Unified Federal Environmental and Historic Preservation Review

The Unified Federal Environmental and Historic Preservation Review for Presidentially Declared Disasters contains information relevant to Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) reviews for disaster recovery projects. They provide a framework for dealing with EHP requirements during disaster recovery.

Get Started

Resources for Practitioners
Resources for practitioners conducting environmental and historic preservation reviews.

Resources for Applicants
Resources for federal assistance applicants seeking information for environmental and historic preservation reviews.

UFR Library
Collection of documents (including tools, templates, and factsheets) associated with UFR Process development and implementation.

EHP Best Practice Resources
Catalog of EHP best practices and interagency agreements for EHP practitioners and applicants.

About the Unified Federal Review

Disaster recovery projects often involve more than one Federal Agency and can require significant interagency collaboration and stakeholder engagement. In 2013, Congress charged the Administration with the task of developing a Unified Federal Review (UFR) process for complying with Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation (EHP) requirements applicable to disaster recovery projects. Following Presidentially-declared disasters, the UFR Process facilitates the collaboration and coordination among multiple Federal Agencies through the use of Tools, Mechanisms, and best practices that are accessible to disaster recovery staff and Applicants for federal assistance. Figure 1 illustrates the disaster lifecycle. The UFR Process also recognizes the important role of Federal Agencies, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) governments, localities, and the general public in EHP Reviews. The Federal Government is an active partner in disaster recovery. Federal Agencies, SLTT governments, communities, and individuals all work together during disaster recovery to restore communities and improve their resiliency against future disasters. Many Federal Agencies provide funding to Applicants seeking federal assistance. These Funding Agencies provide assistance for a variety of programs to fund recovery ranging from supporting the rebuilding of infrastructure to social services, housing, and mitigation projects to reduce the impacts of future disasters on local communities. Other Federal Agencies, known as Resource/ Regulatory Agencies, provide permits or other federal determinations and special knowledge and expertise to inform the development of disaster recovery projects and ensure that EHP requirements under their jurisdiction are met. All Federal Agencies have a responsibility as stewards of the environment to effectively manage the natural, cultural, and historic resources while helping communities rebuild.

National Disaster Recovery Framework

The National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) is a guide that enables effective recovery support to disaster-impacted states, tribes, and territorial and local jurisdictions. It does this by establishing a community of organizations that are active in disasters. The UFR supports the NDRF by encouraging cooperation between those agencies active in disaster by proactively developing agreements, tools and mechanisms that reduce the burden on applicants while maintaining the appropriate level of environmental compliance.

Additional Environmental & Historic Review Resources

UFR Newsletters

The UFR Newsletter is a collection of new developments to the UFR process, best practices, and case studies.