22-3-423. Duties of historic preservation officer. Subject to the supervision of the director of the historical society, the historic preservation officer has the following duties and responsibilities:

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Montana Code 22-3-423

  • Heritage property: means any district, site, building, structure, or object located upon or beneath the earth or under water that is significant in American history, architecture, archaeology, or culture. See Montana Code 22-3-421
  • Historic preservation officer: means the officer provided for in 2-15-1512. See Montana Code 22-3-421
  • Paleontological remains: means fossilized plants and animals of a geological nature found upon or beneath the earth or under water which are rare and critical to scientific research. See Montana Code 22-3-421
  • Register: means the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the nation's heritage properties worthy of preservation because of national, state, or local significance. See Montana Code 22-3-421
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • State agency: means any executive agency of the state of Montana. See Montana Code 22-3-421
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201

(1)follow necessary procedures to qualify the state for money that is now or will be made available under any act of congress of the United States or otherwise for purposes of historic preservation;

(2)conduct an ongoing statewide survey to identify and document heritage properties and paleontological remains;

(3)maintain a state inventory file of heritage properties and paleontological remains and maintain a repository for all inventory work done in the state;

(4)evaluate and formally nominate potential register properties according to the criteria established by the register;

(5)prepare and annually review the state preservation plan, register nominations, and historic preservation grant activity;

(6)maintain, publish, and disseminate information relating to heritage properties and paleontological remains in the state;

(7)cooperate with and assist local, state, and federal government agencies in comprehensive planning that allows for the preservation of heritage properties and paleontological remains;

(8)enter into cooperative agreements with the federal government, local governments, and other governmental entities or private landowners or the owners of objects to ensure preservation and protection of registered properties;

(9)adopt rules outlining procedures by which a state agency that has no approved rules under 22-3-424(1) shall systematically consider heritage properties or paleontological remains on lands owned by the state and avoid, whenever feasible, state actions or state assisted or licensed actions that substantially alter the properties;

(10)respond to requests for consultation under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as provided for in 22-3-429;

(11)develop procedures and guidelines for the evaluation of heritage property or paleontological remains as provided in 22-3-428;

(12)protect from disclosure to the public any information relating to the location or character of heritage properties when disclosure would create a substantial risk of harm, theft, or destruction to the resources or to the area or place where the resources are located;

(13)report the information gathered pursuant to 22-3-422(6), along with any recommendations by the historic preservation officer or the review board, to the education interim committee in accordance with 5-11-210. The report required in this subsection must also be incorporated into the biennial report required to be submitted to the governor and the legislature under 22-3-107(8).

(14)any other necessary or appropriate activity permitted by law to carry out and enforce the provisions of this part.