A CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY FOR PHASE 3 OF THE PLANT VOGTLE TO NEWINGTON FIBER OPTIC CABLE REPLACEMENT, EFFINGHAM AND SCREVEN COUNTIES, GEORGIA

Between May 28 and October 30, 2019, TerraXplorations, Inc. (TerraX), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, conducted a Phase I cultural resources survey for Phase 3 of the proposed Plant Vogtle to Newington Fiber Optic Cable Replacement project in Effingham and Screven counties, Georgia. This portion of the proposed project would involve the replacement of approximately 16.48 miles (26.52 km) of existing overhead optical ground wire fiber optic cable with new underground fiber optic cable in duct (conduit). The cultural resources survey was conducted on behalf of Ecological Solutions, Inc., and the lead federal agency is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District. The survey was performed by Chris Rivers, Matt Lyons, Matt Lowe, Jeff Thompson, Tyler Reece, Richard Lahan, Richard Pettersen, Thomas Latham, Will Jackson, and Steven Holt under the supervision of Shaun E. West, Principal Investigator. The Area of Potential Effect (APE), representing survey areas for this project, corresponds to 17 discrete and/or contiguous locations defined by sections of the fiber optic ROW that are within 100 meters (m) of wetlands proposed for impact. The length of each survey area varies. The width of each survey area is 100 feet (ft) (30.48 m) except in one instance where a small section of a survey area extends to a maximum width of 200 ft (60.96 m). Total acreage for the combined survey areas is approximately 127.2 acres (51.47 hectares).

The investigation led to the identification of six previously recorded archaeological sites and one aboriginal isolated find. Of the six archaeological sites, five are recommended ineligible (9SN46, 9SN48, 9SN51, 9SN52, and 9SN57) for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and one is recommended potentially eligible (9SN50) for NRHP listing. Site 9SN50 was initially recorded in 1984 by Garrow & Associates (Garrow et al. 1984) and recommended potentially eligible based on the potential for good preservation. The portion of Site 9SN50 identified within the project ROW during the present study appears to hold little to no research value. Although some artifacts were found deeply buried suggesting the presence of intact deposits, the light nature of the collection, lack of temporally diagnostic artifacts, and lack of evidence for significant cultural deposits or features suggests that the portion of the site investigated within the fiber optic ROW holds no significant data potential and thus would not contribute to any potential eligibility. As such, TerraX believes that the proposed fiber optic project will have no adverse effect on the site. Because Site 9SN50 could not be fully investigated due to the constraints of the project area, TerraX recommends that the overall NRHP eligibility status be considered potentially eligible for NRHP inclusion under Criterion D based on Garrow’s 1984 assessment.

Based on the results of this Phase I study, it is TerraX’s opinion that no significant cultural resources will be adversely effected by the proposed fiber optic cable replacement project. As such, TerraX recommends that the project be allowed to proceed in regards to cultural resource concerns.

In conclusion, there is always the possibility of undetected cultural resources such as graves or other culturalfeatures not discovered through standard survey methods. In the unlikely event that burials or cultural features are revealed during the course of the proposed fiber optic cable replacement project, all work should be halted and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District office and the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office should be alerted of the discovery.