The Trump administration’s plans to overhaul rules meant to preserve historic places would speed up the permitting process for an array of energy projects, while limiting input from Native American tribes and narrowing the kind of historic locations protected by federal law.
The proposal, approved by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation last month, revamps a key regulatory process meant to safeguard important buildings and landscapes. The draft, which was sent by the council to the White House for consideration and obtained by POLITICO, calls for the elimination of many consultations with tribes and state historical officials. It also would make public comment periods optional.
The changes to the obscure historic preservation process pushed by the Trump administration could have far-reaching implications, from removing potential roadblocks for President Donald Trump’s pet projects in Washington to allowing faster approval of energy development on public land across the West. The revisions aim to limit the scope of what’s covered by the law to human-made structures and property, rather than including projects that could mar the view of a landscape — exactly the kind of development that often prompts consultations with tribes.
“It would substantially streamline the process,” said Rafe Petersen, a partner at Holland & Knight, adding that the Trump administration’s planned changes would bring about a “faster process with less steps.”
