82-505.

State or state-funded undertaking; notice required; exemption from act; act, how construed.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the head of any state agency having jurisdiction over a proposed state or state-funded undertaking, which has potential to affect archaeological resources or sites, shall, prior to the approval of the expenditure of any state funds on the undertaking, notify the State Archaeology Office of the undertaking and cooperate with the office to identify and develop measures to mitigate the effect of the undertaking on any archaeological site or resource that is included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

(2) The Department of Transportation shall be exempt from the provisions of the Nebraska Archaeological Resources Preservation Act as long as a cooperative agreement exists between the Department of Transportation and the Nebraska State Historical Society which ensures that all highway construction projects meet federal historic preservation legislation and regulations, and such federal preservation legislation and regulations fulfill or exceed the objectives and standards of the act.

(3) Nothing in the Nebraska Archaeological Resources Preservation Act shall be construed to abridge the rights of private property owners and in no case shall a private property owner be required to pay for activities undertaken by the State Archaeology Office.