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The National Park Service says it remains concerned about the State Historic Preservation Division’s ability to review projects and respond to permits once federal oversight ends.

A from the National Park Service indicates that federal officials continue to have serious concerns about the State Historic Preservation Division’s progress in achieving a two-year improvement plan. Meanwhile, a February deadline for meeting requirements is coming up and Hawaii is at risk of being the only state to lose federal certification.

SHPD, which is responsible for protecting Hawaii’s cultural and archaeological resources, has essentially been on federal probation for the past two years. The agency has seen high staff turnover rates and major permitting backlogs.

The letter from the park service contradicts a positive self-assessment SHPD issued in October. Its internal summary said that except for a few hires, it had met all the requirements of the park service’s 2010 corrective action plan.

But the park service noted that while SHPD has made significant strides in some areas, an October report detailing how it had met requirements was “disappointing.”

Federal officials “were struck that the report lacked any vision for sustaining SHPD operations after the conclusion of the (corrective action plan),” wrote Stephanie Toothman, a director for the park service, in a letter to Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources, which oversees SHPD. “The report contained little insight into how a program so important to the preservation of Hawaii’s unique heritage would continue to improve.”

William Aila, chair of DLNR, said that many of the concerns expressed in the letter sent last month have been resolved, and that he was confident that SHPD would retain its certification.

“In terms of our understanding of what is required of the (corrective action plan), I feel very confident that we will have everything except hiring a couple of positions, either done or on its way to being done,” he said. “I think after February we will be essentially in compliance with the (corrective action plan). As long as the National Park Service doesn’t change anything that they expect from us, we should be fine.”

But, SHPD only has a few weeks left to show it’s in compliance.

The park service will decide in February whether or not it will decertify the agency, which could cause delays for billions of dollars in projects in Hawaii that require federal funding, licensing or permits. This includes transportation projects, such as highways and airports, and the $5.26 billion Honolulu rail project, as well as military and Department of Defense projects.

The park service has required SHPD to submit a revised report by February 1, and instructed DLNR to conduct a fiscal audit of the division.

One of the biggest problems for SHPD has been hiring and retaining employees. The agency still has a number of vacancies.

Despite “having two years and a substantial increase (in) state appropriations, several important positions remain unfilled,” wrote Toothman, who noted that staffing, recruitment and retention were problems that have yet to be resolved.

Aila said that of the five positions detailed in Toothman’s November letter, two positions have been filled — an archaeologist and computer specialist. He said that the division was interviewing for a Maui archaeologist position in January. However, two positions, a Kauai archaeologist and archivist, still require funding from the Legislature.

“The issue of retaining employees is something that is a non-issue because ever since we started this (corrective action plan) process, we have hired all these positions and retained everyone,” said Aila. “No one has quit.”

Civil Beat reported in May that SHPD was allocated $600,000 by the Legislature to hire staff. But none of it was spent on new hires. SHPD said it was unable to recruit qualified candidates, and to prevent having to return the money to the general fund, the agency spent much of it on iPads and new vehicles for staff.

Toothman was on vacation and couldn’t be reached for comment about the letter. Jon Smith, a preservation officer for the park service, skirted a question about whether SHPD would lose its certification if all the vacancies aren’t filled by February.

“We will have to work with them on that,” he said. “We will have to definitely correct that.”

Toothman’s letter expressed concerns beyond staffing. Her letter states that SHPD has met, or substantially met, improvement criteria for only two out of six areas within the department.

We “remain concerned about several key programs and the overall administration of the office,” wrote Toothman.

The office still hasn’t completed a statewide inventory of historic properties, a major element of the corrective action plan, which is important for streamlining the review of projects needing SHPD approval. Toothman also expressed concerns about the administration of the office.

“Administration of the SHPD program continues to be problematic even after two years under the (corrective action plan) oversight process,” she wrote. “It is our assessment that this will continue to hamper the long-term viability and sustainability of the SHPD’s programs and capacity to meet their legally mandated requirements in support of historic preservation in Hawaii.”

SHPD is required to fulfill all the requirements of the corrective action plan in order to keep its certification and federal funding.

While the letter stresses areas which have yet to be satisfied, Toothman also points out that SHPD is in much better shape than it was.

She notes that federal agencies submitting projects to SHPD for review have reported improvements. The department has cleared out a backlog of hundreds of permits and made the review process more efficient.

“The federal agencies have noted very openly the improvement in services,” said Smith. “That is huge. That is really, really important for review and compliance, especially for transportation and Department of Defense projects that affect Hawaii.”

Smith also noted that the inventory and database work is expected to accelerate with the recent hiring of a computer database specialist and that SHPD’s State Preservation Plan, one element of the corrective action plan, had already been approved. He said that there has been good progress in certain areas.

Whether that progress is enough will be determined when park service officials visit Hawaii in February to make their final determination.

You can read the letter from the National Park Service here: