Cultural Context
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Cultural Resources Assessment for the Grays Harbor Rail Terminal, LLC Proposed Liquid Bulk Facility, Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County, Washington Contains Confidential Information—Not for Public Distribution Prepared by: Jennifer Chambers, M.S. With contributions by: Melanie Diedrich, M.A., RPA Revised by: Katherine M. Kelly, MES, RPA Tierra Archaeological Report No. 2013-080 March 11, 2014 Cultural Resources Assessment for the Grays Harbor Rail Terminal, LLC Proposed Liquid Bulk Facility, Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County, Washington Contains Confidential Information—Not for Public Distribution Prepared by: Jennifer Chambers, M.S. With contributions by: Melanie Diedrich, M.A., RPA Revised by: Katherine M. Kelly, MES, RPA Prepared for: Karissa Kawamoto HDR, Inc. 500 108th Ave NE, Suite 1200 Bellevue, Washington 98004 Submitted by: Tierra Right of Way Services, Ltd. 2611 NE 125th Street, Suite 202 Seattle, Washington 98125 Tierra Archaeological Report No. 2013-080 March 11, 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Project Information ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Regulatory Context ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Background Review ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Environmental Context ................................................................................................................................ 6 Cultural Context ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Previous Cultural Resources Studies and Sites ........................................................................................ 12 Historic Properties Expectations ................................................................................................................... 13 Former Tidelands ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Upland Terraces ........................................................................................................................................... 14 Field InvestigationS ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Results and Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 26 References ......................................................................................................................................................... 29 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Detail of the Hoquiam, WA (1994), 7.5-minute quadrangle map showing the APE. ............ 2 Figure 2. Proposed project plan map showing project components. ........................................................ 3 Figure 3. Proposed project plan map showing subsurface test unit locations. ......................................... 4 Figure 4. The GLO survey map locates the project within tidelands (USSG 1893). ............................... 8 Figure 5. An 1889 (U.S. Fish Commission 1891) fisheries map shows that the project is in an area once known for resources such as soft clams (probably Mya arenaria). ....................................... 9 Figure 6. 1953 USGS aerial survey with APE overlay (EarthExplorer 2014a). ........................................ 9 Figure 7. 1971 NASA vertical reconnaissance aerial photography (EarthExplorer 2014b). ................ 10 Figure 8. Results of a search of WISAARD for nearby cultural resource surveys and recorded archaeological sites. ................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 9. Map from USACE survey of potential dredge disposal area C (Munsell 1976). ................... 11 LIST OF PHOTOS Photo 1. Overview of boring set up, view to the south. ............................................................................ 15 Photo 2. Overview of trench excavation, view to the north. .................................................................... 16 Photo 3. Example of subsurface deposits encountered throughout the APE, view southwest. ......... 16 Photo 4. Example of surface gravels encountered throughout the APE. ............................................... 17 Photo 5. Fill deposits consisting of clay with organics (right) over silty sand (left). .............................. 17 Photo 6. Representative photo of native interbedded sand deposits. ...................................................... 17 Photo 7. Example of man-made fabric material encountered below fill in much of the APE. ........... 18 Photo 8. Fibrous material prior to screening (left); macro shot after screening (middle); under 10x magnification of man-made felted material fibers (right). ............................................................ 18 Photo 9. Overview of northern portion of project APE. View to the northeast. .................................. 19 Photo 10. APE overview, from the southeast corner to the northwest corner. .................................... 21 Photo 11. APE overview, from the northeast corner to the southwest corner. .................................... 21 Photo 12. Eastern shed, exterior north side, view to southeast. ............................................................... 22 Photo 13. Western shed exterior north side, view to the southeast. ........................................................ 22 Photo 14. Weigh station and scales, exterior, north side, view to the southwest. .................................. 23 Photo 15. Overview of wharf, view to the southeast. ................................................................................ 23 Photo 16. Overview of STP, terminated at 2.1 m (7.0 feet). ..................................................................... 24 Tierra Archaeological Report No. 2013-080 ii Photo 17. View east along extended portion of APE. ............................................................................... 25 Photo 18. Overview of project area, view to the west. .............................................................................. 25 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A. Subsurface Testing Samples .................................................................................................. A.1 Appendix B. Sample Protocol for Discovery of Archaeological Resources ......................................... B.1 Tierra Archaeological Report No. 2013-080 iii INTRODUCTION On behalf of US Development Group LLC (USD), Tierra Right of Way Services, Ltd. (Tierra), was contracted by HDR, Inc. (HDR), to conduct a cultural resources assessment for USD’s proposed Liquid Bulk Facility Project (the project). The project, located in Section 10, Township 17 North, Range 10 West, Willamette Meridian (WM), proposes to develop a new crude oil storage facility at the Port of Grays Harbor Terminal 3 (T3) property located between State Route 109 (SR 109) and Grays Harbor in Hoquiam, Washington (Figures 1–3). This report has been prepared to assess the effects of the project on cultural resources in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), as amended. PROJECT INFORMATION Terminal 3 (T3) at the Port of Grays Harbor (the Port) is 150 acres in size and includes an existing 183-m-long (600-foot-long) concrete shipping terminal. Approximately 25 acres of the T3 site are currently leased by the Port to a private tenant (Willis Enterprises), which utilizes the property for storing and sorting logs and operating a wood chipping and processing facility. The remaining area of the property (a former mill site) is occupied by two metal buildings and a rail spur line, but it is otherwise currently vacant. The liquid bulk materials would be delivered to the proposed facility via unit trains in fully contained liquid bulk rail cars, unloaded into on-site storage tanks, and then loaded onto barges or other marine vessels for delivery to refineries. A unit train consists of approximately 60–120 rail cars, each car with a capacity of 680–720 barrels, providing a total shipment volume of 41,000–87,000 barrels per unit train. The facility infrastructure and operations would be designed to receive and off-load a maximum of one full unit train every other day. The general layout of the proposed rail and off-loading facilities includes four 20-car yard tracks and two 20-car off-loading tracks (120 rail cars total). In addition, a “run-around” track would be used to reposition the locomotive engines and to hold cars awaiting maintenance. The off-loading spots would be equipped with permanent rack access structures, each of which would support connections for a maximum of 40 rail cars (20 spots on each side of a rack). The off-loading spots and central header would be located within a secondary containment. The rack structures consist of elevated steel walkways with extendable access platforms used to access the tops of the rail cars. Off-loading would occur via 10-cm (4-inch) dry break connections, hoses, valves,