PHASE I CULTURAL RESOURCE SURVEY OF THE GEORGIA PORTION OF THE SABAL TRAIL PROJECT, STEWART, WEBSTER, TERRELL, LEE, DOUGHERTY, MITCHELL, COLQUITT, BROOKS, AND LOWNDES COUNTIES, GEORGIA

Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC (Sabal Trail), a joint venture between affiliates of Spectra Energy Partners, LP and NextEra Energy, Inc., is seeking a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) pursuant to Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act authorizing the construction and operation of the Sabal Trail Project (Project) (FERC Docket No. CP-15-17-000). 

The Project involves construction of ca. 474.4 miles of new 36-inch natural gas pipeline (the mainline route) from a Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company, LLC (Transco) pipeline in Tallapoosa County, Alabama to a new interconnection hub (the Central Florida Hub) in Osceola County, Florida. (All mileages given were current as of November 2014; mileages will be updated as necessary in addendum reports.) The Project will also include construction of associated compressor stations, meter and regulating (M&R) stations, and mainline valves (MLVs), and use of additional temporary work spaces (ATWSs), access roads and contractor yards. In addition, the Project will include construction of approximately 13.1 miles of new 36-inch diameter pipeline (the Hunters Creek Line) and 21.4 miles of new 24-inch pipeline (the Citrus County Line) in Florida. 

Approximately 161.4 miles (34.0%) of the 474.4-mile Sabal Trail mainline route are located in Georgia, where the route traverses Stewart, Webster, Terrell, Lee, Dougherty, Mitchell, Colquitt, Brooks, and Lowndes counties. Associated above-ground facilities in Georgia include the Albany Compressor Station as well as eight MLVs and a Launcher/Receiver site, all of which will be located along the route or within the Albany Compressor Station site. In addition, the Project will also involve use of approximately 100 access roads and four contractor yards in Georgia, as well as a number of ATWSs. 

This report documents the cultural resources surveys of the Georgia portion of the Project, including the mainline route as well as associated facilities. These surveys were conducted by TRC Environmental Corporation (TRC) on behalf of Sabal Trail from September 2013 through August 2014. Associated surveys conducted for the Alabama and Florida portions of the Project are being reported separately, as are the Phase II archaeological investigations. 

A small segment of the pipeline corridor is located on Federal lands (the headwaters of Walter F. George Reservoir) in Stewart County, Alabama, and was surveyed under Department of the Army Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) Permit No. DACW01-4-14-0158. No surveys were conducted on Georgia state lands, as no such lands are crossed by the Project. 

The Project Area of Potential Effects (APE) for archaeological resources in Georgia was defined as a 300- ft-wide (ca. 91.44-m-wide) environmental study corridor containing the mainline route, and also includes a 50-ft-wide (ca. 15.24-m-wide) corridor along proposed access roads as well as the footprints of compressor station and M&R station sites and of other support facilities. The archaeological survey reported here covers approximately 155.05 miles (249.5 km) or 96.7 percent of the 161.4-mile (ca. 259.7-km) pipeline route in Georgia, along with a compressor station site, an M&R site, eight MLVs, four contractor yards, 100 access roads, and various ATWSs that extend outside the 300-ft corridor. Approximately 6.35 miles (ca. 10.22 km) of pipeline corridor in Georgia was not surveyed as of September 2014, due to the lack of landowner permission for access. Surveys of those areas and of any other identified support facilities will be conducted as soon as landowner permission becomes available or those facilities are identified, and will be reported via addendum reports. 

The archaeological survey identified 160 archaeological resources within the Project APE for archaeological resources in Georgia; these include 21 previously identified resources and 139 newly identified resources. Following consultations with the HPD, the National Register eligibility of 35 of those resources is considered unknown. Additional investigations are planned or have been completed at 24 of those sites to further assess their National Register eligibility, and the results of that work will be provided as addendum reports. Although the National Register status of the remaining 11 sites remains unknown, those sites do not appear to contain substantial deposits within the Project APE, and it is TRC’s recommendation that the Project will have no adverse effect upon those resources. The remaining 125 resources are recommended ineligible for the National Register. 

The APE for above-ground historic resources (historic architectural properties) consists of the areas in which those resources could be directly or indirectly affected by construction-related activities. The APE for direct effects to above-ground resources includes the 300-ft-wide environmental study corridor and the proposed construction footprint of the above-ground facilities (i.e., compressor stations), while the larger APE for indirect effects includes areas within 400 ft of the new compressor or M&R stations, other locations where land use may change (through the removal of vegetation or modifications of surface topography, for example), and locations where the Project may lie within view of a historic resource. All 161.4 miles of the pipeline corridor and all presently identified Project support facilities in Georgia have been surveyed for above-ground historic resources. 

The survey identified 42 historic architectural resources within the Project APE in Georgia, including 32 buildings or groups of buildings, nine railroads, and one railroad trestle. Following consultations with the HPD, seven buildings and the 10 railroad-related resources are recommended eligible for the National Register, but it is TRC’s recommendation that they will not be adversely affected by the Project. The remaining 25 historic architectural resources in Georgia are recommended ineligible for the National Register.