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The Department of Energy has a strong sense of responsibility for its material heritage. Owning some of the twentieth century's most historically significant physical properties, DOE maintains an active historic preservation program dedicated to preserving and interpreting the Department's heritage.
The Office of History and Heritage Resources is DOE's lead office in this effort. The Chief Historian serves as the Department's Federal Preservation Officer (FPO), a position mandated by Section 110(c) of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The FPO is responsible for coordinating DOE's historic preservation activities. Among his duties, the FPO
reviews and approves field compliance documents
develops and coordinates complex-wide historic preservation and interpretation plans and initiatives
coordinates DOE activities involving Save America's Treasures Grants
assesses the role of museums in DOE's overall historic preservation planning
serves as DOE's primary point of contact with the President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, other Federal agencies, and non-Federal organizations in the historic preservation field
produces and distributes the quarterly DOE cultural resources newsletter, Partners in Preservation
coordinates the annual DOE Cultural Resources Forum
The FPO is assisted by the Deputy FPO (the Department's Senior Historian) and the Historic Preservation Executive Committee, made up of selected DOE field historic preservation officials. All major DOE facilities have Cultural Resource Programs. These programs ensure DOE compliance with policy and guidance, coordinate with the FPO in documenting and preserving DOE's history, and work to preserve the Native American and local history unique to each site.
In December 1999, the Departmental Corporate Board on Historic Preservation, composed of senior program office managers, approved a complex-wide historic preservation strategy concentrating initially on the Manhattan Project. The centerpiece of the strategy is the Manhattan Project Preservation Initiative. The initiative has focused primarily on the eight Manhattan Project Signature Facilities. During the past several years, efforts to identify potential preservation options and partnerships for the Signature Facilities have intensified. The most significant recent development has been passage of the “Manhattan Project National Historical Park Study Act” (Public Law 108-340) in late 2004, which directs the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, to conduct a special resource study of the Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Hanford sites (and surrounding communities) “to assess the national significance, suitability, and feasibility of designating 1 or more sites within the study area as a unit of the National Park Service.” The bill was not funded, but the FPO is working with the Park Service and in coordination with a wide range of interested parties to develop a strategy of moving forward utilizing the significant amount of material that already exists regarding the Signature Facilities and relevant community assets. A subsequent initiative, the Cold War Preservation Initiative, is looking at the preservation and interpretation of DOE's Cold War-era sites, facilities, and artifacts.
The Office of History and Heritage Resources is also DOE's lead office in implementing Executive Order 13287, Preserve America, signed by President Bush on March 3, 2003. As part of a broader White House initiative called Preserve America, the Executive Order seeks to promote the protection, enhancement, and contemporary use of the historic properties owned by the Federal Government. Agencies are tasked with inventorying their historic properties and assessing the suitability of the properties to contributing to community economic development initiatives, including heritage tourism. The Office of History and Heritage Resources drafted an Executive Order status report due September 30, 2004. The report, reviewed by the Historic Preservation Executive Committee, summarized the Department’s current historic preservation and cultural resources program, identified issues that need to be addressed, and, in coordination with the Office of Environment, Safety and Health and the General Counsel, included a section demonstrating that DOE rules and regulations provide for effective implementation of the Order. The Advisory Council plans meetings in May 2005 for FPOs to share lessons learned from the September 2004 reports in preparation for submission of the agency reports due September 30, 2005, which will be provided to the President by the Department of Interior.
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