Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Lower Big Creek 20-inch Sanitary Serwer Force Main and Lower Big Creek Lift Station and Sanitary Sewer, Forsyth County, Georgia

During August and September 2010, Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) conducted a Phase I archaeological survey of the proposed corridor and associated acreage for the Lower Big Creek 20-inch Sanitary Sewer Force Main and Lower Big Creek Lift Station and Sanitary Sewer. The project area is located in Forsyth County, Georgia. The survey area includes approximately 35,000 linear feet of new sewer line and a 1.1-acre lift station. The maximum width of the sewer line corridor is 25 feet. The goal of the survey was to locate and evaluate archaeological sites within the Area of Potential Effect (APE) of the proposed undertaking so that potential effects to any resources identified could be evaluated in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The project was conducted under a contract with PBS&J. A review of the Georgia Archaeological Site Files (GASF) at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens showed that there are three previously identified archaeological sites, 9FO546, 9FO563, and 9FO564, within a 1-kilometer radius of the project area. None of these sites are located in the project's APE. Site 9FO546 is a non-diagnostic prehistoric lithic scatter. Sites 9FO563 and 9FO564 are non-diagnostic prehistoric lithic scatters and late nineteenth through early twentieth century historic artifact scatters. All three sites were recommended ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). There have been seven projects conducted within a 1-kilometer radius of the project corridor, two of which have portions that overlap the current APE. The section of the current project corridor along McFarland Road was surveyed prior to the expansion of the road from two to four lanes (Rhodes 1998). No archaeological resources were recorded during the course of that survey. The portion of the corridor where it crosses State Route (SR) 400 was examined during a survey for the Navigator ATMS expansion (Silliman 2007). No archaeological resources were identified. No new archaeological sites or isolated finds were found during the current study. EPEI recommends that the Lower Big Creek 20" Sanitary Sewer Force Main and Lower Big Creek Lift Station and Sanitary Sewer project be allowed to proceed as designed, and that it will have no effect on any archaeological resources eligible for the NRHP.