Background
In November 2021, the Keeper of the National Register within the National Park Service (NPS) notified the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) that owner objections for listing historic properties in the National Register of Historic Places were no longer required to be notarized if made in compliance with 28 U.S.C. § 1746.
Under this new requirement, NPS must consider objections made under penalty of perjury consistent with 28 U.S.C. § 1746 to be valid objections, even if they are not notarized, if those objections otherwise comply with the requirements in the NPS’s regulations.
After receiving the notification, staff sought clarification from NPS on the impact of this change to Oregon. Based on our current rules, it would be likely the agency could submit a nomination to NPS under the long-standing requirement that objections be notarized without it being returned by NPS. However, an individual could petition NPS to reject the listing under 36 CFR 60.15, for prejudicial procedural error, based on the Oregon SHPO not providing property owners the opportunity to object via declaration as opposed to notarization.
In order to ensure timely processing of nominations, amendments to OAR 736-050-0250 are needed to remove requirements for a notarized statement and replace with the updated requirement for objections to be made under penalty of perjury consistent with 28 U.S.C. § 1746.
Public comment period
Closed March 31, 2022 at 5:00 pm.
Public comments received
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