Category: Laws, Policies, and Regulations (Page 4 of 9)

Metal truss bridge over water — Watts Mill Road Bridge, Beaver County, PA

Saving the Watts Mill Road Bridge: Part 1

May 8, 2019 / Guest Contributor / 4 Comments

The biggest obstacle for a small trail or historic preservation group to assume ownership of a historic bridge is usually funding. They operate on lean budgets and do not always have the extra resources to purchase, rehabilitate and maintain a historic bridge. However, a success story is in the making with the transfer of the Watts Mill Bridge from PennDOT to the people of Beaver County.

Preservation Advocacy Week logo.

PA SHPO Goes to Washington!

April 17, 2019 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

A few of my PA SHPO colleagues and I traveled to Washington, D.C. in March to join State Historic Preservation Offices and other preservationists from around the country at National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week.

Buildings — Phoenixville, Chester County is a Certified Local Government

Answering the Key Questions about Local Historic Preservation in PA

March 20, 2019 / Guest Contributor / 1 Comment

Have you ever wondered WHERE local historic preservation programs are being implemented in Pennsylvania? Continue reading

Supporting the Section 106 Review Process

March 6, 2019 / Barbara Frederick / 1 Comment

One of the many roles for all State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs), including Pennsylvania’s, outlined in the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) is to advise, assist, and consult on the review of federally assisted projects that have the potential to affect historic properties. This is known as the Section 106 Review Process. Continue reading

Man digging — Excavations along I-95 in Philadelphia.

Archaeology for the People and by the… PennDOT?

January 23, 2019 / Guest Contributor / 0 Comments

Yep, you’re reading that right: the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) does archaeology! Continue reading

The rehabilitated lenticular truss over a swale in Lazy Brook Park, Tunkhannock Township (Used by permission, PennDOT, 2018)

The Lenticular of Lazy Brook Park: Bridging the Gap between Idea and Execution

October 24, 2018 / Guest Contributor / 0 Comments

It was ten years ago, almost to the day, that I participated in a series of scoping field views for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) that involved a brilliant idea to address the needs of two seemingly separate projects. Continue reading

Special Announcement! Online Data Entry & Project Review Forms

July 3, 2018 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

July 2nd is the day we start doing things a little bit differently here at the PA SHPO: online data entry and required project review forms!

Here is what we first announced in our April 4, 2018 blog:

Electronic, aka online, data entry is one of the ways in which we are changing how we do business in order to prepare for PA-SHARE, our new enterprise-wide, spatially enabled, cultural resource information system that is expected to be live by December 2019.

As part of our efforts to “model the work” in advance of PA-SHARE, effective July 2, 2018, submitters will be required to electronically enter resources into CRGIS for all Above Ground Environmental Review submissions that have the potential to affect ten (10) or more newly identified historic resources. A few things to note with this:

Currently, submitters with large scale surveys (ten or more historic resources) as part of their projects are strongly encouraged to use the online data entry. After July 2, this will be required and paper forms and reports will not be accepted.
Submitters sending in projects with fewer than ten (10) newly identified historic resources are strongly encouraged to use the CRGIS online data entry but will not be required to do so.
This process cannot be used for additional information requests or previously identified resources.

Also, the Interim Guidelines for Above Ground Environmental Review are now published and available for you to use!

As we move toward PA-SHARE, these interim guidelines are intended to supplement Chapter 6. Compliance Investigations and Chapter 7. Report Standards of the Guidelines for Architectural Investigations in Pennsylvania, 2014. They should also be used in conjunction with any other relevant guidelines, including but not limited to Survey Guidelines for Pipeline Projects Above Ground Resources, June 2013 and Guidelines for Projects with Potential Visual Effects, September 2014.

The interim guidelines focus specifically on Project Initiation, Identification, and Evaluation efforts and associated reporting procedures, including a sample Identification report for review. In addition as part of these efforts, the Project Review Form has been updated so please replace those outdated versions!

PA SHPO ITQ contract – NOW OPEN for Pre-Qualification

June 6, 2018 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 5 Comments

The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) is happy to announce the opening of a new Preservation Services ITQ contract for future consulting opportunities with the PA SHPO. We are inviting consultants to pre-qualify and be notified of upcoming bids for the exciting work we do.

Preservation Month recap

June 6, 2018 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 0 Comments

At the beginning of May, I promised we’d provide a recap of the #31for31 social media campaign to celebrate Preservation Month across Pennsylvania. If you missed a post on our Facebook page or in our Twitter feed, no worries! You can see it, and the rest of the month’s content, right here. Don’t miss the big announcement covered in the May 31st post! Continue reading

Vintage postcard with hashtag — Greetings from Pennsylvania - where #preservationhappenshere every day!

Add this to your summer reading list! #preservationhappenshere – PA’s Statewide Preservation Plan – is ready for you

May 31, 2018 / Shelby Weaver Splain / 4 Comments

Picture yourself – lounging poolside, lakeside, or on the beach – with your tablet or smart phone (or even good old-fashioned paper) enjoying the hottest summer publication that hasn’t yet made the New York Times bestseller list: #preservationhappenshere, Pennsylvania’s next statewide historic preservation plan. Continue reading