Submit a Project for Review

Please use the Request For New Project Environmental Review Form. 

Submit to Environmental.Review@dncr.nc.gov with Subject: "New Project Review + Project Name + County."

If you would prefer not to use the form you can use the Project Review Checklist.

NCDOT-Related Borrow/Waste/Laydown/Staging Sites Project Review Form

For Landfills and Environmentally Sensitive Area Assessments gather all the information in our Project Review Checklist in your own format or use our Request For Initial Project Review New Project Form. Do not use the Borrow pit form.

Submit to Environmental.Review@dncr.nc.gov with Subject: "New Project Review + Project Name + County."

Cell Tower Project Review Form

Submit to Environmental.Review@dncr.nc.gov with Subject: "New Project Review + Project Name + County."

For projects that have already been reviewed, i.e. has an ER Tracking #, and has an updated Scope of Work that needs to be reviewed, or needs an updated letter, etc.

Submit to email Environmental.Review@dncr.nc.gov with Subject "ER Tracking # + Reason". Attach any deliverables, cover letters explaining what you need, etc., as relevant.

Our 30-calendar day review period begins on the date of your email to our inbox. You will receive an email reply message stating that your project has been processed for review and will be provided with an ER Tracking #, e.g. ER 26-1234. If your submittal is missing any required deliverables this will delay the review of your project.

Please note, our office reviews and send letters on a First In, First Out basis, and processes on average 3,000 new projects per year, 500 projects still in review or require updated review, or about 300 projects per month.

No.

The project review forms are designed to be filled by anybody. As long as all information requested is filled out, and photos and maps are provided, your project will be processed for review.

For maps, we have accepted maps that have been printed out, hand sketched with project limits with a highlighter, and rescanned, or screenshots with sketches using MS Paint. We also have no issue with screenshot of maps showing project boundaries, our own HPOWEB being used to generate maps, or drawing shapes using Google Earth. The use of ArcGIS is not required. The main goal of the map is to clearly show the limits of the project area with a high contrast color boundary, and street names and parcel boundaries, to easily pinpoint where the project area is.

For photos, as long as they are labeled, not blurry, show the intended subject, and are generally level/straight, they will be accepted for review.

If further work is required, such as an archaeological survey and/or architectural evaluation, our response letter will state that and provide information on how to hire a Secretary of the Interior (SOI) qualified archaeologist or architectural historian to complete the work on your behalf.

If you have any questions or concerns about your submittal and deliverables, please contact: Environmental.Review@dncr.nc.gov.

No.

We discourage doing any cultural resources work, as it may not be required by our office for Section 106 compliance, prior to submission of new project review. At minimum, please review HPOWEB for your own awareness and project management. If there is a recorded property within or immediately adjacent to your project area we may comment on it. Our response letter will let you know if further work is required. Archaeological background research prior to new project review is not required.

The comment in our letters expire if they are over 5-years old and the proposed project has not begun construction or if there is a change in the Scope of Work requiring updated review. The following summarizes our responses and next steps:

1. No Comment: There are no historic properties present and no further work is required. Section 106 consultation has concluded
2. No Effect: Same wording as a No Comment letter. There is a recorded property in HPOWEB within the Area of Potential Effect (APE), but the project as proposed will have No Effect on it. No further work is required and Section 106 consultation  has concluded.
3. Request for Information: We want a little bit more data and documentation to determine if an unrecorded property is potentially eligible for listing in the NRHP and will require full evaluation, if an eligible or listed property still merits listing eligibility or listing, or what work a proposed project will have on a property if more details are provided.
4. No Adverse Effect: There is a recorded Historic Property (Study-listed, National Register-Eligible, National Register-listed, National Historic Landmark) in HPOWEB  within the APE, but the project as proposed will have No Adverse Effect on it. No further work is required and Section 106 consultation  has concluded.
5. Conditional No Adverse Effect: There is a recorded Historic Property (Study-listed, National Register-Eligible, National Register-listed, National Historic Landmark) in HPOWEB within the APE and the project as proposed will have an Adverse Effect on it. If the provided list of Conditions in our letter are implement the project will have No Adverse Effect. Further work may require acknowledgement and documentation to those commitments.
6. Adverse Effect: There is a recorded Historic Property (Study-listed, National Register-Eligible, National Register-listed, National Historic Landmark) in HPOWEB within the APE and the project as proposed will have an Adverse Effect on it. Further consultation is required with the lead Federal Agency and applicant to concur on those effects and to resolve those effects. 

