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Cultural Resources Overview for the Proposed

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Cultural Resources Overview for the Proposed CULTURAL RESOURCES OVERVIEW FOR THE PROPOSED BOUNDLESS ENERGY New York Branch PROJECT, NEW YORK SEGMENT, 2390 Clinton Street Buffalo, NY 14227 Tel: (716) 821-1650 RENSSELAER, ALBANY, COLUMBIA, GREENE, Fax: (716) 821-1607 Alabama Branch 2301 Paul Bryant Drive ULSTER, ORANGE, AND DUTCHESS COUNTIES, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 Tel: (205) 556-3096 Fax: (205) 556-1144 NEW YORK Tennessee Branch 91 Tillman Street Memphis, TN 38111 Tel: (901) 454-4733 Fax: (901) 454-4736 Prepared for: Corporate Headquarters ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT P.O. Box 20884 Tuscaloosa, AL 35402 368 Pleasant View Drive Tel: (205) 248-8767 Lancaster, New York 14068 Fax: (205) 248-8739 Prepared by: PANAMERICAN CONSULTANTS, INC. Buffalo Branch Office 2390 Clinton Street Buffalo, New York 14227-1735 (716) 821-1650 September 2013 CULTURAL RESOURCES OVERVIEW FOR THE PROPOSED BOUNDLESS ENERGY PROJECT NEW YORK SEGMENT, RENSSELAER, ALBANY, COLUMBIA, GREENE, ULSTER, ORANGE, AND DUTCHESS COUNTIES, NEW YORK Prepared for: ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT 368 Pleasant View Drive Lancaster, New York 14068 Prepared by: Michael A. Cinquino, Ph.D., RPA, Principal Investigator/Project Director Mark A. Steinback, M.A., Senior Historian Donald A. Smith, Ph.D., RPA, Senior Archaeologist/GIS Specialist Frank J. Schieppati, Ph.D., RPA Preservation Planner/Sr. Archaeologist Christine Longiaru, M.A., Senior Architectural Historian PANAMERICAN CONSULTANTS, INC. Buffalo Branch Office 2390 Clinton Street Buffalo, NY 14227 (716) 821-1650 September 2013 Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables .......................................................................................................... iii 1.0 Introduction .....................................................................................................................1-1 1.1 Project Description .................................................................................................1-1 2.0 Background Research .....................................................................................................2-1 2.1 Cultural Background ...............................................................................................2-1 2.1.1 Prehistoric Summary ...................................................................................2-1 2.1.2 Historic Summary ......................................................................................2 -12 2.2 Documentary Research ........................................................................................2 -32 2.2.1 Site File Data ............................................................................................ 2-32 3.0 Proposed Construction and Cultural Resources Sensitivity Assessment by Section ........3-1 3.1 Cultural Resources Investigation Level of Effort .....................................................3-1 3.2 Construction and Cultural Resources Sensitivity Assessment by Section ...............3-1 3.2.1 Section 1: Reynolds Tap to New Scotland, MP 0 to MP 8.65 ......................3-1 3.2.2 Section 2: Knickerbocker to Leeds, MP 8.66 to MP 32 ................................3-2 3.2.3 Section 3: Leeds to Rock Tavern, MP 32 to MP 101.17 ..............................3-5 3.2.4 Section 4: Roseton to East Fishkill, MP 101.17 to MP 109.57 .....................3-7 4.0 Conclusions and Recommendations ...............................................................................4-1 4.1 Cultural Resource Sensitivity ..................................................................................4-1 4.2 Assessing Proposed Project Activities ....................................................................4-1 4.3 Native American Consultation ...............................................................................4-1 4.4 Summary of Recommendations .............................................................................4-2 4.4.1 Section 1: Reynolds Tap to New Scotland, MP 0 to MP 8.65 ......................4-2 4.4.2 Section 2: Knickerbocker to Leeds, MP 8.66 to MP 32 ................................4-2 4.4.3 Section 3: Leeds to Rock Tavern, MP 32 to MP 101.17 ..............................4-4 4.4.4 Section 4: Roseton to East Fishkill, MP 101.17 to MP 109.57 .....................4-4 5.0 References .....................................................................................................................5-1 Panamerican Consultants, Inc. ii Boundless Energy List of Figures and Tables FIGURE PAGE 1.1 Approximate location of the Leeds Project West (LPW) project area in the Hudson Valley of New York State .................................................................................................1-3 1.2 Approximate