Federal: Advisory council advances rewrite of historic review rules for projects needing federal permits or funds
On July 24, 2026 the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation voted to send a proposed overhaul of the Section 106 rules to White House review. No notice has been published, and the current rules remain in effect.
This is a federal rulemaking by an independent federal agency, and it applies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut wherever a project needs a federal permit, license, funding or land approval, because section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, 54 U.S.C. § 306108, requires the federal agency to consider effects on historic properties before it acts. On July 24, 2026, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation ("ACHP") announced that its members "voted on Friday, July 24, to move forward with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" revising its regulations at 36 C.F.R. part 800. The draft is going through review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs before it can be published in the Federal Register. No notice of proposed rulemaking had been published when this briefing was prepared, and the present regulations remain in force.
National Historic Preservation Act § 106, 54 U.S.C. § 306108; Protection of Historic Properties, 36 C.F.R. part 800; ACHP vote of July 24, 2026 to advance a notice of proposed rulemaking (not yet published)