AGENDA Planning Commission City Council Chambers- Municipal Services Facility 3100 Belmont Blvd., West Richland Thursday, January 14, 2021 – 6:00 p.m.

Planning Commission Chad Utecht, Chair Members: Nancy Aldrich, Vice Chair Michael Peterson Marv Bohling Jerry Surdyk Colton Brady Zach Byrnes

Staff: Eric Mendenhall, Community Development Director Elisha Ransom, Associate Planner Tobie Webb, Staff Recorder

Notice to the public: This meeting will be a remote Zoom meeting per Governor ’s Stay Home – Stay Healthy Directive. We encourage you to provide public comments on agenda items and public hearings in writing. If you want to provide public comments on any of the agenda items, please submit them in writing to [email protected] by 3:00pm Thursday, Janurary 14, 2021 to be read during the meeting. The Zoom meeting information is available on the City’s website or can be obtained by emailing [email protected].

1. Call to order / attendance:

2. Approval of the agenda: (Approved by Motion)

3. Approval of minutes: (Approved by Motion)

A. November 12, 2020 Regular Meeting

4. Old Business:

5. New Business: A. Public Hearing to consider Conditional Use Permit (USE-0002-2020) BREA Substation

6. Announcements, Reports and Comments:

7. Adjourn:

Upcoming Meetings and Events: January 28, 2021

WEST RICHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA ACTION ITEMS

AGENDA 5b TYPE OF ACTION NEEDED ITEM: MEETING January 5, 2021 Open Record X DATE: Hearing

SUBJECT: Public Hearing to consider File Recommend to Final Decision X No. USE-0002-2020 Council

Pass Motion Prepared by: Elisha Ransom, Associate 1st Discussion Planner

Eric Mendenhall, Community Reviewed by: 2nd Discussion Development Director

The Mission of the Community Development Department is to proactively manage and facilitate enhanced vitality of the city’s neighborhoods, business districts, and parks. We are committed to attracting and incentivizing high‐quality development, creation of new jobs, diversity of housing opportunities, city financial growth to support quality services, and to the prevention of decay & degradation of neighborhoods, business districts, and parks.

CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS ARE SUBJECT TO THE CITY’S TYPE III REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESS (QUASI-JUDICIAL ACTION). THE DECISION MADE BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS THE FINAL DECISION. THE DECISION MAY BE APPEALED TO THE CITY COUNCIL PER WRMC TITLE 14. PLEASE NO EX-PARTE COMMUNICATION REGARDING THIS ITEM.

Staff Report

Hearing before the City of West Richland Planning Commission Conditional Use Permit Application No. USE-0002-2020 BREA Substation

ATTACHMENTS: 1. Application Materials 2. SEPA Checklist and DNS 3. Vicinity Map 4. Public Notice and Public Comments

APPLICANT: Benton Rural Electric Association

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Benton REA has applied for a Conditional Use Permit to allow an electric substation. The electric substation facility is proposed to be built at 8550 Ruppert Road (Parcel ID 135073000001000). The site is zoned Medium Density Residential (RM-6) and utility facilities are a conditional use. The proposed substation is necessary to meet increased growth of residential and commercial services along the Van Giesen corridor and Lewis and Clark Ranch. Currently, the site is surrounded by farmland and a few residential lots.

The proposed site is a 3 acre parcel adjacent to BPA’s 115kV transmission line. The substation will be a fenced 255’ by 250’ rectangle, with the tallest steel structures being 39’ above grade. There are no buildings proposed. An 8’ security fence with access gates will create a secure barrier to unwanted entry. The proposed site is relatively flat and suitable for the proposed use. Benton REA anticipates that the substation will have little to no impact on traffic—one to two employee trips per month for inspections. The only infrastructure needed will be an access driveway off of Ruppert Road. Benton REA also included a Storm Water Control Plan with their application materials (see attachment 1).

Rather than being detrimental to public health, safety, or welfare, granting the conditional use permit will provide Benton REA improved ability to provide electric service to the community with higher reliability and capacity. CUP 2020-04 Animal Control Page 3

PROJECT SITE

PUBLIC NOTICE:  Community Development staff mailed notices to property owners within 600 feet of the subject property on December 7, 2020.  A Public Notice was posted on the city website and three official posting locations on December 7, 2020.  A Pending Land Use sign was posted at the subject property on December 23, 2020.

SEPA: The proposal is subject to environmental review. The West Richland Community Development Department is the lead agency for the proposal under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and reviewed the proposed action for probable adverse environmental impacts and issued a determination of non-significance (DNS) for this proposal on December 30, 2020. The comment period for the DNS concluded on December 21, 2020.

COMMENTS RECEIVED: The City received no comments about the SEPA DNS nor about the conditional use permit.

CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT ANALYSIS AND BASIS FOR FINDINGS OF FACT: The Planning Commission has jurisdiction to hold an open record public hearing and approve, approve with conditions, or deny this conditional use permit application (WRMC 14.01.030). Review criteria is outlined in the West Richland Municipal code, and applicable standards/codes include:

1. West Richland Municipal Code: a. Chapter 17.51 MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL (RM-6) b. Chapter 17.54 GENERAL REGULATIONS c. Chapter 17.66 CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS CUP 2020-04 Animal Control Page 4

2. The West Richland Comprehensive Plan.

The conditional use review process is intended to ensure compatibility between the proposed use and neighboring uses; ensure that the project will not discourage the appropriate development of adjacent land; and, ensure that adjacent land values are not adversely impacted. The planning commission shall consider and be directed by the following criteria as outlined in Section 17.66.030 of the WRMC (each criterion is listed separately and followed by staff’s comments):

1. The conditional use is designed in a manner which is compatible and in harmony with the existing development in the vicinity of the subject property; and the use will not allow conditions which will tend to generate nuisance conditions to adjoining properties.

Applicant’s Response: The development of this substation will provide increased reliability and growth capability for the West Richland area by providing new capacity between the existing substations which are approaching their limits of both available power and voltage support. Once complete, the substation will be visited once a month for inspection purposes by Benton REA staff.

Staff Comments: The proposed land use (electric substation) can be designed to be in harmony with surrounding land uses and potential nuisances to surrounding properties can be mitigated through compliance of the WRMC and other conditions of the permit. The site is zoned RM-6, and is surrounded by RM-6 and NC to the south and east. Low density residential (outside of City limits) is located across Ruppert Road to the southwest. The proposed facility will have a fenced area that will both create a buffer between surrounding uses and protect the substation from intruders. Land to the south is currently farmland, and the proposed substation will not impact the surrounding uses.

2. The location, size and height of buildings, structures, walls and fences, and screening vegetation for the conditional use shall not hinder or discourage the permitted development or use of properties in the immediate vicinity of the conditional use.

Applicant’s Response: The parcel is 3 acres and sits adjacent to BPA’s 115kV transmission line. The substation will be a fenced 255’ by 250’ rectangle, with the tallest steel structures being 39 feet above grade. There are no buildings proposed. An eight foot security fence with access gates will create a secure barrier to unwanted entry.

