The workload swamping the understaffed state historic sites agency is a key problem in dealing with human remains and historic sites that are uncovered during construction.

It's not the only problem, but for now clearing the backlog has to be Job No. 1.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources, struggling to fill several archaeological positions in its Historic Preservation Division, is working on a short-term contract with the Research Corp. of the University of Hawai'i to clear part of the backlog and to help refine the process in the long term.

Peter Young, department director, said the UH and some working groups of professional architects and archaeologists are trying to recommend ways to standardize and streamline procedures.

That's encouraging news. The historic preservation office must function reasonably well so that sites can be approached with as much care as possible and builders can know what to expect when remains are uncovered during a project.

It's what the law was designed to do. But execution has, at best, been unpredictable.

Developers whose projects may threaten a historic or burial site might be ushered through the whole process without a bump. Or, there may be disagreements over interpretation at several points in the review. This can involve staff and private archaeologists as well as citizen burial councils.

An advocacy group called the Friends of the Burials Protection Program has laid the fault for the failings of the program entirely at the feet of the state agency. But the procedures and perhaps even the burials law must be clarified, so that endless rounds of disputes and challenges don't mire things so hopelessly.

For example, human remains are still boxed in a trailer behind Wal-Mart largely due to a conflict among families. This led to an inquiry, still unresolved, into the way the private archaeologist handled the remains. The state has been inconsistent in its oversight and interpretation of such rules; all that this probe has accomplished so far has been to postpone reburial for two years.

Reducing the agency's backlog of work is the most essential task. But if the state is serious about offering historic sites and burials a consistent level of protection, the process must be clarified to achieve that goal.