Your Start of Study is REQUIRED to state that it is a LAP project. If not, it will not reviewed by our office and you will received a letter to use the Programmatic Agreement process.

For LAP projects, please use the New Project Review Form

Please also make sure your LAP project is not flagged in the ETRACS system as a Cultural Resources PA request.

Review the NCDOT LAP Project Section 106 Guide and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Section 4(f) Toolkit. You or your consultant should be working closely with the NCDOT Project Manager and Division Environmental Officer for LAP projects, especially if a project completing a Categorical Exclusion (CE). Map of NCDOT Division Environmental Staff and Contact Information

Our Section 106 review and letter only covers Historic Properties for Section 4(f) and does not include other type of 4(f) such as parks, recreational areas, and wildlife refuges unless they are also a Historic Property. 

• Generally, if our office has No Comment or comments with No Effect, No Adverse Effect, or Conditional No Adverse Effect to a Historic Property, our letter will be can be used as justification for a Section 4(f) de minimis determination. 
• If we have determined that the project will have an Adverse Effect on a Historic Property, you will need to forward our letter to the NCDOT Project Manager and they will determine next steps, e.g. if FHWA needs to be involved directly in Section 106 consultation, adjustments to design to avoid or minimize, etc. 

Questions, Concerns, Pre-consultation, and Consultation: Contact Luan Cao, Environmental Review Specialist for Non-PA Transportation Projects, Luan.Cao@dncr.nc.gov

When reviewing HPOWEB please note that Local Landmarks and Local Historic District within, adjacent to, or in viewshed of a project may require a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from a Certified Local Government's (CLG) Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). The COA is a separate review process outside of the scope of Section 106, however, we do cc our letter to HPCs and they may consider our comments when reviewing a COA. Link for Certified Local Government Point-of-Contacts.

Our office has many Programmatic Agreements (PA) with Federal agencies and local governments to streamline the Section 106 review. Please follow the Section 106 procedures as outlined by the relevant PA.

In general, this means a signatory or their designated consultant should contact our office to initiate Section 106 and the submittal, cover letter, or body text in an email should note that the review is part of a PA and whether or not it is subject to a review period shorter than the standard 30-calendar days.

Project Name

• Examples:
  • Rehabilitation of 123 Main Street, Raleigh, NC
  • Three Dog Solar Farm, Wake County, NC
  • Greenway Trail through Fancy Cat Neighborhood, Wake County, NC

Project Location

• Address
• City
• County
• Latitude/Longitude (Decimal Degrees), if known

Project Contact Information (both Applicant & Consultant are required)

• Name
• Company
• Address
• Phone/E-Mail

Project Description

• Provide a detailed description of the proposed project
  • Provide the Acreage or Mileage/Feet of Linear Work for the overall project area (MANDATORY)
  • Describe all proposed ground-disturbing activity within the project area, including the nature, dimensions (length, width, and depth), and exact location. Must include Acreage of disturbance/APE or Mileage/Feet of Linear work if the limits of construction are different from the overall project area.
  • Provide a simple statement of when you reviewed HPOWEB and whether or not any recorded properties are present within or immediately adjacent to the project area. See Historic Properties: Architecture section below for more details.
  • If you are proposing to sell, transfer, add an easements, lease, rehabilitate, alter, move, or remove/demolish any recorded properties in HPOWEB within the project area you are required to provide a detailed Scope of Work of the action and provide enough representative photos to convey the present conditions of the property. Interior photos are recommended or may be required if requested, if accessible.
• List all licenses, permits, approvals, grants, or funding sought from federal and/or state agencies.