Staff Comments:

The proposed major utility facility use will be consistent with the surrounding development and would not hinder or discourage further development in the area. The proposed facility will not discourage permitted development in the adjacent RM-6 zoned areas. The proposed substation will support future development by increasing the capacity needed for development. This type of facility is common in residential areas.

3. The conditional use is designed in a manner that is compatible with the physical characteristics of the subject property.

Applicant’s Response: The subject property is relatively flat and adjacent to existing 115kV CUP 2020-04 Animal Control Page 5

transmission line which will be tapped to provide the source for Benton REA’s distribution power for the area.

Staff Comments: The proposed substation use is designed to be to be compatible with the physical characteristics of the subject property. The proposed substation and surrounding area are located on relatively flat land of previously disturbed soil.

4. The conditional use is such that pedestrian and vehicular traffic associated with the use will not be hazardous or conflict with existing and anticipated traffic in the adjacent area.

Applicant’s Response: Once completed, one to two employees will visit monthly for inspection. Typically using a pickup truck or one-ton service vehicle. No impact to existing traffic is anticipated.

Staff Comments: The proposed substation use should not create any hazards or conflict with the existing and anticipated traffic in the adjacent area. The substation is not expected to generate significant traffic. The substation will require one access point on Ruppert Road—which they will construct.

5. The conditional use will be supported by adequate public facilities or services and will not adversely affect public services to the surrounding area or conditions can be established to mitigate adverse impacts on such facilities.

Applicant’s Response: The only infrastructure needed will be an access driveway off of Ruppert Road. See attached Storm Water Control Plan.

Staff Comments: The proposed substation use will not have a negative impact to public facilities such as public water, sewer, or roads. The site contains and has access to, all necessary infrastructure and support services.

6. The conditional use is not in conflict with the health and safety of the community, nor detrimental to the public interest.

Applicant’s Response: Granting the conditional use permit will provide Benton REA improved ability to serve electricity to the community with higher reliability and capacity.

Staff Comments: The proposed major utility facility use will not be in conflict with the health and safety of the community or detrimental to the public interest through compliance of the WRMC. The proposed substation is intended to serve the community by providing electrical service with increased capacity to city residences and businesses.

SUGGESTED FINDINGS OF FACT: 1. The City of West Richland has applied for a conditional use permit to allow a major utility facility. 2. The site is zoned Medium Density Residential and is designated as Medium Density Residential by the West Richland Comprehensive Plan. a. Major utility facilities are allowed as a conditional use. 3. Noticing requirements (Notice of Application, SEPA DNS, and Planning Commission’s CUP 2020-04 Animal Control Page 6

January 14, 2021 public hearing) have been met: a. On December 7, 2020, City staff mailed the Notice to property owners within 600 feet of the subject property. b. On December 7, 2020, City staff posted the Notice to the City’s website and three official posting places. c. On December 23, 2020, City staff posted a Pending Land Use sign on the subject property. 4. The proposal is subject to environmental review. The West Richland Community Development Department issued a MDNS on the site proposal on December 30, 2020 5. The public comment period for the Conditional Use Permit concluded on December 21, 2020, and the comment period for the MDNS concluded on December 21, 2020. a. The City received no comments on the SEPA MDNS from technical agencies. b. The City received no comments on the conditional use permit. 6. The proposal is not expected to result in any public health, safety, or general welfare impacts that are not sufficiently mitigated by the conditions of this recommendation or through the SEPA determination. 7. Noise impacts associated with the proposed animal substation will primarily be in the form of vehicle noise from monthly inspections. 8. Section 17.66.030 WRMC provides six (6) criteria that shall be considered by the Planning Commission when deciding whether or not to grant a conditional use permit request. The proposed conditional use is consistent with and/or complies with the six (6) criteria established by Section 17.66.030 WRMC as specified below: a. The conditional use is designed in a manner which is compatible and in harmony with the existing development in the vicinity of the subject property; and the use will not allow conditions which will tend to generate nuisance conditions to adjoining properties, as conditioned; b. The location, size and height of buildings, structures, walls and fences, and screening vegetation for the conditional use shall not hinder or discourage the permitted development or use of properties in the immediate vicinity of the conditional use; c. The conditional use is designed in a manner that is compatible with the physical characteristics of the subject property; d. The conditional use is such that pedestrian and vehicular traffic associated with the use will not be hazardous or conflict with existing and anticipated traffic in the adjacent area; e. The conditional use will be supported by adequate public facilities or services and will not adversely affect public services to the surrounding area or conditions can be established to mitigate adverse impacts on such facilities; and f. The conditional use is not in conflict with the health and safety of the community, nor detrimental to the public interest, as conditioned.

SUGGESTED CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: 1. The Planning Commission has jurisdiction to hold an open record public hearing and approve, approve with conditions, or deny the Conditional Use Permit for the proposed animal control facility. CUP 2020-04 Animal Control Page 7

RECOMMENDATION AND ALTERNATIVES: Based on the staff analysis and the written Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, staff recommends conditional approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 02-2020 to allow the proposed substation, with conditions.

Alternatives: 1. Modify the proposed Conditional Use Permit; 2. Deny the proposed Conditional Use Permit; 3. Schedule an additional public hearing for the Conditional Use Permit.

CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL: 1. This conditional use permit approval is valid for two (2) years from the date of issuance, or the resolution of any appeals. Failure to obtain building permit approval within two (2) years from the date of conditional use permit issuance will result in the expiration of this conditional use permit. 2. The outdoor area shall be fenced and screened with a solid planting of vegetation and with privacy fence slats.

RECOMMENDED MOTION: I move to approve Conditional Use Permit No. 02-2020 authorizing Benton Rural Electric Association to construct and operate an electricity substation located on Ruppert Road, subject to the conditions of approval as noted in the staff report.

ATTACHMENT 1 Application

CUP (USE-0002-2020)

Page 15 of 17

Received 11/24/2020

ATTACHMENT 2 Drawings

CUP (USE-0002-2020)

Page 15 of 17

ATTACHMENT 3 Ruppert Substation

CUP (USE-0002-2020)

Page 15 of 17

CULTURAL RESOURCES REPORT COVER SHEET

Author: Adam J. Sackman, Brooke J. Cohen, and David A. Harder

Title of Report: Cultural Resource Survey of the Ruppert Substation Project, Benton County,

Date of Report: December 2017

County: Benton Section: 35 Township: 10 North Range: 27 East

Quad: Benton City Acres: 3.0

PDF of report submitted (REQUIRED) Yes

Historic Property Inventory Forms to be Approved Online? Yes No

Archaeological Site(s)/Isolate(s) Found or Amended? Yes No

TCP(s) found? Yes No

Replace a draft? Yes No

Satisfy a DAHP Archaeological Excavation Permit requirement? Yes # No

DAHP Archaeological Site #:  Submission of PDFs is required.

 Please be sure that any PDF submitted to DAHP has its cover sheet, figures,

graphics, appendices, attachments,

correspondence, etc., compiled into one single PDF file.

 Please check that the PDF displays correctly when opened.

