U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is committed to preserving cultural resources for future generations by integrating historic preservation in our planning efforts and as we perform our operations. CBP follows the rule and the spirit of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA).
Cultural resource is a broad term that encompasses a wide variety of historic properties (sites, landscapes, districts, buildings, structures, and objects) whose significance may derive from a meaningful association to historic events, people, or historical trends; from the potential to yield information and archaeological significance; or from ongoing significance as a traditional cultural property or a sacred site.
Section 106 Consultation
Section 106 of the NHPA requires that federal agencies take into account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties. To meet this statutory obligation, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) promulgates Implementing Regulations (codified at 36 C.F.R. Part 800) outlining a four-step sequential process for federal agencies centered on consultation--the goal of which is to identify historic properties, assess the effects of an undertaking, and find ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any adverse effects to historic properties.