location of the LPW project area between MP 0 and MP 44 in the Hudson Valley of New York State ....................................................................................1-4 1.3 Approximate location of the LPW project area between MP 44 and MP 81 in the Hudson Valley of New York State ....................................................................................1-5 1.4 Approximate location of the LPW project area between MP 74 and MP 109.57 in the Hudson Valley of New York State ..............................................................................1-6 2.1 Manor of Rensselaerswyck in 1767. The red square is the approximate location of what is now the City of Albany .......................................................................................2 -18 2.2 Sections of the project area with previously-recorded archaeological sites .................... 2-35 2.3 Approximate location of NRL resources in relation to the propose LPW project area .... 2-36 TABLE PAGE 2.1 Archaeological sites within or adjacent to the project area ............................................2 -32 2.2 National Register-Listed sites within or adjacent to the project area .............................. 2-34 Panamerican Consultants, Inc. iii Boundless Energy 1.0 Introduction Panamerican Consultants, Inc. (Panamerican) was contracted by Ecology and Environment, Inc., to conduct a Desktop Cultural Resources Study for the New York segment of the Boundless Energy (Boundless) Leeds Project West (LPW) Transmission Project (Project) in Rensselaer, Albany, Columbia, Greene, Ulster, Orange, and Dutchess counties (Figure 1.1). Boundless proposes to construct new 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines and to reconductor1 existing 345- kV lines in Rensselaer, Albany, Columbia, Greene, Ulster, Orange, and Dutchess counties, New York. Figure 1.1 shows the LPW project location within New York’s Hudson Valley. The Project will use new 345-kV lines in existing transmission corridors to connect clean and efficient sources of energy in upstate New York with southeastern New York. New transmission conductors will be installed primarily on new steel monopoles approximately 130 feet (ft) high in Sections 1, 2, and 4. H-frame structures will only be removed in Section 1. Reconductoring will be done on H-frame structures in Section 3. There will also be segments of underground construction in Sections 2 and 4, as well as horizontal directional drilling (HDD) under the Hudson River. The Project also includes construction of switching stations and a new substation, as well as expansion of the existing corridor. Section 1 (Reynolds Tap to New Scotland, Mile Post [MP] 0 to MP 8.65) of the proposed LPW project will tap into the existing 345-kV line in the Town of East Greenbush in Rensselaer County (Figure 1.2). From there, new line will extend west approximately 8.65 miles within an existing right- of-way (ROW) as an overhead line across the Hudson River to connect with the New Scotland substation in Albany County. New monopole towers will be built to replace existing H-frame poles within an existing ROW, but additional area may need to be added to the ROW in places. Section 2 (Knickerbocker to Leeds, MP 8.66 to MP 32) of the proposed Project will connect with the 345-kV lines of the existing interconnection with the New England region between New Scotland and Alps (see Figure 1.2). A new substation (Knickerbocker) will be constructed near the intersection of Knickerbocker and Muitzeskill roads in the Town of Schodack, Rensselaer County. Approximately three acres of land will be required for construction of the new substation. A new 345-kV line will extend approximately 23.3 miles south from the new substation to the Hudson substation near the City of Hudson, Columbia County. Approximately 18.6 miles will consist of new overhead lines within existing transmission-line corridors. A transition station will be constructed near the Hudson substation at which point the line will be constructed underground for approximately 2.75 miles, passing through the city as a buried cable. From MP 30, the Project will continue underground, crossing under the Hudson River by HDD. The line would continue approximately one mile underground in Greene County to connect to the Leeds substation. Section 3 (Leeds to Rock Tavern, MP 32 to MP 101.17) of the proposed Project comprises a new 345-kV circuit, which would be added to an existing line starting at the Leeds substation (Figures 1.3 and 1.4; see Figure 1.2). The existing line would be reconductored with minimal or no modifications to existing tower structures. This section will extend approximately 55 miles south through Ulster County and connect to a new switchyard near East Road in the Town of Marlborough, just north of the Orange County line in Ulster County. Approximately three acres of land will be required for construction
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