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Alabama Department of Transportation
Bill Turner, Archaeologist/Cultural Resource Coordinator
Design Bureau
Environmental Technical Section
Phone: 334-242-6144
Email: turnerw@dot.state.al.us
Turner, or someone on his staff, is directly consulted on all projects that will require tribal consultation pursuant the requirements of Section 106. Alabama DOT is currently working with the FHWA state office and tribes to develop a programmatic agreement that will allow the state DOT to handle the consultation process for FHWA and serve as the initial contact point for consultation.
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Arizona Department of Transportation
Katherine (Kae) Neustadt
Historic Preservation Coordinator
Environmental & Enhancement Group
Arizona Department of Transportation
1221 S. 2nd Avenue, MD T100
Tucson, AZ 85713
(520) 620-5411
kneustadt@azdot.gov
Don Sneed, Senior Planner/Tribal Coordinator
Arizona Department of Transportation
Transportation Planning Division
206 S. 17th Avenue, MD 310B
Phoenix, AZ 85007
(602) 712-8140
dsneed@azdot.gov
The Arizona DOT’s (ADOT) Historic Preservation Team is part of the Environmental & Enhancement Group. This group is under the Intermodal Transportation Division of ADOT. The Historic Preservation Team works mostly within the NEPA process. There is no one individual responsible for all tribal consultation; however, as Historic Preservation Coordinator, Kae Neustadt is responsible for ensuring that all necessary Section 106-related tribal consultations take place and that the tribal consultation process is working at its best.
The senior transportation planner and tribal coordinator for the ADOT Transportation Planning Division, Don Sneed, provides planning support and intergovernmental coordination for ADOT's statewide and regional planning projects and programs as they impact tribal governments and communities. Specifically with regard to statewide and regional planning, Sneed works to coordinate efforts to improve tribal participation in the statewide transportation planning and programming processes.
ADOT has several ongoing state-tribal partnering efforts. One is the Arizona Tribal Strategic Partnering Team (ATSPT); the other is the Navajo Nation/ADOT/BIA/FHWA Partnership. Information on both of these can be found at: www.aztribaltransportation.com.
The ATSPT comprises representatives from within ADOT and outside entities who work on tribal transportation issues and projects. A representative from ADOT’s Historic Preservation team is on the ATSPT to ensure that historic preservation issues are part of this partnering effort. One of the major efforts under the ATSPT is to develop a department-wide state-tribal consultation policy and process. Under the Navajo Partnership, ADOT is finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Navajo Nation that addresses improved processes for a government-to-government relationship.
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Colorado Department of Transportation
Dan Jepson
Cultural Resource Section Manager
Environmental Programs Branch, Division of Transportation Development
Phone: 303-757-9631
Email: daniel.jepson@dot.state.co.us
As Cultural Resource Section Manager, Jepson initiates and facilitates Section 106 tribal consultation for the FHWA Colorado Division. The state DOT was officially delegated this responsibility in 2001. A protocol for consultation had been established one to two years prior. Jepson develops all correspondence with tribes in the context of Colorado DOT’s NEPA process, and FHWA sends the correspondence to potential consulting tribes on FHWA letterhead. Jepson receives all tribal correspondence and facilitates all subsequent facets of consultation interactions (i.e., letters, phone calls, setting up meetings, coordinating payment to tribal representatives for project-specific meetings, signature of Memoranda of Agreement, etc.). Jepson also maintains communication with the FHWA tribal coordinator concerning all project actions.
The Cultural Resource Section Manager is involved in every project that has a Section 106 consultation issue, and he coordinates with Colorado DOT project managers and their consultants throughout the NEPA process. Jepson also provides text specific to tribal consultation for every NEPA document produced by the Department.
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Iowa Department of Transportation
The Iowa DOT and FHWA have programmatic agreements with some tribes stipulating when and how to notify and consult with the tribe. Mark Kerper, the assistant director of the Office of Location and Environment, is the Iowa DOT representative who works with the tribes and FHWA to develop the programmatic agreements and maintain the "formal" contact. Iowa DOT employees maintain the project-by-project contact. Every two years or so, Kerper will contact each tribe to determine whether they are satisfied with the Iowa DOT’s efforts and whether they wish to change anything about the consultation process. Adjustments to the consultation process have occurred as a result of changes in tribal governments or new processes developed by tribes.
The following is contact information on Iowa DOT staff involved in tribal consultation. These individuals are in the Cultural Resource Section of the Office of Location and Environment which is part of the Highway Division:
Depending on the project, one of these individuals will contact tribes using a Tribal Notification Form. Maps, a project description and archaeology report information accompany the form.
