Phase II Archaeological Testing of Sites 9DO203 and 9DO204, Dalton Expansion Project

Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company, LLC (Transco) is seeking a Certificate of Public Convenience from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) pursuant to Section 7 (c) of the Natural Gas Act for the construction and operation of a 111.7-mile natural gas pipeline (the Project) in northwestern Georgia. An initial report of archaeological survey for the Project was submitted to the Georgia Historic Preservation Division (HPD Project# HP-140603-005) and filed with Transco's FERC application in March 2015 (FERC Docket No. CP15-117-000). The Project consists of a new lateral pipeline, the Dalton Lateral, beginning at Transco's CompressorStation 115 in Coweta County and ending near Dalton, Georgia. The line would extend through eight counties in northwest Georgia to Murray County. As detailed below, the Project will consist of 111.7 miles of new natural gas pipeline in three continuous segments (Dalton Lateral Segments 1, 2, and 3) and a new 2.0-mile natural gas lateral pipeline spur (the AGL Spur). A new compressor station and three new meter stations also will be constructed, and modifications and supplemental odorization equipment will be installed at existing facilities as part of the Project.

Between June 2014 and October 2015, Cardno conducted Phase I survey of the Project within Georgia. Cardno identified 127 archaeological sites and 62 isolated finds (IFs) within the project's area of potential effect. Of the 127 archaeological sites, only one is considered eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The NRHP-eligible site is the historic Mount Zion Church Cemetery (9BR1069) in Bartow County. The cemetery is currently outside of the Project workspace, and further ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey and probing will be conducted to ensure that the activities within the Project workspace will have no adverse effects on the cemetery. Thirty archaeological sites were considered to have an unknown NRHP eligibility status. Of these 30 sites with unknown eligibility, nine required further work to determine their NRHP eligibility since they could not be avoided by the Project.

This report presents the results of Phase II archaeological site testing at two of the sites located along the Mainline Route in Douglas County, 900203 and 900204. Cardno conducted the Phase II investigations between December 4, 2015, and January 26, 2016. The purpose of the archaeological investigations was to determine if sites 900203 and 900204 meet the minimum requirements for inclusion in the NRHP. Archaeological deposits would be eligible for inclusion in the NRHP under Criterion D if they have the potential to yield significant data relating to the prehistory or history of the region.