Cultural Resource Survey of the Ruppert Substation Project, Benton County, Washington

By: Adam J. Sackman, Brooke J. Cohen, and David A. Harder

December 2017 Cultural Resource Survey of the Ruppert Substation Project, Benton County, Washington

Prepared for: Benton Rural Electric Association PO Box 1150 Prosser, WA 99350

By: Adam J. Sackman, Brooke J. Cohen, and David A. Harder

December 2017

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 i ABSTRACT Cultural Resource Survey of the Ruppert Substation Project, Benton County, Washington Preparations for the installation of a new substation are being made by Benton Rural Electric Association. The new substation will measure 355 feet in length and 355 feet in width, and be located on the north edge of Ruppert Road, in West Richland. An existing Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) transmission line will service the new substation.. Construction activities will include grading of the entire location and covering it with gravel Anticipated impacts include excavations, compaction of sediments, and other ground‐disturbing construction activities. The area of potential effect (APE) covers approximately 3.0 acres, and lies within Section 35 of Township 10 North, Range 27 East, Willamette Meridian.

Partial funding for the project will be provided by the Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (USDA‐RUS) and, as such, the Benton Rural Electric Association must meet the requirements of the Section 106 of the NHPA, and consider the potential impacts to historic properties prior to project execution. To that end, the Benton Rural Electric Association has retained Plateau Archaeological Investigations (Plateau) to conduct the cultural resource survey of the proposed undertaking.

Pre‐field research included the review of known archaeological resources within a 1.0‐mi (1.6‐km) radius of the Project Area as inventoried at the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) in Olympia, Washington. This review was completed using DAHPʹs secure electronic database known as the Washington Information System for Architectural and Archaeological Data (WISAARD). Two cultural resources and eight previously conducted cultural resource surveys were found in this search. Both of the cultural resources had been determined not to be eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Properties, and none of the previous surveys intersected with the Project Area.

Plateau archaeologists conducted a pedestrian survey over the entire Project Area, and excavated three subsurface probes. Subsurface probes all reached a depth of 1.0 meter. The pedestrian survey and subsurface investigations for the project resulted in no newly recorded archaeological resources. Plateau recommends that the proposed undertaking will result in No Historic Properties Affected, and no further archaeological investigations are recommended prior to, or during, execution of this project.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 ii KEY INFORMATION PROJECT Cultural Resource Survey of the Ruppert Substation Project, Benton County, Washington LOCATION North of Rupert Road, West Richland DAHP PROJECT NUMBER 2017‐12‐08939 USGS QUADS Benton City, Washington 7.5 minute, 1974 LEGAL LOCATION OF PROJECT Section 35 of Township 10 North, Range 27 East ACREAGE 3.0 acres PROJECT DATA No previously recorded historic properties No new cultural resources located and/or recorded AUTHORS Adam J. Sackman, Brooke J. Cohen, and David A. Harder MANAGING AGENCY United States Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service

PROJECT UNDERTAKEN AND REPORT PREPARED FOR Benton Rural Electric Association

FIELD NOTE DISPOSITION Archived at the office of Plateau Archaeological Investigations LLC, Pullman.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR David A. Harder, M.A.

DATE December 2017 CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS I certify that this investigation was conducted and documented according to Secretary of Interiorʹs Standards and Guidelines Signature of Reporter and that the report is complete and accurate to the best of my December 19, 2017 knowledge. Date

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS page ABSTRACT ...... ii KEY INFORMATION...... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS...... iv LIST OF FIGURES...... iv LIST OF TABLES ...... iv PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...... 1 STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES ...... 1 LOCATION AND GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING...... 1 PRE‐FIELD RESEARCH...... 5 PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH...... 6 REGIONAL PRECONTACT BACKGROUND...... 7 Ethnography...... 7 REGIONAL HISTORIC BACKGROUND...... 8 Benton County...... 11 West Richland...... 11 Project Area...... 11 PLACES OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE...... 12 Walla Walla...... 13 The Palouse...... 13 ...... 14 EXPECTED PROPERTIES ...... 14 FIELD METHODS AND RESULTS ...... 15 RECOMMENDATIONS AND MANAGEMENT PLAN ...... 18 WORKS CITED...... 19

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of the Project Area within Benton County, Washington...... 2 Figure 2. The Project Area shown on a portion of the Benton City USGS map ...... 3 Figure 3. Overview of the Project Area. View to the west...... 16 Figure 4. Ruts found throughout the Project Area. View to the west ...... 16 Figure 5. Project Area, subsurface probes, and pedestrian transects on aerial photograph . . 17

LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Previously Recorded Cultural Resources...... 6 Table 2. Previously Conducted Cultural Resource Surveys ...... 6 Table 3. Subsurface Probe Results...... 18

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 iv PROJECT DESCRIPTION Benton Rural Electric Association is preparing to construct a new substation on the north edge of Ruppert Road at a location approximately three miles east of the City of Richland (Figure 1). The construction will measure 355 feet (ft) (108 meters [m]) in length and 355 ft (108 m) in width. The project will include grading the new substation location to a level base that will then be covered with gravel. The substation will be serviced by an existing BPA transmission line. Anticipated impacts include excavations, compaction of sediments, and other ground‐disturbing construction activities. The area of potential effect (APE) covers approximately 3.0 acres, and lies within Section 35 of Township 10 North, Range 27 East, Willamette Meridian (Figure 2). The APE will be hereafter referred to as the ʺProject Area.ʺ

The project will be partially funded by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (USDA‐RUS). The USDA‐RUS administers infrastructure programs and infrastructure improvement programs to rural communities including water and waste treatment, electric power, and telecommunications services. These services help expand economic opportunities and improve the quality of life for rural residents. As a federal funding source, the Benton Rural Electric Association must meet the requirements of the Section 106 of the NHPA, and consider the potential impacts to historic properties prior to project execution. To that end, the Benton Rural Electric Association has retained Plateau Archaeological Investigations (Plateau) to conduct the cultural resource survey of the proposed undertaking.

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES The cultural resource survey of the Ruppert Substation Project is intended to identify potential archaeological resources and potential historic properties in the Project Area prior to the proposed construction. The pre‐field research was designed to identify any known cultural properties located in or near the Project Area. Fieldwork procedures are intended to identify areas of moderate to high probability for Native American and Euroamerican cultural materials. This report describes the pre‐field research, field efforts, results, and management plan for the project.

LOCATION AND GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING The Project Area is within the Columbia Basin, situated between the Rocky Mountain and Cascade Mountain ranges. The region consists of gently rolling hills amidst the Channeled Scablands, which are features that resulted from Pleistocene‐era mega‐floods ranging in size from small stream‐like trenches to large coulees measuring miles wide and hundreds of feet deep. Elevations in this region range between 200 feet (ft) (61 meters [m]) above mean sea level (AMSL) near the to over 4,500 ft (1,372 m) AMSL in outlying ridges and low mountains (Fenneman 1946; Hunt 1967).

