§302304 Contracts and Cooperative Agreements

Summary

A State may let a qualified nonprofit group or an educational institution do some or all of the State’s duties under this chapter by contract or cooperative agreement. The Secretary may also make a contract or cooperative agreement with the State Historic Preservation Officer (the State official in charge of historic preservation) to let that officer help with tasks like finding and protecting historic places, deciding if places qualify for the National Register and preparing nominations, keeping historic and archaeological databases, and checking eligibility for Federal preservation benefits. The Secretary still controls the National Register. The agreement can happen only if the officer asks, the Secretary has approved the State program under sections 302301 and 302302, the officer can do the work on time and well, the officer allows the Secretary to review and change the officer’s decisions, and they agree on any extra funding. The Secretary must set rules for each major program area, and nothing here reduces the Service’s preservation programs.