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Kansas Department of Transportation
Marsha K. King
Archeologist II
Environmental Services Section, Bureau of Design
Kansas Department of Transportation
Eisenhower State Office Building
700 SW Harrison
Topeka , KS 66603-3754
Phone: 785-296-8414
Email: marshak@ksdot.org
King handles Native American consultation on most Kansas DOT projects, including those labeled K-# (state and Federal highway projects), N-# and U-# (urban and suburban projects), TE-# (transportation enhancements), A-# (airport-related projects), and X-# (RR-related projects). Native American consultation on KDOT projects labeled C-# (local county and township road projects) is handled by Bill Geer, Program Technician in the Bureau of Local Projects, bgeer@ksdot.org, 785-296-3861. FHWA has formally delegated their tribal consultation responsibilities to the DOT.
Native American consultation, at least on K, N, U, TE, A, and X projects, is tracked along with archeological, historical preservation, and environmental clearances. King reviews all projects early in the planning stage and sends out letters to tribal contacts as soon as a description of the proposed project is available. If significant changes are made in the project between the early planning stage and the field check plans, a second round of letters are sent to notify tribes of these changes. Follow up letters are sent to notify tribes if archaeological sites are encountered during field investigations and copies of archaeological reports are sent to tribes that have requested them. Copies of all outgoing and incoming correspondence are maintained in the project files and are tracked in a database that also generates the initial notification letters. If tribes contacted on C-# projects have concerns or need follow-up information, Bill Geer directs these issues to King for a response.
King has regular daily interaction within the Environmental Services Section staff, but only limited interaction with project planning staff.
King notes that one tribe, Citizen Band Potawatomi, recently requested email notifications of projects and KDOT has begun to send project notifications to them in this format. KDOT is currently considering offering an email response option to other tribes to simplify responses to their consultation efforts, in hopes that their response rate will increase.
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Michigan Department of Transportation
David L. Ruggles, Ph.D., RPA
Bureau of Transportation Planning
Michigan Department of Transportation
425 W. Ottawa Street
PO Box 30050
Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: 517-335-2637
Fax: 517-373-9255
Email: rugglesd@michigan.gov
As the designated Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Tribal Affairs Coordinator and the Department lead in Section 106 tribal consultations for MDOT, Ruggles has statewide and Department-wide responsibility for appropriate tribal consultations. As Tribal Affairs Coordinator, Ruggles reports directly to the Department's Chief Administrative Officer, Leon Hank, in program administration functions. Also, as part of this function, Ruggles is the Department's designated contact with the Governor's office and Federal agencies on all MDOT tribal affairs issues. He also administers the Section 106 Programmatic Agreement among MDOT, FHWA, the Michigan State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in the environmental review of CE and major action projects, including consideration and execution of tribal consultation needs and requirements for Federal/Federal-aid projects.
The FHWA Michigan Division issued a formal letter to MDOT authorizing MDOT to engage in tribal consultations on FHWA's behalf. In the event a tribe refuses to consult with MDOT regarding any matter where MDOT is acting on behalf of FHWA, then FHWA assumes control of that specific consultation.
See also MDOT's policy and guidelines on Tribal Affairs [PDF 26kb], effective March 2005.
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Nevada Department of Transportation
Hal Turner, Chief Archaeologist
Phone: 775-888-7666
Email: hturner@dot.state.nv.us
Elizabeth Dubreuil, Consultation Coordinator
Phone: 775-888-7483
Email: edubreuil@dot.state.nv.us
At the Nevada DOT, tribal consultation is shared by the Chief Archaeologist and a consultation coordinator, both of whom work for the Department’s Cultural Resource Section. The Cultural Resource Section is one of three Sections in the DOT’s Environmental Services Division. Generally, the Chief Archaeologist determines the need for consultation for each project, acquires the necessary project description and project limits, and gives the information to the consultation coordinator (who is an anthropologist). The consultation coordinator then determines which tribes/groups need to be consulted and writes the FHWA letters initiating formal consultation. FHWA signs the letters and sends them out (FHWA has not delegated tribal consultation responsibilities to the state DOT). Unless serious problems develop with a tribe, the consultation coordinator does all the follow-up work, as well as site visits, etc. The coordinator also routinely contacts tribes regarding the state DOT’s overall program and obtains information on any issues that the tribes may have. Once the tribes have responded, or have had enough time to respond, the coordinator writes an “FHWA Consultation Report,” which is submitted through FHWA to the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer as part of the Section 106 compliance package.
