Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of the 132-acre Fort Valley State University Solar Tract

Between September 24 and 28, 2018, Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Brockington) conducted a Phase I cultural resources survey of the 132-acre Fort Valley State University (FVSU) Solar Tract in Peach County, Georgia. The study tract is located southeast of Fort Valley between Carver Drive and John Hope Road. Our survey was conducted for Ecological Solutions, Inc. (Ecological Solutions), on behalf of Georgia Power Company (GPC) ahead of the pro­posed FVSU Solar Project. The proposed project would involve ground disturbance related to the construction of a solar energy site, a substation, and a connecting tie line. Our survey goal was to identify and evaluate all cultural resources (i.e., archaeologi­cal sites and historic resources) that may be affected by the proposed development so that potential af­fects to any resources identified could be evaluated. Our survey was conducted in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (as amended through 2016) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's revised 36 CFR Part 800 Regulations. Brockington documented all cultural resources and historic prop­erties located during this survey according to cur­rent guidelines established by the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists (2014) and Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) Historic Preservation Division (HPD) (2017) as well as other pertinent state and federal guidelines. All cultural resources identified during this investigation were evaluated for eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) based on criteria set forth by 36 CFR Part 60.4. Supervising person­nel for this survey meet or exceed the Secretary of Interior's Professional Qualification Standards in accordance with 36 CFR Part 61. Our investigation consisted of four primary tasks: archival research, field investigation, labora­tory analysis and curation, and report production. Field investigation included both archaeological and architectural surveys. Archaeological survey consisted of pedestrian surface inspection and 30-meter-interval shovel testing within the tract. We excavated a total of 601 shovel tests with four initial shovel tests yielding positive results. Architectural survey consisted of an intensive windshield survey and inspection of all existing buildings and struc­tures within 0.25 mile. Table i provides summary information for all cultural resources documented during our investigation. We identified four new archaeological resources (9PE52, 9PE53, 9PE54, and 9PE55) within the FVSU Solar Tract. Three of these (9PE52, 9PE54, and 9PE55) are small, low-density artifact scatters; we recommend that these sites are ineligible for the NRHP. The eligibility of one site (9PE53), a surface scatter of pre-contact artifacts, is unknown pending further testing and evaluation since we did not fully delineate or assess this resource outside the current APE. However, the portion of Site 9PE53 within the FVSU Solar Tract is considered a non-contributing element to its eligibility due to modern disturbances. We also identified five previously documented historic resources (214193, 214290, 214291, 214292, and 214310) and six new historic resources (Re­source l, Resource 2, Resource 3, Resource 4, Re­source 5, and Resource 6) within 0.25 mile of the FVSU Solar Tract. All 11 of these resources are considered ineligible for the NRHP. Based on our Phase l cultural resources survey, most resources (Sites 9PE52, 9PE54, and 9PE55; 214193; 214290; 214291; 214292; 214310; and Re­sources 1-6) are ineligible for the NRHP. The eligi­bility of Site 9PE53 is unknown pending additional investigation outside the APE; however, Brocking­ton recommends the portion of the site within the APE to be a noncontributing element to its eligibil­ity. We find no cultural resources issues of concern and no further management is warranted for the survey parcel.