Our goal is to facilitate archaeological clearance so our clients may keep projects moving forward.
The staff at Centennial Archaeology understands that its clients must navigate a statutory and technical maze in order to come into compliance with federal and state mandates for cultural resource protection. Centennial’s objective is to help its clients through this process by applying archaeological and historical expertise – gained through a quarter-century of work – to particular project conditions. Centennial applies the highest standards of work within the strict regulatory framework that has been developed in response to the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), other federal statutes, and various state laws that exist to ensure proper archaeological, historical, and environmental protection. It is understood that, in the end, Centennial’s clients must obtain agency approval in the form of a permit, license, or notice-to-proceed in order to move ahead with an undertaking.
Most often, Centennial’s efforts on behalf of its clients are conducted under the mandates of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and include archaeological and historical site identification, documentation, evaluation, and as needed, mitigation. Some projects – especially those large in scale – are subject to the regulations of the National Environmental Policy Act as well. While the requirements with respect to cultural resources overlap those of the National Historic Preservation Act, NEPA documents are unique in form and content, and require both expertise and experience. Centennial provides assistance to federal agencies that are mandated through Section 106 to consult with Native American groups about potential impacts to sites and areas of religious and cultural concern, including Traditional Cultural Properties.
At the international level, Centennial conducts archaeological inventories and evaluations under the requirements of the Equator Principles, assisting its clients in the procurement of funding through international finance institutions (IFIs). In these efforts Centennial contributes to social and environmental impact assessment (SEIA) documents, typically working in collaboration with local technical experts.