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North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT)
Jeani Borchert
Cultural Resources Section, Design
North Dakota Department of Transportation
608 E. Boulevard Avenue
Bismarck , ND 58505-0700
Phone: 701-328-4378
Email: jborcher@state.nd.us
Borchert is in the Cultural Resource Section of the Design Division. Even though the Cultural Resource Section is part of Design, the Section works with all NDDOT Divisions. The Cultural Resource Section works closely with the Local Government Division, coordinating Section 106 and the cultural resource component of NEPA compliance, and conducting tribal consultation on local government projects.
NDDOT Planning Division also consults with the tribes who reside within North Dakota on the STIP. The Planning Division’s intent is to engage and facilitate tribal participation in the planning process and to ensure adequate consideration of reservation transportation needs.
NDDOT projects are guided by a computer milestone system. This alerts the Cultural Resource Section to upcoming projects. As part of completing Section106 activities, the Cultural Resource Section consults with tribes. Once Section staff have tribal input, their concerns are relayed to the NDDOT project designer/manager. Section staff work with the managers and designers to modify design or put conditions on the work in order to address tribal issues.
FHWA has not formally delegated their consultation responsibilities to the North Dakota DOT. However, all the tribes were asked if they objected to the NDDOT conducting day-to-day consultation on behalf of FHWA. They all agreed that NDDOT should continue in this manner. This was done during a visit to each reservation with the NDDOT consultation representative and the environmental coordinator from the FHWA state division office.
Recently, NDDOT and FHWA signed a Programmatic Agreement on Tribal Consultation with nine tribes: Three Affiliated Tribes, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Sisseton/Wahpeton Oyate, Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes, Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Crow Tribe, and Lower Sioux Indian Community. These tribes are located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. As of June 2007, six tribes have formally signed the document and all tribes are currently operating under its provisions.
This agreement creates a Tribal Consultation Committee that includes representatives from each tribe, the NDDOT, and the FHWA. Current plans are to hold 2- to 4-day meetings of the committee at least twice a year. NDDOT will cover tribal member expenses and provide an honorarium for each of the tribal members for each meeting. The meetings will focus on specific projects, educational opportunities, impediments to effective tribal consultation at all levels, and other topics of interest to the members.
The agreement is viewed as a result of efforts among all parties to develop a relationship of trust and mutual respect. The DOT considers this agreement a milestone that will allow the agency to move into a period of more stable, reliable, satisfying, and productive relationships. The agreement does not change any regulatory activities; it simply defines a process that will be followed during compliance with Federal laws and regulations concerning cultural resources.
The agreement takes to heart the intent of the law to give tribal people a seat at the table when cultural resources that may be affected by transportation projects are being considered. The agreement acknowledges the NDDOT’s commitment to the design and construct a transportation system that 1) safely moves people and goods; 2) avoids, minimizes, and mitigates adverse effects on cultural resources; 3) recognizes that consideration of tribal interests in preservation of significant cultural resources is important to tribal well-being, growth, and prosperity, and 4) responds to the needs of North Dakota communities and the tribes.
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Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Oklahoma DOT has a dedicated Tribal Liaison in the Oklahoma DOT Cultural Resources Program (ODOT-CRP). The CRP, which is housed at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, is supported through an interagency agreement with the university. The CRP is an adjunct of the Department’s Environmental Studies Branch in the Planning & Research Division. John Hartley of Oklahoma DOT supervises the CRP (Phone: 405-521-3050 Email: jhartley@fd9ns01.okladot.state.ok.us). The current Tribal Liaison is Rhonda S. Fair, a cultural anthropologist (Phone: 405-325-8665 Email: rsfair@ou.edu).
The Tribal Liaison handles all Section 106 related correspondence and contacts with appropriate tribes for all proposed Department projects, using project information provided to the CRP by the Department’s in-house NEPA coordinators or outside NEPA consultants. At a minimum, this involves initial consultation (letters) with appropriate tribes and later submission of cultural resource reports to them for all projects which qualify as "undertakings" requiring formal Section 106 consultation. All project-specific consultation goes directly between the Tribal Liaison and the tribes on Oklahoma DOT CRP letterhead. FHWA is not directly involved in this process. The Liaison also handles the coordination for any extra meetings and agreements which may be needed to complete Section 106 coordination with the tribes. The Tribal Liaison position is not a policy or decision-making position, although the Liaison’s advice can be very important in the decisions Oklahoma DOT may reach regarding tribal Section 106 concerns.
