The Utah State Historic Preservation Office (UT-SHPO) has gone all-digital! Chris Merritt, Deputy UT-SHPO, provided the following document excerpt to the Commonwealth Heritage Group, Inc. Ogden office to share on the ACRAsphere:

The UT-SHPO is one of only a handful of SHPOs around the country that have converted to an all-digital work flow. Digitizing this consultation workflow has been a priority of the Utah SHPO since 2014, with concerted efforts to build a system starting in spring of 2016. The project was termed as “e106”, as Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act is the specific part of the law that requires consultation of federal agencies, and is the common professional reference point. The estimated cost savings in Utah for the switch from a paper to a digital workflow for Section 106 and 404 consultation is $283,344.80 with an additional 8,000 days (~21 years) saved in transit time for correspondence.

To ease the transition of agencies and consultants into the world of e106 using Salesforce, UT-SHPO created a training program using GoToMeeting and conference phone call-ins. Over 50 individuals representing two dozen agencies took advantage of that personalized orientation with UT-SHPO staff, easing the final implementation of the system.

The following are unsolicited testimonials of the newly launched e106 that have been received by UT-SHPO staff during the first week of its public launch.

“The newly implemented electronic Section 106 submission system is extremely worthwhile and long over-due. It reduces the inefficiencies in the consultation process tremendously. Official, routine correspondence that previously took days through the mail to be delivered is now available in moments and will not be lost in the mail. The e106 system will save the Bureau of Reclamation months on consultation timelines and fosters goodwill within my organization for working with the State Historic Preservation Office. Definitely worth it!”—Bureau of Reclamation

“The E106 process is a game changer. And change is not something that goes over well with many people. I was impressed with the straight forward simplicity and consultation time frame. Your staff have gone out their way to clarify any questions I have had and worked the kinks out of the system. I never thought this day would come. 20 something years of pushing paper.” – Division of Wildlife Resources.

Have you worked in Utah and had the chance to utilize e106? Do you have experience with digital workflows for Section 106 consultation in other states? Tell us about your experiences in the comments!