wherry and Capehart Properties
A. Eligibility
The Department of the Army (Army) conducted a historic context of
its Wherry and Capehart properties and documented these in a report
entitled ``For Want of a Home: A Historic Context for Wherry and
Capehart Military Family Housing''. On May 22, 2001, the Army sponsored
a symposium on Wherry and Capehart era housing management as it related
to historic preservation. The symposium was attended by preservation
experts, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation
(Trust), the National Conference of State Historic Preservation
Officers (NCSHPO), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
(ACHP), and nationally recognized experts in the field of historic
preservation from academia and industry. Symposium participants
recommended a programmatic approach to complying with Section 106, and
these approaches were part of the Army's Program Comment, which was
approved by the ACHP in 2002 (67 FR 39332; June 7, 2002).
The Air Force and the Navy have gathered data on their inventory of
Wherry and Capehart properties which will be appended to the Army's
context study, as outlined below, to provide a comprehensive
understanding of the Department of Defense (DoD) inventory for this
property type. As with the Army, the Air Force and the Navy consider
their inventory of Wherry and Capehart properties, including any
associated structures and landscape features, to be eligible for the
National Register of Historic Places for the purposes of Section 106
compliance.
B. Treatment
The Air Force and the Navy have requested a Program Comment as a
service-wide Section 106 compliance action related to management of
Wherry and Capehart Era housing, associated structures and landscape
features. This programmatic approach will facilitate management actions
for maintenance, repair, layaway, mothballing, privatization and
transfer out of Federal agency ownership, substantial alteration
through renovation, demolition, and demolition and replacement of
Wherry and Capehart Era housing, associated structures and landscape
features. Such actions present a potential for adverse effects to
historic properties.
Based on the Program Comment previously approved for the Army for
this property type, and following meetings with the ACHP, the Trust and
NCSHPO, the Air Force and the Navy agree to the following six-step
approach to the treatment of its Wherry and Capehart properties:
(i) The Air Force and the Navy will:
(a) Revise the Army's historic context, ``The Wherry and Capehart
Era Solutions to the Postwar Family Housing Shortage (1949-1962): A
Historic Context'', to include information pertinent to Air Force and
Navy bases where this information differs from that provided in the
Army's context study, including information on Navy and Air Force
Capehart and Wherry Era Housing architects, sponsors and bidders, and
projects. The expanded context study will provide a more complete
picture of Wherry and Capehart Era family housing across DoD, and
(b) upon completion of the revised context study, the Air Force and
the Navy will use it and any resulting oral histories recorded in
accordance with section II(B)(vi), below, to prepare a report suitable
for release to the general public. The report to the public will
extract that information which may be deemed sensitive or inappropriate
for release to the public; the resulting context study will be placed
on a publicly accessible Web site and copies of the report will be
provided to all the SHPOs, NCSHPO, the Trust and the ACHP.
(ii) The Navy and Air Force will review the results of the expanded
and revised context study and determine whether any of those properties
identified under Section II(B)(i)(a) are of particular importance. The
Navy and Air Force will notify the Council of the results of this
review, and the Council will forward the results to the NCSHPO, and the
Trust.
(iii) The Air Force and Navy will use, or modify for their own use,
the Army's design guidelines: ``Neighborhood Design Guidelines for Army
Wherry and Capehart Housing''. Modified design guidelines will be
provided to ACHP for review. Copies of the Air Force and Navy
guidelines will be provided to the NCSHPO, the Trust and the ACHP.
These Neighborhood Design Guidelines will be distributed by
Headquarters, Air Force and Navy to those offices that manage and
maintain this housing type and they will be encouraged to consider the
design guidelines in planning actions that affect their Wherry and
Capehart Era housing, associated structures and landscape features.
(iv) For Wherry and Capehart properties that have been determined
to be of particular importance, as defined in the revised context
study, the Air Force and the Navy will:
[[Page 69961]]
(a) Consider the need to conduct additional historical
documentation, and
(b) Within funding and mission constraints, consider the
preservation of these properties through continued use as military
housing.
(v) The Air Force and the Navy will advise developers involved in
housing privatization initiatives that Wherry and Capehart properties
may be eligible for historic preservation tax credits.
(vi) The Air Force and the Navy will attempt to locate and conduct
oral interviews with military families who lived in Wherry and Capehart
housing (which may include Army families), and other people who were
involved with design and construction of Capehart and Wherry Era
housing. Prior to conducting any interviews, the Air Force and the Navy
will seek advice from appropriate government offices such as the
Library of Congress' Veterans History Project and the military service
historical centers to develop a set of appropriate interview questions
and proper formats in which interviews would be recorded. Upon
completion of the oral histories, the Air Force and the Navy will
provide a copy of all written and recorded documentation to the Library
of Congress.
3. Applicability
This Program Comment does not apply to the following properties
that are listed, or eligible for listing, on the National Register of
Historic Places:
(i) Archeological sites,
(ii) Properties of traditional religious and cultural significance
to federally recognized Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations,
or
(iii) Historic properties other than Air Force and Navy Wherry and
Capehart Era housing, associated structures and landscape features.
4. Schedule for Completion
(i) Within 12 months from Council approval of the Program Comment,
the Air Force and Navy shall complete:
(a) The expanded and revised context study for Capehart and Wherry
Era housing as described in Section II(B)(i)(a), above;
(b) Review of the context study for properties of particular
importance as described in II(B)(ii), above; and
(c) Adoption of the design guidelines as described in Section
II(B)(iii), above.
(ii) Within 24 months from Council approval of the Program Comment,
the Navy and Air Force shall complete:
(a) Its consideration of properties of particular importance as
described in Section II(B)(iv), above;
(b) Completion of the oral history segment of the mitigation, as
described in Section II(B)(vi), above, and
(c) Completion of the context study suitable for release to the
general public, as described in Section II(B)(i)(b), above.
5. Effect of Program Comment
The ACHP believes that this six-step approach will ensure that the
Air Force and the Navy take into account the effects of management of
their Wherry and Capehart era housing. By following this comment and
outlined six-step approach, the Air Force and the Navy will have met
their responsibilities for compliance under Section 106 regarding
management of their Wherry and Capehart era housing. Accordingly, Air
Force and Navy bases will not have to follow the case-by-case Section
106 review process for each individual management action.
The Air Force and the Navy may carry out management actions prior
to the completion of all of the six treatment steps outlined above, so
long as such management actions do not preclude the eventual successful
completion of those six steps.
This Program Comment will remain in effect until such time as the
Air Force or the Navy determines that such comments are no longer
needed and notifies ACHP, in writing, or the ACHP determines that the
consideration of Wherry and Capehart properties is not being carried
out in a manner consistent with this Program Comment. The ACHP may
withdraw this Program Comment in accordance with 36 CFR 800.14(e)(6).
Following such withdrawal, the Air Force and the Navy would comply with
the requirements of 36 CFR 800.3 through 800.7 for each individual
management action.
The ACHP Membership approved this Program Comment on November
18, 2004.
Lawrence Shade,
Acting, Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-22871 Filed 11-17-05; 8:45 am]
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