GAO Flags National Register Bottlenecks Impacting Federal Infrastructure Projects
A new GAO report reveals that outdated National Park Service guidance and procedural friction with state and tribal historic preservation officers are creating compliance delays, affecting federal infrastructure and defense land development timelines.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report identifying significant operational friction within the National Register of Historic Places, which is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) in coordination with State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs) and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs). GAO determined that core NPS guidance documents governing the nomination and evaluation process are severely outdated, lacking key information necessary for users to efficiently process historic property applications. Consequently, state and tribal officials face substantial administrative burdens, requiring extra time and resources to navigate complex nominations.
The report highlights acute structural disconnects regarding tribal historic sites. Officials from federally recognized Tribes informed GAO that standard National Register evaluation criteria often fail to accommodate historically significant tribal properties and traditional cultural landscapes. Additionally, deep concerns regarding data security remain; several Tribes expressed fear that listing properties could expose sacred sites to unauthorized access, looting, or vandalism. Although federal provisions permit the withholding of sensitive location data from public disclosure, NPS has not adequately communicated these protections to tribal partners.
Why this matters to defense, government, and industry leaders: National Register eligibility determinations directly govern federal compliance under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). For Department of Defense (DoD) acquisitions, military construction (MILCON) programs, public-private infrastructure ventures, and defense industrial base updates, delays in SHPO and THPO consultations create immediate critical-path bottlenecks. Outdated guidance and unclear procedural safeguards directly extend statutory review timelines, escalating project costs and threatening execution schedules for defense assets, energy systems, and range expansion efforts on federal land.
To mitigate operational risk, defense installation managers, infrastructure program offices, and prime government contractors must factor cultural resource review lead times into early acquisition planning. Proactive, early-stage engagement with SHPOs and THPOs—coupled with robust data privacy protocols—will be essential to maintaining schedule integrity for military infrastructure projects while NPS formulates updated operational guidance. (Source: GAO Reports)
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