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 1 Figure 1. The Project Location within Benton County, Washington.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 2 The Project Area on a portion of the Benton City USGS map.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 3 According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (2017), the Project Area contains one soil type: Quincy loamy sand (0‐30% slopes). The Quincy series is characterized by deep, excessively drained soils on terraces and dunes, and is typically formed over gravelly alluvium or loam glaciolacustrine deposits. Stratigraphically, it is typified by loamy sand over loamy fine sand.

The predominant draw for Native American and Euroamerican populations in this region was, and still is, the extensive river systems. The most significant environmental feature is the Columbia River, which flows for more than 1,200 mi (2,000 km) from the base of the Canadian Rockies in southeastern British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, . Ten major tributaries—the Cowlitz, Deschutes, Kootenay, Lewis, Okanogan, Spokane, Snake, Wenatchee, Willamette, and Yakima—complete the drainage system. The Project Area lies approximately three miles (mi) (5 kilometers [km]) both east and west of the as it loops around the county. The confluence of the Yakima River and the Columbia River is 9.6 mi (15 km) to the southeast.

The vegetation around the Project Area falls within the Artemisia tridentata—Agropyron spicatum habitat type, characterized by arid sagebrush steppe (Daubenmire 1970; Taylor 1992). Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum) are dominant in this environment. The plant community includes threetip sagebrush (Artemisia tripartita), gray horsebrush (Tetradymia canescens), spiny hopsage (Grayia spinosa), green rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus), and gray rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus). Grasses and forbs include needle and thread (Stipa comata), Stipa thurberana (no common name known), bottlebrush squirreltail (Sitanion hystrix), Cusick’s bluegrass (Poa cusikii), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp.), lupine (Lupinus spp.), plantain (Plantago patagonica), longleaf phlox (Phlox longifolia) and balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata). Additional species of flora thrive along the shores of the Columbia River, including bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), willow (Salix spp.) and currant (Ribes spp.) (Daubenmire 1970). Many of these plants have been incorporated in Native American use as medicinal plants, food sources, and other employment.

The Project Area lies within a region that historically contained an abundance of life. It is likely, though, that Native Americans had access to an even larger variety of creatures during the past that played a role in aboriginal use, settlement, and travel patterns in relation to the Project Area. Mammals include sagebrush voles (Lemmiscus curtatus), Great Basin pocket mice (Perognathus parvus), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), bushy‐tailed wood rat (Neotoma cinerea), Washington ground squirrel (Spermophilus washingtoni), northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides), yellow bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris), white‐tailed hare (Lepus townsendii), Nuttal cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii), porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), beaver (Castor canadensis), muskrat (Ondatra zibethica), mountain sheep (Ovis canadensis), coyote (Canis latrans), bobcat (Lynx rufus), badger (Taxidea taxus), and long‐tailed weasel (Mustela frenata). The occasional bison (bison bison) is also thought to be available prehistorically (Burt and Grossenheider 1961; Ingles 1965; Schrodl 1973).

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 4 Many types of fowl were also available in the past including Swarth blue grouse (Dendragapus obscurus pallidus), Columbian ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus affinis), Columbian sharp‐tailed grouse (Pedioecetes phasianellus), western sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus phaios), mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), western harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus pacificus), American common merganser (Mergus merganser americanus), the lesser snow goose (Chen hyperborea hyperborea), and the Great Basin Canada goose (Branta canadensis moffitti). Seasonally available birds such as Gadwall (Anas strepera), wood duck (Aix sponsa), redhead (Aythya americana), and the northern ruddy duck (Oxjura jamaicensis rubida) resided in the region in the summer. Winter game birds of the region included canvasback (Aythya valisineria) and American greater scaup (Aythya marila nearctica) (Lothson 1977).

The climate in the Columbia Basin was cool and moist at the end of the last glacial period. Gradually, climatic conditions became markedly warmer and dryer by approximately 9,000 years before present (B.P.). The warm dry climatic trend reached its maximum around 6,500 B.P. and then conditions reverted to a cooler and moister regime (Fryxell and Daugherty 1962). Comparatively, the present climate is arid with mild moist winters and hot dry summers (Meining 1968). The mean seasonal temperatures recorded at the Richland, Washington weather station (#457015) between 1944 and 2012 are 35.9E Fahrenheit (F) in winter and 72.5E F in the summer. Extreme temperatures of ‐22E F and 113E F have been recorded at the same station (Western Regional Climate Center 2017). Yearly precipitation averages 7.15 inches.

PRE‐FIELD RESEARCH Pre‐field research included the review of known archaeological resources within a 1.0‐mi (1.6‐km) radius of the Project Area as inventoried at the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) in Olympia, Washington. This review was completed using DAHP’s secure electronic database known as the Washington Information System for Architectural and Archaeological Data (WISAARD). This database includes recorded archaeological resources, historic property inventories (HPIs), National Register of Historic Properties (NRHP) and Washington Heritage Register (WHR) properties, identified cemeteries, and previously conducted cultural resource surveys found throughout the state.

Plateau also conducted cartographic analysis of landform, topography, proximity to water using topographic maps, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) online soil survey. Secondary historic resources, on file at the DAHP and the Plateau office in Pullman, were consulted to identify other potential historic resources. In addition, available survey and overview reports and ethnographic accounts of the region were consulted. This background review allows for the identification of previously recorded historic and archaeological resources within or near the Project Area.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 5 PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH A review of previously recorded cultural resources and archaeological surveys was completed through the WISAARD on November 17, 2017. The review covered portions of Sections 01, 02, and 03 of Township 09 North, Range 27 East, and Sections 26, 34, 35, and 36 of Township 10 North, Range 27 East. This review revealed two cultural resources within 1.0 mi (1.6 km) of the Project Area (Table 1).

Table 1. Previously Recorded Cultural Resources. Site Number Site Type NRHP Determination Recorder(s) 45BN1751 Historic Isolate Not Eligible Schroeder (2013a) 45BN1752 Historic Debris Scatter Not Eligible Schroeder (2013b)

Site 45BN1751, known as the Paradise Way Extension isolate can, was originally recorded in 2013 (Schroeder 2013). The crimp‐sealed can dates to 1935‐1965, and is located approximately 0.9 mi (1.4 km) southeast of the Project Area. The isolate is not eligible for inclusion on the NRHP.

The Historic Debris Scatter (45BN1752) lies approximately 0.9 mi (1.4 km) southeast of the Project Area. The site consists of diffuse surficial can scatter (n=3). The site was evaluated and determined not eligible for inclusion on the NRHP (Schroeder 2013b).

There have been seven previously conducted cultural resource surveys within 1.0 mi (1.6 km) of the Project Area (Table 2). None of these surveys intersect with the Project Area. One of these surveys yielded newly recorded cultural resources(Schroeder 2013c).

