Background – legal requirements of CCA
As many of you are aware, for SCC funding that comes from the Climate Commitment Act there is a pre-application notification requirement. It requires that project information and specific language be sent to DAHP, DFW and the potentially affected Tribes in the area of the proposed project. A template and information to help you meet this requirement can be found on the SCC website here. Part of the required language in the template is an offer to initiate discussion. If any of the parties the notification is sent to (Tribes, DAHP or DFW) request discussion, the law also requires that applicants engage in that discussion or document the reason the discussion did not occur. This does not mean that the district is required by the CCA to agree to meet all concerns that might be expressed, but the conversation is required. If you have any questions please contact your RM or Jean Fike.
New procedural requirement from DAHP
Starting very recently, when the pre-application notification is sent to DAHP, an autoreply will now be received that requests a discussion be scheduled. The purpose of this request for discussion is to assist DAHP in tracking project information between the notification and cultural resources review phase for projects that are funded. Districts are required by the CCA to comply with that request or document why it did not. Please take this requirement seriously, it need not slow down your application process with the SCC, the two processes can happen in parallel.
Statutory language for reference:
The preapplication process must include the applicant notifying the department of archaeology and historic preservation, the department of fish and wildlife, and all affected federally recognized tribes within the project area. The notification must include geographical location, detailed scope of the proposed project, preliminary application details available to federal, state, or local governmental jurisdictions, and all publicly available materials, including public funding sources.
(b) The applicant must also offer to discuss the project with the department of archaeology and historic preservation, the department of fish and wildlife, and all affected federally recognized tribes within the project area. Discussions may include the project's impact to tribal resources, including tribal cultural resources, archaeological sites, sacred sites, fisheries, or other rights and interests in tribal lands and lands within which a tribe or tribes possess rights reserved or protected by federal treaty, statute, or executive order.
(d) The notification and offer to initiate discussion must be documented with the application when it is filed, and a copy of the application must be delivered to the department of archaeology and historic preservation, the department of fish and wildlife, and to the affected federally recognized tribe or tribes. If the discussions pursuant to (b) of this subsection do not occur, the applicant must document the reason why the discussion or discussions did not occur.
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