The Fannin County Water Authority wishes to expand its water system into two residential communities located on mountainous land adjacent to the Toccoa River north of the county seat of Blue Ridge. The project requires approval of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which in turn requires project compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. To insure that no significant archeological sites would be adversely affected by the construction of the water lines, Southeastern Archeological Services conducted a Phase I archeological survey of the area of potential effect, which consists of 20,465 ft (6,238 m) of pipe line corridor that is from 3 to 6 m (10 to 20 ft) wide. The proposed water lines closely follow a set of residential roads. Archival research showed that no archeological sites or former structures are known to occur in the project area. Surface inspection and the excavation of 116 shovel tests failed to locate any archeological sites in the narrow (3-6 m) project corridor. One shovel test yielded an isolated artifact, a large quartz flake. It is our recommendation that no archeological resources eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places will be affected by the proposed undertaking and that, in regard to archeological resources, the project should be given clearance to proceed.
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