(a) The owner or a duly authorized representative may appeal any of the certifications or denials of certification made under this part or any decisions made under §67.6(f).

(1) Appeals must:

(i) Be in writing; e.g. letter, fax, or e-mail;

(ii) Be addressed to the Chief Appeals Officer, Cultural Resources, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240;

(iii) Be received by NPS within 30 days of receipt by the owner or a duly authorized representative of the decision which is the subject of the appeal; and

(iv) Include all information the owner wishes the Chief Appeals Officer to consider in deciding the appeal.

(2) The appellant may request a meeting to discuss the appeal.

(3) NPS will notify the SHPO that an appeal is pending.

(4) The Chief Appeals Officer will consider the record of the decision in question, any further written submissions by the owner, and other available information and will provide the appellant a written decision as promptly as circumstances permit.

(5) Appeals under this section constitute an administrative review of the decision appealed from and are not conducted as an adjudicative proceeding.

(b) The denial of a preliminary determination of significance for an individual property may not be appealed by the owner because the denial itself does not exhaust the administrative remedy that is available. The owner instead must seek recourse by undertaking the usual nomination process (36 CFR part 60).

(c) In considering such appeals or administrative reviews, the Chief Appeals Officer shall take in account alleged errors in professional judgment or alleged prejudicial procedural errors by NPS officials. The Chief Appeals Officer's decision may:

(1) Reverse the appealed decision;

(2) Affirm the appealed decision;

(3) Resubmit the matter to WASO for further consideration; or

(4) Where appropriate, withhold a decision until issuance of a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to §67.6(b)(2).

The Chief Appeals Officer may base his decision in whole or part on matters or factors not discussed in the decision appealed from. The Chief Appeals Officer is authorized to issue the certifications discussed in this part only if he considers that the requested certification meets the applicable statutory standard upon application of the Standards set forth herein or he considers that prejudicial procedural error by a Federal official legally compels issuance of the requested certification.

(d) The decision of the Chief Appeals Officer shall be the final administrative decision on the appeal. No person shall be considered to have exhausted his or her administrative remedies with respect to the certifications or decisions described in this part until the Chief Appeals Officer has issued a final administrative decision pursuant to this section.

[54 FR 6771, Feb. 26, 1990, as amended at 76 FR 30541, May 26, 2011]