Table 2. Previously Conducted Cultural Resource Surveys. Author Project Results Teoh (2017) Pasco District FY17 Priority Pole No new recorded cultural resources Nakonechny (2014a) City of West Richland Proposed Well No. 11 No new recorded cultural resources Crisson and Koman (2002) West Richland Sewer Interceptor and South No new recorded cultural resources Lagoon Decomissioning Kopf (2006) West Richland 36 Project No new recorded cultural resources Schroeder et al. (2013) Paradise Way Phase 4 45BN1751 and 45BN1752 Nakonechny (2014b) City of West Richland Industrial Process No new recorded cultural resources Water Facility Cannell (2008) Walla Walla Region 2008 Transmission Line No new recorded cultural resources Maintenance

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 6 In 2013, Reiss‐Landreau Research completed a cultural resource survey of the Paradise Way Phase 4 Project (Schroeder et al. 2013). The survey covered 5.6 acres 0.9 mi (1.4 km) southeast of the Project Area. The survey identified the aforementioned 45BN1751 and 45BN1752. No other cultural resources were identified during the survey.

REGIONAL PRECONTACT BACKGROUND The Project Area is included in the Plateau culture area, which corresponds roughly to the geographic region drained by the Fraser, Columbia, and Snake rivers. The Plateau culture area is bordered on the west by the Cascade Mountains and on the east by the Rocky Mountains. The northern border of the culture area is in Canada where it gives way to Arctic culture patterns. The southern border of the Plateau culture area mixes gradually with the Great Basin culture area (Walker 1998:1‐3).

A cultural chronology provides a time line describing the adaptations, material culture, subsistence, and sometimes settlement patterns of the people who inhabited a specific area. Based originally on archaeological investigations at 45KT28, the Sunset Creek Site, a chronological sequence identifying technological trends through time emerged for the middle Columbia River region (Nelson 1969). Over the succeeding years, this chronology changed as new archaeological discoveries added to the body of knowledge for the middle Columbia River area, resulting in the identification of five distinct cultural phases; the Paleoindian Phase (11,500 to 10,000 B.P.) (Meltzer 1993), the Windust Phase (10,000 to 8,000 B.P.) (Leonhardy and Rice 1970), the Vantage Phase (8,000 to 4,000 B.P.), the Frenchmen Springs Phase (4,000 to 2,5000 B.P.) (Galm et al. 1981:55), and the Sunset Creek Phase (2,500 to 250 B.P.) (Galm et al. 1981:82). The culture chronology of the middle Columbia River has been discussed at length in Nelson (1969), Rice (1969), Leohnhardy and Rice (1970), Galm et al. (1981), and Meltzer (1993), and, if pertinent, will be discussed further within the results of this report.

Ethnography The ethnographic peoples of the Plateau lived in egalitarian societies with little or no slavery or caste systems. Their villages were autonomous and their leaders probably influenced others through charismatic actions or persuasive speech. In winter, peoples lived along major rivers in earth or mat lodges at semi‐permanent villages. Their villages were situated in relatively warm locations that were protected from the harsh elements and their lodges were semi‐subterranean (Ray 1939:135).

Villages and food procurement followed seasonal change. Permanent villages were situated in valley bottoms and along major riverways, not so much for the natural resources rivers offered but more for the protection the valleys had from inhospitable winter conditions. Winter habitation sites were occupied during the coldest months of the year. People probably settled in for the winter in mid‐ or late‐October. During the next four or five months they relied upon stored foods and any game that could be taken. In early spring, winter supplies began to dwindle and people began

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 7 making forays to gather emergent root crops (Nelson 1973). Summer camps were situated in the uplands where hunting, berry picking, and root digging occurred. Task groups often went to specific areas to hunt, to quarry toolstone, to collect berries, or to gather other resources such as tules to make mats (Aikens 1993:90).

The ethnography of the is much more complex with a wider cultural diversity than can be summarized here. Ethnographic studies by Angelo Anastasio (1972), Franz Boas and James Teit (1996), Verne F. Ray (1936, 1939, 1942), Allan H. Smith (1988), Leslie Spier (1936), and others offer the reader a more thorough examination of the native culture.

REGIONAL HISTORIC BACKGROUND Contact with peoples on the west coast of the continent was well established by the end of the eighteenth century by British, Spanish, and Russian trading vessels that made regular visits to the coastline. These trading expeditions began the first contact between aboriginal groups and outside cultures. Written historic accounts of the area, though, really begin when Lewis and Clark journeyed through the region in 1805.

In 1809, Oregon Territory saw an influx of trappers and fur traders, beginning with the Canadian owned North West Company as they made their way into the region and built Spokane House in 1810, located near the confluence of the and Hangman Creek. Spokane House became the first permanent European settlement in the State of Washington (McCart and McCart 2000:213). For a time, Spokane House thrived as both a trading center and a gathering place for fur traders. Despite its successes, Spokane House was abandoned in 1816. By that time, trading routes had shifted largely to the Columbia River, leaving the Spokane house no longer logistically or economically important (Meinig 1968). In 1825, the Hudson Bay Company closed Spokane House and moved its local operations north to Fort Colvile at .

Subsequent to the opening of the in 1840, Euroamerican settlers flooded the area, bringing trade, religion and disease into Native‐occupied areas. In 1846, the United States took control of the Oregon territory in the Oregon Treaty. With increasing population, economic, and political pressures of emigrants and the , the Territory of Oregon (Oregon Territory) was officially established in 1848. By 1850, nearly 12,000 emigrants had passed through the Plateau region along the Oregon Trail (Beckham 1998; Walker and Sprague 1998). With the establishment of the Oregon Territory in 1848 and in 1853, federal involvement proliferated. Treaties between Native tribes and the new state and federal governments were soon underway.

Washington Governor Isaac Stevens, also appointed as Superintendent of Indian Affairs by President Pierce, worked jointly with , Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon, to negotiate a series of treaties between 1854 and 1855. These treaties were difficult to maintain in light of the Chinook jargon used in negotiations, rapid influx of miners following the several

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 8 “rushes,” and settlers who were eager for property. Almost immediately after signing the Walla Walla Council Treaty of 1855, gold was discovered on several promised reservations in the Plateau, and miners began to confiscate the mineral‐rich lands. The introduction of disease, treaty violations, and other stresses introduced by the new settlers caused mistrust and eventually, warfare. Several battles took place in the area between 1855 and 1858 during the Plateau Indian War.

On June 9, 1855, the Yakama, Palouse, Pisquouse, Klikitat, Klinquit, Kowwassayee, Liaywas, Skin, Wishram, Shyiks, Ochechotes, Kahmiltpah, and Seapcat, along with the Wenatchi, signed a treaty that ceded 10,816,000 acres of ancestral homeland to the U.S. Government. Among the fourteen signatories of the Yakima Treaty of 1855 was Kamiakin and Wenatchi Chief Tecolekun. The fourteen tribes, not necessarily assembled by traditional ways, language, or by mutual agreement, but by administrative ease, were grouped as one: the Yakima (Yakama Nation 2013). Thus, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation were established (Schuster 1998; Sprague 1998; and Yakama Nation 2013).

