Trump-Appointed Preservation Council Advances Rule Making Public Comment on Historic Sites Optional

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation announced on July 24, 2026 that members had voted to advance a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking revising the regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, 36 CFR Part 800. Vice Chairman Travis Voyles convened an "unassembled meeting" — a vote taken without members gathering — on July 17. The council says the revisions would "enhance clarity, provide greater regulatory certainty, and align the rule with statutory and policy directives"; the draft would make public comment optional. It now goes to OMB's regulatory affairs office before Federal Register publication.

Section 106 requires federal agencies to account for the effects of their actions on historic properties and to consult states, tribes and the public first. Narrowing it would change the default for every federally funded or permitted project — highways, pipelines, construction on federal land — from consultation to agency discretion.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, each holding a council seat, opposed both the substance and the compressed timeline. The rule is not in effect and must clear interagency review and public rulemaking.