Notice of Issuance of Program Comment To Exempt Consideration of Effects to Rail Properties Within Rail Rights-of-Way

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (``ACHP'') issued a Program Comment to exempt consideration of effects to rail properties within rail rights-of-way at the request of the U.S. Department of Transportation to accelerate the review of these undertakings under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and to meet the requirement of Section 11504 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act. The Program Comment can be used by any federal agency with responsibility to consider the effects of undertakings within rail rights-of-way. Federal agencies using the Program Comment may fulfill their Section 106 responsibilities for the relevant undertakings by implementing the terms of this comment, which include identifying those activities that meet the conditions in Appendix A and opting into the process to identify excluded historic rail properties and seek further streamlining of the review process under the property-based approach.