In exchange for the ceded lands, the Yakama negotiated and secured agreements for the 1,200,000‐ acre Simcoe Reservation, as well as agreements that no Euroamericans could live on the reservation without express permission. Under the terms of the treaty, the U.S. Government agreed to provide two schools, a hospital and physician, a sawmill, a flour mill, a farmer and craftsmen to teach trades, as well as annuities (Schuster 1998:343). Additionally, the treaty reserved the rights of the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation to hunt, fish, access and use traditional cultural sites, gather traditional foods and medicines, graze livestock, and access water in sufficient quantity and quality in all their usual and accustomed places in the ceded areas. Finally, the terms of the treaty provided a period of two years to allow the various bands and tribes to migrate to and resettle on their new reservations (Schuster 1998; Sprague 1998; Yakama Nation 2013).

Fatefully, twelve days after the treaty was signed, gold was discovered east of the Cascades and the rush was on. Governor Stevens illegally opened the reserved lands to afford miners passage and access to the newfound resources. Believing the reserved areas open to settlement, Euroamericans rushed onto the sovereign Native American land. Seeing that the government had failed to observe the terms of the treaty within days of the council, and in light of immediate mistreatment of the Yakama, Chief Kamiakin withdrew what had been his abiding support for cooperation. The Yakama attempted to protect their reserved land and resources, and resulting confrontations led to the death of several miners as well as Indian Agent Andrew J. Bolon (Schuster 1998: 343‐344). The Yakama Wars had begun.

As the U.S. Army moved in to retaliate for Bolon’s killing, Chief Kamiakin led a group of warriors in attacking Major Granville O. Haller’s troops near Toppenish Creek. Major Haller, recognizing that Governor Stevens had illegally opened lands, an action that resulted in the violence at hand, acquitted the Yakama of wrongdoing in their attack (Schuster 1998:344).

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 9 On November 14, 1855, Major Gabriel Rains and his soldiers advanced on the Saint Joseph Mission. During the raid, soldiers “discovered” a cask of gunpowder buried in the garden. Citing this as an act of aggression toward the U.S. Army, and believing that the priests were aiding the Native Americans, the soldiers burned Saint Joseph Mission to the ground. This was only one of countless travesties that marked the era of policymaking, gross treaty violations, and Indian Wars that would play out for the next several years. On March 26, 1856, Yakama, Klikitat, and Cascades warriors attacked an Army outpost, killing 14 settlers and three U.S. soldiers in what became known as the Cascades Massacre. Army reinforcements drove out the warriors and nine Cascade Indians, including Chief Chenoweth (Schuster 1998:344]).

Between 1855 and 1858, ineffectual efforts were made to limit the incursion of emigrants and others into reserved Indian territories. After the War broke out in the summer of 1856, Fort Simcoe was established 20 mi (32.8 km) southwest of the modern City of Yakima in order to create a stronghold in the Yakima Valley, as well as to prevent Euroamerican settlement (Schuster 1998:344). General Wool pointed out that “the army cannot furnish guards to farm houses dotted among hostile tribes” (Meinig 1968:165).

The settlement prohibition, established in 1855, was only a temporary solution to an inevitability. People settled and volunteer militias attacked indiscriminately and fueled the fire under uncertain relations. The unrest culminated with Wright’s campaign in 1858 that resulted in the executions and murders of sixteen Indians, including a Yakama chief named Owhi and his son, (Beckham 1998).

While Wrightʹs campaign was underway, Major R.S. Garnett led approximately 300 soldiers on a sweep from Fort Simcoe up through the Yakama country, through Wenatchee, and as far as the Similkameen River. Garnettʹs sweep resulted in the summary executions of ten Indians suspected of having attacked miners, and the loss of one private who was lagging behind the company and was presumably shot by an Indian (Wilson 1990:62). This sweep resulted in the end of armed Native resistence within the region.

The Moses Reservation was established in 1879 and enlarged in 1880. The enlarged reservation reached from Lake Chelan, north to the Canadian border, and from the crest of the Cascade Mountains to the Okanogan River (Ruby and Brown 1986:205). In 1883, miners insisted on the reduction of the reservation to exclude a 15 mile strip along the Canadian border, which was approved through an executive order (Ruby and Brown 1986:205). Later that year, Chiefs Moses, Lot, and Sarsarpkin relinquished the reservation in favor of a move to the Colville Reservation (Miller 1998:267). An agreement was made between the U.S. Government and the people of the Moses Reservation whereby the Indians would be allowed to remain in the area as settlers or to move onto the Colville Reservation. Numerous allotments were permitted on the former Moses Reservation and those who moved were provided with farm equipment and, in some cases, cash and yearly stipends, and the Moses band and others moved to the Colville Reservation.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 10 Most Wenatchis refused to take allotments on the Yakama Reservation, as they were more closely related to Middle Columbia River Salishans, and were more distantly tied to the Upper Yakama through the Wentashapam Fishery. Through this refusal by most to settle on the Yakama Reservation, the Wenatchi managed to remain on their homeland for many years after the cessation of the Yakama Wars. As a term of the 1855 Yakama Treaty, which they had been lumped into though was later ratified, the Wenatchi had reserved a 36 square‐mile tract of land and rights to the Wenatshapam Fishery at the confluence of Icicle Creek and the Wenatchee River (Thompson 2002).

Benton County Benton County, named after Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, is located in south‐central Washington at the confluence of the Columbia, Snake, and Yakima rivers. The county was created out of portions of Klickitat and Yakima counties in 1905. The Columbia River forms the north, south, and east boundaries of the county. The largest city in Benton County is Kennewick, while the county seat is the city of Prosser.

The area that would become Benton County was first settled by euroamericans in the mid‐ nineteenth century by farmers and ranchers. Early settlers had practiced dryland farming until the 1890s, when extensive irrigation networks were introduced to the region. This brought about many changes and greatly varied the crops grown by these early settlers. In 1943 the towns of Hanford and White Bluffs, in northern Benton County, were evacuated by the Federal Government. Subsequently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on a top secret project that would later be revealed to be the Manhattan Project. Following World War II, the county would continue to experience growth as nuclear research and development at the Hanford location continued to develop throughout the Cold War. In recent decades the county’s rich agricultural lands have found increasing success and notariety within the viticulture industry (Gibson 2004).

West Richland European American settlers began to arrive in the modern area of West Richland at the turn of the twentieth century. These early settlers quickly took advantage of the locations proximity to the Yakima River, developing irrigation systems to support cattle. In 1955 the towns of Heminger City and Enterprise merged to form West Richland, incorporating that same year. Agriculture has continued as the primary industry of West Richland, however since the beginning of the twenty‐ first century viticulture has played an ever increasing role within the region (Kershner 2013).

Project Area The 1863 cadastral map (Henry 1863) shows an east/west trail on the northern half of Section 35, however it does not intersect with the project area which is in the southern half of the section. No other built environments are in the section or the project area.

According to the Bureau of Land Management (2017), the Northern Pacific Railroad Co. filed a patent for several thousands of acres of land (including the Project Area) in 1895.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 11 The 1917 Pasco USGS topographic map shows two primitive roads quartering Section 35. The north/south road runs immediately east of the Project Area. No other built environments are depicted on the 1917 map. These roads are absent in the 1951 map, which depicts no built environments within Section 35.

