GHG Final Cultural Report Pipeline for Occidental
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REVISED DRAFT PEDESTRIAN CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY FOR THE PROPOSED OXYCHEM MARKHAM ETHYLENE PIPELINE PROJECT IN SAN PATRICIO, REFUGIO, ARANSAS, CALHOUN, VICTORIA, JACKSON, AND MATAGORDA COUNTIES, TEXAS Lead Federal Agency: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Prepared for: Occidental Chemical Corporation Prepared by: HRA Gray & Pape, LLC 110 Avondale Street Houston, Texas 77006 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 , 2 0 1 4 HRA Gray & Pape Project #815 February 20, 2014 REVISED DRAFT PEDESTRIAN CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY FOR THE PROPOSED OXYCHEM MARKHAM ETHYLENE PIPELINE PROJECT IN SAN PATRICIO, REFUGIO, ARANSAS, CALHOUN, VICTORIA, JACKSON, AND MATAGORDA COUNTIES, TEXAS Lead Federal Agency: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Prepared for: Occidental Chemical Corporation Contact: Mr. Mark Evans (361) 776-6169 Prepared by: Julia Balakirova and Tony Scott ____________________________ Tony Scott Principal Investigator ABSTRACT In March, May, and June of 2013, HRA Gray & Pape, LLC, of Houston, Texas, completed pedestrian cultural resources survey and limited shovel testing on portions of a proposed 184- kilometer (114-mile) alignment in preparation for a new 20.3-centimeter (8-inch) diameter ethylene pipeline to be located in San Patricio, Refugio, Aransas, Victoria, Calhoun, Jackson, and Matagorda Counties, Texas. The Phase I survey was conducted on behalf of Tetra Tech, Inc. of Buffalo, New York, under contract with Occidental Chemical Corporation. The Lead Federal Agency for the project (Project) is the Environmental Protection Agency. To date, 175.7 kilometers (109.2 miles) of Project alignment, or 95.8 percent of the Project, has been surveyed. The amount of surveyed Project area in addition to surveyed areas no longer in consideration for the Project amounts to approximately, 1,399.8 hectares (3,459 acres) of survey coverage. Approximately 7.7 kilometers (4.8 miles) of Project are currently not surveyed. Of that amount HRA Gray & Pape, LLC recommends that 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles) of marsh not be required for survey. Access is pending for the other 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of Project alignment that has not been surveyed. Fieldwork conducted in 2013 was completed over three separate mobilizations carried out from March 6 to 26, May 15 to 29, and June 17 to 21. In addition to work conducted in 2013, a 4.2-kilometer (2.6-mile) portion of the Project was previously surveyed by HRA Gray & Pape, LLC in 2011 and reported on in a separate document (Scott et al. 2013). Field investigation was conducted entirely on privately owned properties and consisted of walkover and limited shovel testing within the Project area. During this investigation 33 cultural resources were identified or confirmed. These include 17 new archaeological sites, one historic structure, five loci of three to ten historic artifacts, six isolated finds, and four previously recorded sites (41RF51, 41RF53, 41RF54, and 41SP256). The location of one additional previously recorded site (41JK111) has yet to be surveyed due to pending property access. In general, cultural resources identified as the result of field efforts consisted of prehistoric shell middens and campsites, historic occupations and trash dumps, and historic and prehistoric isolate finds. No further work is recommended for 30 of the 33 identified resources as they are either confined to the plow zone, are now outside of the Project area, or offer little information to add to the understanding of the history of the area or for research potential. Of those sites identified within the proposed Project alignment, Sites 41RF54, 41SP268, and 41SP269 are considered potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places or as State Archaeological/Antiquities Landmarks. These sites consist of prehistoric occupations and shell middens. HRA Gray & Pape, LLC recommends efforts to avoid these three sites and Project plans are for them to be avoided by horizontal drilling. The location of Site 41JK111 in regard to the project and its eligibility status is currently unknown. The remaining portions of the proposed Project not surveyed including the location of Site 41JK111, as well as any additional laydown yards and access roads will be included in an addendum report once survey has been completed for those areas. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ ii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... iv 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Project and Project Area Description .............................................................................. 1 1.2 Organization of the Report .............................................................................................. 3 1.3 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 3 2.0 NATURAL SETTING ....................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Physiography and Geomorphology................................................................................. 5 2.2 Soils................................................................................................................................. 5 2.3 Climate ............................................................................................................................ 8 2.4 Land Use ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.0 PREHISTORIC SETTING ............................................................................................... 10 3.1 Cultural Periods ............................................................................................................ 10 3.1.1 Paleoindian Period ................................................................................................ 10 3.1.2 Archaic Period ...................................................................................................... 10 3.1.3 Late Prehistoric Period .......................................................................................... 11 3.1.4 Protohistoric Period to the Post-Contact ............................................................... 12 3.1.5 Historic Period ...................................................................................................... 13 Early European Explorations (1515-1716) ................................................................... 13 Spanish Colonial Period (1716-1821) ........................................................................... 14 Mexican Colonial Period (1821-1836), Anglo-American Colonization ....................... 15 Texas War for Independence and the Republic of Texas (1836-1845) ........................ 17 Mexican War (1846-1848) ............................................................................................ 18 Pre-Civil War Period (1848-1861) ................................................................................ 18 Civil War Period (1861-1865) ...................................................................................... 19 Post-Civil War – The Twentieth Century ..................................................................... 20 4.0 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 23 4.1 Site File and Literature Review .................................................................................... 23 4.2 Field Methods ............................................................................................................... 23 4.2.1 Pedestrian Reconnaissance Survey ....................................................................... 23 4.2.2 Site Definition ....................................................................................................... 24 4.3 Laboratory and Curation ............................................................................................... 25 5.0 RESULTS OF INVESTIGATIONS ................................................................................. 27 5.1 Results of Site File Research ........................................................................................ 27 5.1.1 Previously Recorded Sites .................................................................................... 27 Site 41RF53 .................................................................................................................. 29 Site 41RF54 .................................................................................................................. 30 ii Site 41SP256 ................................................................................................................. 30 Site 41JK111 ................................................................................................................. 31 5.1.2 Previously Recorded Surveys ............................................................................... 31 5.2 Results of Field Investigations .....................................................................................