President Obama Brings 'Change' to Preservation

With all the various bills and stimulus packages moving through Washington since President Obama's inauguration it is great to see that historic preservation has not been forgotten.

In late March the President signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act into law. Among its numerous provisions are new enabling laws and expansions on those previously ratified. Some of the areas dealt with in the Act are the Preserve America program, Saving America's Treasures Grants, Battlefield protections, heritage tourism, and the National Parks Service.

Read through the National Trust for Historic Preservation's website description of the bill and see how it affects historic preservation at http://www.preservationnation.org/take-action/advocacy-center/legislative-briefs/omnibus-public-lands.html

Also, while on the site take the chance to explore the NTHP's new Preservation Nation website to find out more about how historic preservation is being dealt with in Washington and to see all the new additions the NTHP has made to their website.

In other HP-related news, a bill is being introduced that could give financial incentives to property owners that retrofit their historic buildings to make them more energy efficient. Here is an exerpt from a recent NTHP bulletin:

House Energy and Commerce Committee Releases Draft Energy Bill with REEP Provisions

Rep. Peter Welch’s (D-VT) Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) bill (HR 1778), which includes a 120 percent boost as an incentive for retrofitting the cost of existing homes and buildings on the National Register, was included in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s draft energy bill that was unveiled on Tuesday. Under REEP, homeowners could qualify for $1,000-$3,000 in financial incentives for achieving a 10-20 percent increase in efficiency, with another $150 for every additional percentage point of energy savings achieved. Businesses could qualify for $0.15 per square foot for the first 20 to 30 percent increase in efficiency with an increasing incentive of up to $2.50 per square foot for energy reductions over 50 percent. Incentives for both homes and commercial buildings would be capped at 50 percent of the cost of the retrofit.