PLACES OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE Traditional Cultural Places (TCPs) are important for the “role the property plays in a community’s historically rooted beliefs, customs and practices” as stated in the National Register Bulletin 38 (U.S. Department of the Interior 1990). Although these places can be difficult to identify and evaluate, an initial search of pertinent publications can be helpful toward identifying the types of properties that may be expected. The National Register Bulletin 38 goes on to state that “examples of properties possessing such significance include:

•a location associated with the traditional beliefs of a Native American group about its origins, its cultural history, or the nature of the world;

•a rural community whose organization, buildings and structures, or patterns of land use reflect the cultural traditions valued by its long‐term residents;

•an urban neighborhood that is the traditional home of a particular cultural group, and that reflects its beliefs and practices;

•a location where Native American religious practitioners have historically gone, and are known or thought to go today, to perform ceremonial activities in accordance with traditional cultural rules of practice; and

•a location where a community has traditionally carried out economic, artistic, or other cultural practices important in maintaining its historic identity.”

A review of ethnographies was undertaken to help identify any known Traditional Cultural Places located in or near the Project Area. The works of Angelo Anastasio (1972), Verne Ray (1933, 1936, 1939, 1942), Alan Smith (1988), Leslie Spier (1936), and Robert Suphan (1974). Theodore Stern (1998) also offers an overview of the ; Roderick Sprague (1998) offers an overview of the Palouse people; and Helen Schuster (1998) offers an overview of the Yakama people, all of whose combined traditional lands covered the Project Area. This is a preliminary TCP review performed using publicly available resources, and should not be construed as an exhaustive identification of potential resources.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 12 Walla Walla This region lies within land traditionally occupied by three Native American cultures within the Plateau culture area–the Cayuse (Weyiiletpuu), Walla Walla (Waluulapam), and the Umatilla (Imatalamlama). The Umatilla and Walla Walla both spoke a dialect of the language. The Cayuse, on the other hand, spoke a dialect distinct to themselves. Intermarriage with these three cultures and the brought about bilingualism, most choosing to speak the Lower Nez Perce language (Stern 1998).

As generations became linguistically and culturally entwined, so did their territories. The Walla Walla primarily used lands closer to the confluence of the Columbia and Walla Walla rivers, located 28.0 mi (45.1 km) southeast of the Project Area, while the Cayuse occupied lands southeast of the (Ray 1936), located 39.0 mi (62.8 km) to the southeast. Historic maps (Carlton 1857; Meany 1857) from the mid‐nineteenth century distinguish the Cayuse from the Walla Walla and Umatilla, noting that the Cayuse inhabited land between the Snake and Walla Walla rivers. Both map makers refer to land between the Columbia and Snake rivers as being that of both the Cayuse and Walla Walla. “Their land” is of course a relative term, as several scholars have noted that the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla shared the same territory, often at the same time, for the purpose of hunting, fishing, and gathering (Dickson 2001:3). Stern (1998:396) depicts an ethnographic village at the mouth of the .

The Palouse Upon European American contact the Palouse territory stretched from the between the confluences of the Snake and Columbia rivers (present‐day Richland, Washington) to the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers (present‐day Lewiston, ). Linguistically, the Palouse are part of the Sahaptin family that also includes the Nez Perce (Sprague 1998).

Subsistence consisted of a broad diet of riverine and terrestrial fauna and numerous floral species. Fish resources, especially salmon, were particularly important. In 1803, Lewis and Clark encountered a large fishing establishment in Palouse territory and in 1805, visited the village of Palus on the (Sprague 1998:355). Important fishing locations such as Spokane Falls, Kettle Falls, and The Dalles were shared by the Palouse, Nez Perce, and other Plateau groups (Sprague 1998).

Plant resources also played an important role in diet and the annual round. Camas was particularly important. Camas and other roots were gathered in the region between Pullman, Washington and Moscow, Idaho (Trafzer and Scheurman 1986).

Habitation sites varied from seasonal encampments to semi‐sedentary villages. Many of these villages were located near salmon‐bearing streams and rivers and consisted of mat covered tents and/or long house lodges (Sprague 1998). Agricultural practices were included in Palouse subsistence by the mid‐1800s. Ethnographic sources note planted crops including wheat, barley, and potatoes (Sprague 1998).

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 13 Yakama The Yakama are closely related to the Kittitas, Klikitat, Taitnapam (Upper Cowlitz), and Wanapam. These groups, while related, were independent bands and villages of families. As such they did not have the formal political unity under a permanent central authority typical of other tribes (Schuster 1998:327). Rather, they were small, politically autonomous groups united by territorial contiguity, occupying the south‐central portion of Washington; linguistics, all tribes speaking Sahaptin; culture, and social interaction. The Treaty of 1855, briefly discussed below, changed this, creating the Consolidated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation (Schuster 1998).

Ray (1936:144) states the there was a Yakama village at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers called k’u’sis (translated “two rivers meet”). This was a very important village, and served not only as a fishing village, but also as a trading center. The population included many Wallula and some Umatilla.

The historic and ethnographic record confirms the use of the lower Snake River in the immediate vicinity of Fish Hook Rapids (30 mi [48.3 km] east of the Project Area, along the Snake River) for fishing, camping, travel, and trade (Ray 1936; Suphan 1974). Shawley (1977:6) indicates that there was a Nez Perce trail that followed the southern banks of the Snake River, and that this trail led to Yakama, Klickitat, and Northwest Sahaptin areas. The trail was used by the Palouse, Cayuse, Walla Walla, and Umatilla. Early explorers, including the Lewis and Clark Expedition, observed encampments near Fish Hook Rapids (Plamondon 2004).

Some TCPs, features, or resource collection areas with specific, attributed cultural significance are likely still known to some Native American informants, and reasonably considered sacred and necessarily closely guarded. Given the tribes’ unique relationship with the surrounding landscape and their interest in preservation and protection of sacred and traditional places, if additional TCP review is necessary, it is strongly suggested that the tribes be consulted directly.

EXPECTED PROPERTIES Previous archaeological investigations correlate Native American sites with areas that have relatively flat terrain, well drained soils, close proximity to water, and sweeping vistas. Major rivers, such as the Columbia, provided corridors where animals and people moved across the landscape. It is along these rivers that ethnographers and archaeologists have documented large village sites. Residence and food procurement was tied to the seasons, with small creeks typically associated with seasonal hunting and plant gathering by relatively small, task‐oriented groups of people. Task campsites might manifest themselves as low to moderate densities of stone tools which are concentrated in one or more loci, hearths, and middens.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 14 Visits through this area may manifest themselves as isolated finds. Typically an item lost or discarded, an “isolate,” provides important information about the types of areas exploited by past populations but is not considered eligible for listing on the NRHP.

The DAHP’s predictive model places the Project Area in areas of “Moderate Risk” and “High Risk” for encountering cultural resources, and a “Survey [is] Highly Advised” (DAHP 2017).

