Cultural Resources Assessment, Parcel 77 Auto Import Terminal Project
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
720 Olive Way, Suite 1900 Seattle, Washington 98101 206.287.9130 Memorandum January 16, 2018 To: Mark Rettmann, Port of Tacoma From: Barbara Bundy, Anchor QEA, LLC cc: Dan Berlin and Josh Jensen, Anchor QEA, LLC Re: Cultural Resources Assessment, Parcel 77 Auto Import Terminal Project Introduction The Port of Tacoma (Port) is proposing the Parcel 77 Auto Import Terminal Project (Project) at their 96-acre property located between the Blair and Hylebos Waterways at 3400 Taylor Way in Tacoma, Washington (Figure 1). The Project includes redeveloping the property into an automobile import terminal. Automobiles will be received from the Port’s adjacent Blair Waterway East Blair One (EB1) Terminal and transferred to the Project property across Alexander Avenue for processing and shipping. Automobiles will primarily be transported to inland markets from the Project property via rail. Trucks will also transport automobiles destined to local markets from the Project property. It is currently projected that between 80% and 90% of the imported cars will be transported inland by rail. Additionally, the Port is pursuing the option to install new stormwater piping from the Project property and a new stormwater outfall along the Blair Waterway. The Project is designed to operate permanently, with or without the optional new outfall in place, by instead using the proposed stormwater pump station and existing outfall. Upon receipt of applicable permits and approvals for the optional plan, the new outfall will be used for stormwater discharge, and the interim stormwater pump station will no longer be needed. The Port is currently conducting a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) analysis for the Project. The new outfall for the Project will also require a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). USACE must comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations at 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 800. Both SEPA and Section 106 require analysis of impacts to cultural resources. This memorandum provides information to assist the Port and USACE in completing these processes. \\fuji\anchor\Projects\Port of Tacoma\2017-18 On-Call Environmental Permitting\ParceParcell 77 Auto Terminal\Permitting\Cultural Resources\PoT_Parcel77_CRMemorandum_20180116.docx Service Layer Credits: Esri, HERE, DeLorme, MapmyIndia, © OpenStreetMap Approximate Project Area 0 1,000 Proposed Building Proposed Rail Line Proposed Roadway Grading, Paving, and Striping [ Feet Publish Date: 2017/12/19, 4:39 PM | User: bbundy Filepath: I:\Projects\Port of Tacoma\2017-18 On-Call Environmental Permitting\Parcel 77 Auto Terminal\Permitting\0 - SEPA Package\2 - Cultural Resources\Figure Native Files\Parcel77_CRMemo_Fig1.mxd Figure 1 Project Plan View Cultural Resources Assessment Parcel 77 Auto Import Terminal Project January 16, 2018 Page 3 Project Description The Project is located at 3400 Taylor Way in Tacoma, Washington (Pierce County Parcel Nos. 0321354035, 0321363013, 0321363033, 0321363034, 0321363037, and 5000350110 [Port of Tacoma easement]). The Project property is located within Section 36, Township 21 North, Range 3 East of the Willamette Meridian, County of Pierce, State of Washington. Figure 1 includes a vicinity map and Table 1 lists Project elements. Table 1 Project Elements Maximum Extent of Element Ground Disturbance Providing employee parking spaces Installing new rail spurs, rail loadlines, and unloading pads on imported fill along the No ground disturbance south end of the Project property Installing a perimeter truck road on imported fill Grading the Project property with a graded aggregate base and asphalt of varying thickness to accommodate light- and medium-duty vehicle storage and haulway loading areas 2 fbs Landscaping the northeast corner of the Project property Installing a security fence around the Project property and entrance gates Demolishing existing modern structures 3 fbs Constructing new processing buildings, a maintenance building, and guard houses 7 fbs Installing utilities and stormwater infrastructure, including enhanced stormwater 14 fbs treatment consisting of treatment vaults and bioretention systems 6 fbs on the upland Installing the new outfall property, 16 fbs at the shoreline Installing a temporary pump station and connecting stormwater infrastructure at the southwest corner of the Project property to pump stormwater to the EB1 Terminal 21 fbs outfall Installing high mast light poles 25 fbs Note: fbs = feet below ground surface Regulatory Context Section 106 requires that USACE consider the effects of the Project on historic properties (prehistoric or historic sites, buildings, districts, objects, or structures eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places [NRHP]). Under 36 CFR 800, USACE must do the following: • Define the Project’s Area of Potential Effects (APE) • Assess whether any NRHP-eligible historic properties are present in the APE • If eligible properties are present, assess whether the Project will adversely affect them January 16, 2018 Page 4 • Mitigate any adverse effects Additionally, USACE must consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), interested and affected Indian tribes, the public, and other interested parties, if any. SEPA requires consideration of historic and cultural preservation under Washington Administrative Code 197-11-060. The SEPA process considers short- and long-term direct and indirect impacts. Because the Project includes ground disturbance, impacts to archaeological sites must be considered. This review fulfills SEPA provisions by comparing areas of ground disturbance to known and potential archaeological resources to determine whether the project may directly or indirectly affect any such resources. The following sections describe the APE, review existing historical and ethnographic sources, and recommend whether the Project will adversely affect historic properties. The Port has conducted informal consultation about the Project with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and will consult with SHPO directly. USACE will also conduct tribal and SHPO consultation directly. Area of Potential Effects The APE for a project is “the geographic area or areas within which an undertaking may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of historic properties” (36 CFR 800.16(d)). USACE will determine the APE for the project. The recommended APE for the project includes areas where ground disturbance could affect archaeological sites or modifications could affect historic structures. The structures to be demolished as part of the Project date to post-2000 (Berger et al. 2009). There are no proposed modifications to potentially historic structures, and because the development is consistent with the industrial nature of the Port, no effects to the viewshed of any potentially historic structure are expected. Therefore, the recommended APE is limited to areas of ground disturbance (Figure 2). Environmental and Cultural Context Environmental Context The Blair Waterway is part of Commencement Bay. Wapato Creek enters Puget Sound at the head of the waterway. To the north, Hylebos Creek enters the Hylebos Waterway, and to the south, the Puyallup River enters the Bay. The Project vicinity is in the Puget Trough physiographic province, a valley system that extends from the Puget Sound south through the Willamette Valley, and which separates the Olympic Mountains from the Western Cascades (Franklin and Dyrness 1973). The ridge-and-trough system was formed as glaciers retreated after the last glacial maximum about 14,000 years ago (Easterbrook 1993). Service Layer Credits: USGS The National Map: National Boundaries Dataset, 0 1,000 Area of Potential Effects USGS 7.5' Quads, Tacoma North and Poverty Bay [ Feet Publish Date: 2017/12/05, 10:19 AM | User: bbundy Filepath: \\fuji\anchor\Projects\Port of Tacoma\2017-18 On-Call Environmental Permitting\Parcel 77 Auto Terminal\Permitting\0 - SEPA Package\2 - Cultural Resources\Figure Native Files\Parcel77_CRMemo_Fig2.mxd Figure 2 Area of Potential Effects Cultural Resources Assessment Parcel 77 Auto Import Terminal Project January 16, 2018 Page 6 After the Puget Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet melted, the Project property was a deep embayment. About 5,600 years ago, a large eruption of Mount Rainier created the Osceola mudflow, which introduced massive amounts of sediment into the White and Puyallup River drainage (Dragovich et al. 1994). The sediment influx caused river deltas to aggrade rapidly, creating the intertidal system present at historic contact (Vallance and Scott 1997). The delta likely reached its present location around 4,200 years ago (Barnhardt et al. 2003); no archaeological sites would be expected to date prior to that time. At the time of Euroamerican contact, Commencement Bay was an extensive tideflat, colonized by estuarine vegetation (Weinmann et al. 1984). Several historic maps (Figure 3) show the Project property as tideflats, with a small area of uplands in the southwest corner. The Project property would have been an estuarine halocline, supporting plants such as seagrasses and sedges. Nearby riparian areas would have hosted such culturally important plants as wapato, nettles, reeds, and cranberries (Weinmann et al. 1984). Small and large mammals could be found in nearby uplands, as well as various bird species. Commencement Bay was home to large seasonal salmon runs, and numerous resident fish such as flounder, smelt, herring, and sole. Cultural