Item 09 - Fairview Street Improvement Project

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Architectural History Evaluation 1.4 Regulatory Context The CEQA lead agency for this Project is the City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency. A review of the regulatory context is provided below; however, the inclusion of any of these laws and regulations in this report does not make a law or regulation apply when it otherwise would not. Similarly, the omission of any other laws and regulations from this section does not mean that they do not apply. Rather, the purpose of this section is to provide context in explaining why the study was carried out in the manner documented herein. 1.4.1 Federal Evaluation Criteria 1.4.2 National Environmental Policy Act The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) establishes national policy for the protection and enhancement of the environment. Part of the function of the federal government in protecting the environment is to "preserve important historic, cultural, and natural aspects of our national heritage." Cultural resources need not be determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) through the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (as amended) to receive consideration under NEPA. NEPA is implemented by regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality(40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500-1508). The definition of effects in the NEPA regulations includes adverse and beneficial effects on historic and cultural resources (40 CFR 1508.8). Therefore, the Environmental Consequences section of an Environmental Impact Statement [see 40 CFR 1502.16(f))] must analyze potential effects to historic or cultural resources that could result from the proposed action and each alternative. In considering whether an alternative may"significantly affect the quality of the human environment," a federal agency must consider, among other things: Unique characteristics of the geographic area, such as proximity to historic or cultural resources (40 CFR 1508.27(b)(3)), and The degree to which the action may adversely affect districts, sites, highways, structures, or objects listed in or eligible for listing in the NRHP (40 CFR 1508.27(b)(8)). Therefore, because historic properties are a subset of cultural resources, they are one aspect of the human environment defined by NEPA regulations. 1.4.3 National Historic Preservation Act The federal law that covers cultural resources that could be affected by federal undertakings is the NHPA of 1966, as amended. Section 106 of the NHPA requires that federal agencies take into account the effects of a federal undertaking on properties listed in or eligible for the NRHP.The agencies must afford the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation a reasonable opportunity to comment on the undertaking. A federal undertaking is defined in 36 CFR 800.16(y): ECORP Consulting, Inc. 3 January 2025 Fairview Street Widening Project 2024-088.03 9-94