An important part of the Liaison's job is to establish and maintain broader general contacts with colleagues in the tribal preservation offices and with traditional people to keep abreast of internal tribal issues and changes. The Tribal Liaison also helps coordinate efforts with the state FHWA office in the negotiation of general programmatic agreements for tribal consultation.
Oklahoma DOT and FHWA are in the process of negotiating individual Memoranda of Agreement and programmatic agreements with Oklahoma tribes. These agreements will formally delegate FHWA’s tribal consultation responsibilities to Oklahoma DOT.
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Pennsylvania DOT
Tribal consultation at Pennsylvania DOT (PennDOT) occurs at two levels. Mike Stanilla is the Central Office Tribal Contact. Stanilla works in the Environmental Quality Assurance Division. His responsibilities include policy-level consultation with tribes in order to develop letters of understanding on protocols, in addition to developing a handbook on these protocols. He is the point of contact for FHWA questions to PennDOT and general non-project specific questions from tribes. Stanilla’s contact information is: Phone: 717-214-8713 Email: c-mstanill@state.pa.us.
With two exceptions, all of the Department archaeologists are tasked to the Environmental Quality Assurance Division within the Bureau of Design, but are physically located in the District Environmental Units. The two exceptions are District employees tasked to the District Environmental Units.
The division of labor between the Districts and Central Office staff is as follows. If it is a project-specific issue or question, it is handled by the District archaeologists. Generally, a tribe will receive initial notifications on a project from a District archaeologist and that individual will be the first point of contact. Much of the real consultation takes place at staff-to-staff levels, i.e., a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer or tribal representative works with the District archaeologist.
Generally, the District archaeologist will know and convey knowledge of tribal interest in a project to a PennDOT project manager as well as to FHWA. General policy or statewide questions are handled by the Central Office. The Central Office is also responsible for keeping current the list of tribal contacts.
FHWA may get involved in consultations at any point, or a tribe may contact FHWA directly. Deborah Suciu-Smith is the Pennsylvania FHWA division's point of contact on tribal issues. Suciu-Smith’s contact information: (717-221-3785), deborah.suciu-smith@fhwa.dot.gov.
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Utah Department of Transportation
The NEPA/National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) specialists in each of Utah’s four regions manage Native American consultation on a project-by-project basis. FHWA sends the first contact letter on a project, on their letterhead, to the tribes. Utah DOT, sometimes with the assistance of a cultural anthropologist consultant, conducts any follow-up calls, produces the administrative record for the project, and works with tribal representatives on confidentiality issues. The NEPA/NHPA Specialist coordinates with tribes on the results of cultural resources inventories, findings of effect, mitigation commitments, and execution of any Memoranda of Agreement.
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Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans)
Duncan C. Wilkie, Archaeology Officer
Environmental Section
Project Development Division
National Life Building, Drawer 33, Montpelier, VT 05633
Phone: 802-828-3965
Fax: 802-828-2334
Email: duncan.wilkie@state.vt.us
Website: http://www.aot.state.vt.us/TechServices/EnvPermit/CulturalResources.htm
In the past, the FHWA Vermont Division had a temporary employee to work with VTrans on tribal consultation. During this time, FHWA and VTrans contacted 18 non-resident tribes concerning involvement with future VTrans projects. Four tribes did not want to participate in consultation. Six tribes did not respond. Eight tribes wanted to be involved or consulted on Vermont highway projects: Cayuga Nation of Indians, the Mashautucket-Pequot Tribe, the Narrangansett Indian Tribe, the Onondaga Indian Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe-Pleasant Point Reservation, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aqunimah), the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans, and potentially the Tuscarosa Nation.
Since August 11, 2006, VTrans has been working directly with the Federal recognized tribes owing to Vermont FHWA’s continuing lack of staff qualified to handle this aspect of Federal compliance. Two additional tribes, the Penobscot Indian Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe- Indian Township Reservation, have asked to be involved in VTrans projects. This brings the total number of tribes that VTrans consults regularly to ten.
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Washington State DOT
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) maintains government-to-government relations with 34 federally recognized tribal governments. Information on WSDOT's tribal consultation efforts is available on the WSDOT Tribal Consultation website.
WSDOT has issued a model process for project teams to use on federal-aid transportation projects when the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is the lead federal agency. FHWA and WSDOT must comply with a number of federal, state and agency consultation requirements. The model process aims to incorporate these requirements into one process for a more thorough and holistic review. For more information, link to the following documents on the WSDOT Tribal Consultation website:
Tribal consultation contact:
Megan Beeby
Tribal Liaison
beebym@wsdot.wa.gov
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