Project Area Map

• Submit the following maps showing the following:
  • Aerial/Satellite with a clear/contrasting boundary (Red, Yellow, Pink, etc.) showing the limits of the project area with parcel boundaries.
  • Street Map/USGS Topographic Map with a clear/contrasting boundary (Red, Yellow, Pink, etc.) showing the limits of the project area with visible and legible street names.
• Submit construction concepts, designs, and/or plans, if available.
  • All projects that propose ground-disturbing activity should include a site plan with clearly labeled boundaries for all ground-disturbing activities, aka limits of disturbance. These are typically submitted via construction plans with boundaries such as TCE, LOD, LOC, PUE, PDE, ROW, etc. If one is not provided the whole project area will be reviewed under the assumption that it will be subjected to ground disturbance.
  • A second boundary demarcating the project area versus ground-disturbing activity/limits of disturbance on the Aerial/Satellite or Street Map/USGS Topographic map is also acceptable.
• Shapefiles/KML, while helpful, are not required for small or simple projects such as individual structure rehabilitation or dock repair (CAMA). Shapefiles/KML are required for large, complex projects, including but not limited to, those that are multi-parcel (developments, solar farms, quarries) or linear (trails, broadband/fiber, pipelines) in nature.

Historic Properties: Architecture

• For your own awareness and photograph requirements, review HPOWEB to see if there are any recorded properties located within or immediately adjacent to your project area. Labeled photographs of these recorded properties with their Site ID and Site Name are mandatory.
• Provide a simple statement of when you reviewed HPOWEB and whether or not recorded are present within or immediately adjacent to the project area. You are not required to fully list them all, but are welcome to. This is to minimize the burden of listing an excess amount of recorded properties, especially if projects proposed are in historic districts.
  • For example, "We have reviewed HPOWEB on February 5, 2026, and note the presence of recorded properties within the project area" is sufficient.
  • or "We have reviewed HPOWEB on February 5, 2026, and note that there are no recorded properties within or immediately adjacent to the project area."
• Please note that any unrecorded or recorded property may require additional information or work after initial review. If further work is required our letter will provide next steps.

Historic Properties: Archaeology

• A data request/background research for archaeological sites to the Office of State Archaeology is not required for preliminary review submission.
• Report any known collection of archaeological material and its location in the project area. Provide a labeled map and GPS coordinates.
• Report any known or potential cemeteries, burials, etc. in the project area. Provide a labeled map and GPS coordinates.
• The OSA county-assigned assistant state archaeologist will review your project submission, maps, photographs, etc., and will review archaeological site data to determine if further work is required. If further work is required our letter will provide next steps.

Site Photographs

• Photographs are mandatory.
  • Include representative labeled photographs of the overall property as well as buildings, structures, or designed landscapes within the project area or immediately adjacent.
  • Include labeled (HPOWEB Site Name and Site ID) photographs of all recorded properties as seen on HPOWEB within or immediately adjacent to the project area.  Link to example of preliminary reconnaissance of extant structures.
• All printed digital photographs should be a minimum size of 4″ × 4″ (a maximum of 2 images per 8½″ × 11″ page).
• For legibility purposes, images taken from the internet (Google Street View, county tax appraiser websites, etc.) cannot be substituted for current digital photographs.
• If submitting photographs of multiple structures clearly label the subject of each photograph and ensure that the location of any detail photographs or interior photographs can be identified.

By Email: 

The NCHPO ER Branch prefers that review requests be submitted electronically via e-mail to: Environmental.Review@dncr.nc.gov.

All attachments should be in .pdf, .doc (or .docx), or .jpeg formats. Other file types .zip, .tif files, or links to file-sharing websites must be pre-approved by ER staff. The message size, including all attachments, should be no larger than 20 megabytes. You should receive an automated message confirming receipt of your submission. If you do not, contact ER staff to confirm receipt. Only one project may be submitted per email.

When submitting hardcopy review requests, please use the following addresses:

By US Postal Service:

Environmental Review
State Historic Preservation Office
4617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-4617

By FedEx, UPS, or Other Courier:

Environmental Review
State Historic Preservation Office
109 East Jones Street, Room 258
Raleigh, NC 27601

Faxed submittals will not be accepted.

Questions? Email them to Environmental.Review@dncr.nc.gov.