FIELD METHODS AND RESULTS Survey work was completed in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation (48 FR 44716, September 29, 1983) and under the supervision of Principal Investigator, David Harder. Mr. Harder and Plateau archaeologist Adam Sackman completed the cultural resource survey on November 28, 2017. The limits of the Project Area were identified using a Keyhole Markup language Zipped (KMZ) file provided by the Benton Rural Electric Association. Weather conditions were overcast with temperatures in the low 50s.

The Project Area includes all of Benton County Assessor Property ID: 64,522, located north of Rupert Road, East Richland. The property is situated in an open field between two pivot‐irrigation fields (Figure 3). Regular patterned lines throughout the Project Area indicates the area had been previously utilized for farming (Figure 4). A primitive road trends north/south through the eastern portion of the Project Area. Prior to the field visit, a Call Before You Dig utility locate was placed under ticket #17459693. This locate identified underground utilities paralleling Rupert Road, at the southern edge of the Project Area.

The archaeologists completed a pedestrian survey over the entire Project Area upon arriving. Ground surface visibility was generally good (70%), with various grasses and Russian thistle providing minor limitations. Two pedestrian transects were done around the perimeter of the Project Area, followed by eight east/west transects covering the interior (Figure 5).

No Native American or historic cultural materials or features were observed during the pedestrian survey.

The archaeologist excavated three subsurface probes across the Project Area as 40‐cm holes (Table 3). The archaeologist removed sediment in arbitrary 10‐cm levels, screened spoils through ¼‐inch wire mesh, and recorded sediment characteristics on standardized forms with the color, composition, and degree of compaction noted. The archaeologist took representative photographs of the Project Area, and all subsurface probes and other relevant geospatial data were recorded using a hand‐held GPS unit.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 15 Figure 3. Overview of the Project Area. View to the west.

Figure 4. Patterned lines found throughout the Project Area. View to the north.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 16 Figure 5. The Project Area, subsurface probes, and pedestrian transects on an aerial photograph.

Plateau Archaeological Investigations ~ 2017 17 Table 3. Subsurface Probe Results. Probe #Easting (m) Northing (m) Depth (cm) Results 09 0315269 5130305 100 Negative

10 0315241 5130331 100 Negative 11 0315201 5130376 100 Negative NAD83, UTM Zone 11

The three subsurface probes were distributed as a single string of evenly dispersed probes, being placed from the southeast corner of the Project Area, to the northwest. All subsurface probes reached a depth of 1.0 m (39.4 in). The archaeologists described a single soil profile within all subsurface probes, consisting of a greyish brown (10YR5/2) fine sand, roughly correlating to that predicted by the NRCS.

No Native American or historic cultural materials or features were observed during excavations

RECOMMENDATIONS AND MANAGEMENT PLAN Plateau archaeologists conducted a pedestrian survey over the entire Project Area, and excavated three subsurface probes across the Project Area. Subsurface probes all reached a depth of 1.0 m (39.4 in). The pedestrian survey and subsurface investigations for the project resulted in no newly recorded archaeological resources. Plateau recommends that the proposed undertaking will result in No Historic Properties Affected, and no further archaeological investigations are recommended prior to, or during, execution of this project.

Should ground‐disturbing activities reveal any cultural materials (e.g., structural remains, Euroamerican artifacts, or Native American artifacts), activity will cease and the Washington State Historic Preservation Officer should be notified immediately. The results and recommendations in this document concern the specified area of potential effect. The proponent is advised that the results and recommendations reported herein do not apply to areas of potential effect altered or expanded post the cultural resource survey. A supplementary cultural resource review will be necessary should the area of potential effect be altered or changed, as per 36 CFR 800.4.

If human remains, suspected human remains, or any items suspected to be related to a human burial are encountered during any aspect of the project, it is imperative that operations cease immediately within 200 ft (61 m) of the find. The area around the discovery will be secured and the Benton County Sheriff and the State Historic Preservation Officer should be contacted at once. For further guidance, please refer to the Guidelines for the Inadvertent Discovery of Human Skeletal Remains on Non‐Federal and Non‐Tribal Lands in the State of Washington (DAHP 2016).

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ATTACHMENT 4 Sepa

CUP (USE-0002-2020)

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ATTACHMENT 5 Signed Sepa

CUP (USE-0002-2020)

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ATTACHMENT 6 Notice of Application

CUP (USE-0002-2020)

Page 15 of 17 3100 Belmont Blvd., Suite 104 * West Richland, WA 99353 * www.westrichland.org Community Development Department * (509) 967-5902

4 December 2020

TO: Benton Rural Electric Association, Property Owner Adjoining Property Owners Affected Agencies FROM: West Richland Community Development Department SUBJ: Conditional Use Permit File No.: USE 2020-02 (Benton REA) Notice of Application, Notice of Public Hearing, and Request for Comment

Note: West Richland Municipal Code requires the City to send notice of Conditional Use Permit requests to properties that are within 600 feet of the subject site. If you are receiving this notice, it is because you fall within this area. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSAL Benton Rural Electric Association has applied for a Conditional Use Permit to allow a fenced substation for distribution of electricity. The substation is proposed to be 255 feet by 250 feet at 8550 Ruppert Road, West Richland, WA 99353 (Parcel # 135073000001000). The site is zoned Residential Medium-Density (RM-6) in which major utility facilities are a conditional use. The substation will be surrounded by security fencing and visual screening.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The proposal is subject to environmental review. The West Richland Community Development Department is the lead agency for the proposal under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) and reviewed the proposed action for probable adverse environmental impacts and is likely to issue a mitigated determination of non- significance (DNS) for this proposal and opened the comment period for this proposal on 6 December 2020. The comment period for the DNS concludes at 5:00 p.m. on 21 December 2020. The environmental checklists and related file information are available to the public at the Community Development Department.

REQUEST FOR WRITTEN COMMENT You may provide written comments on the proposed Conditional Use Permit. Send written comments to the Community Development Department at 3100 Belmont Blvd., Suite 104, West Richland, WA 99353, or to [email protected]. Written comments must be received by 5:00 p.m., 21 December 2020 in order to be included in the staff report to the Planning Commission.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING In accordance with West Richland Municipal Code, Sections 17.66, 14.02 and 14.05, an open record public hearing to consider the Conditional Use Permit will be held before the West Richland Planning Commission on Thursday, 14 January 2020 at 6:00 p.m. Due to the global pandemic, the meeting will be held remotely. The online meeting link and call-in phone number will become available one week before the meeting on the City’s website at www.westrichland.org/planning-commission-agenda/, or by emailing [email protected]. All interested parties are invited to attend and participate in the hearing. At the hearing, comments may be made verbally or in writing. The decision of the Planning Commission is final unless appealed within 10 days of their decision to the City Council.

NOTICE OF DECISION The application and other information on file may be examined at the Community Development Department. If you wish to obtain notice of the final decision on the Conditional Use Permit, you will need to contact the Community Development Department with your name and address. The staff contact for this project is Elisha Ransom, Associate Planner, at (509) 967-7114 or [email protected].

Project Site:

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