Oglethorpe Power Corporation Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Facility Site Evaluations Prefeasibility Report: Historical/archaeological Resources, Cedar Grove Alternative

This is a report of the methods and results of a cultural resources survey conducted by Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS), for Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC) detailing a reconnaissance level survey of the proposed Cedar Grove pumped storage hydroelectric facility. This survey is one of a number of environmental studies being conducted by OPC in preparation for licensing from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Three alternatives (Figure 1) are under consideration and each proposed facility consists of two reservoirs adjacent to each other, connected by a power tunnel. This report provides comparative data for engineers and planners to judge potential impacts on archeological sites at this alternative. A reconnaissance survey, such as this one, is designed to discover the range and variation of archeological sites and historic structures. It is not intended to find or evaluate every site; this will be done by an intensive survey and by test excavations, to be conducted when a preferred alternative is selected. Components of the pumped storage hydroelectric facility that were not surveyed include the power tunnel corridor, new road right-of-ways, construction staging areas, power house access, and transmission line right-of-ways. All of these components may impact cultural resources and future studies should consider them, in addition to the two proposed reservoirs. However, the concluding chapter includes a brief assessment of potential impacts to cultural resources from proposed transmission line and water pipeline corridors. The survey was conducted at the reconnaissance level, focusing on the areas within each floodpool. Approximately 70% of the land to be inundated was surveyed archeologically. While the precise location and design of the proposed facility have not been finalized, the floodpool levels used for this study are 646 m for the upper reservoir and 288 m for the lower. The total area within the reservoirs is 368 ha. Fieldwork was conducted between April and July of 1986 at all three alternatives, primarily by f field crews of four or six people working in two-person teams. Archeological sites were discovered in the field by visual inspection and, where there was no surface visibility, by shovel testing. When sites were discovered, field site forms containing all of the data necessary for the Georgia Archeological Survey Site Form were completed, including sketch maps and photographs.