Overview

Cultural Resources Regulations & Requirements Overview

Laboratory operations must comply with state and federal laws protecting the environment. The specific requirements of the laws, applicable to Los Alamos National Laboratory, are published in the Code of Federal Regulations. The Department of Energy (DOE) has final authority for assessments conducted under these regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency enforces these rules at a national level.

Federal

Federal Requirements

The predominant regulations that govern the Cultural Resources program work are the National Environmental Policy Act laws and associated federal requirements. The consideration of environmental consequence in project planning is predominant to three areas. Impacts to historical or cultural resources, impacts to habitat (and subsequently species), and impacts to the institutional and public stakeholders are all considered during the project planning process. These requirements are all assessed following the specifications described in federal regulation and/or DOE Orders.

• Laws
• National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
• National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
• DOE Orders & Directives
  The DOE Directives are official communications of policies, requirements, and procedures and include written policies, orders, notices, manuals, and guides. The following DOE directives are applicable to meteorology and air quality programs.
• NEPA Directives
• DOE Order 436.1 - Departmental Sustainability
• DOE Order 451.1B Chg 1 - National Environmental Policy Act Compliance Program (pdf)
• DOE Order 151.1B - Comprehensive Emergency Management System

State

New Mexico Requirements

Oversight

LANL Oversight

Below are links to the agencies having oversight and/or regulatory authority for LANL cultural resources programs.

• Federal Oversight
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Council of Environmental Quality
• US Advisory Council On Historic Preservation
• State of New Mexico
• NMED DOE Oversight Office
• New Mexico Historic Preservation Division
• U.S. Department of Energy
• DOE Homepage
• DOE Environmental Policy
• DOE Citizen's Advisory Board

LANL

LANL Cultural Resources Requirements

LANL cultural resource personnel must be consulted when planning construction or other projects with the potential to affect the LANL environment.