Register 115/25 kV Substation, Bulloch County

This letter with attachments presents the results of a Phase I archeological survey that our firm conducted on a 4.7 acre tract of land in western Bulloch County on which the Georgia Transmission Corporation intends to construct the Register 115/25 kV substation (Map 1). The trapezoidal tract is located on the east side of Old Riggs Mill Road, and is bordered by the road on the west, property lines on the south and east and the northern edge of the existing Statesboro Register 46 kV Transmission Line on the north (Map 2). The tract is mostly wooded (Photograph 1), but is grassy/weedy underneath the transmission line (Photograph 2). The tract contains an existing, small substation.

The survey was undertaken in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. This act requires that federal agencies that fund or license projects, in this case the Rural Utilities Service, must take into account the effects of an undertaking on significant cultural resources. The first step in this process is to conduct an archeological survey of the project area (area of potential effect) to locate sites, and to the extent possible, evaluate their significance in terms of eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Georgia Transmission Corporation contracted with SAS to conduct the archeological survey of the substation tract and this letter is the report of our findings. The area of potential effect (APE) for this project was the entire 4.7 ac tract. The fieldwork was conducted by SAS field archeologist Ron Schoettmer on October 7, 2008 and I served as principal investigator for the project.