Mulberry River Outfall, Braselton Waste Water Reclamation Facility, Jackson County

Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. conducted a Phase I archeological survey of the proposed Mulberry River Outfall on February 27, 2008. I conducted the background research and fieldwork. This letter is the report of my survey, which confirmed that there are no archeological resources in the proposed area of potential effect.

The project is the construction of a pipeline from a flume at the northeast corner of a waste water settling pond to the Mulberry River, a distance of about 250 m (Figure 1). The depth of the pipeline has not been firmly established, but is assumed to be well more than a meter deep. The area of potential effect for archeological resources is a corridor 250 m long and 10 m wide. The pipeline will run parallel to a man-made ditch, and will be located about 12 m (40 ft) to the north of the ditch. The pipeline will run from the river bank across a low, level floodplain to the northeast corner of a settling pond (Figure 2).

All seven shovel tests were devoid of artifacts or any other indication of archeological deposits. Based on nearby surveys of the Mulberry River floodplain that did encounter sites (Gresham 2007b, 2008; Richardson and Duff 1996), we are confident that we excavated deep enough to encounter archeological material. Except for the high, narrow levee, the project area is composed of a flat, low-lying floodplain that is not conducive to prehistoric or historic period occupation. One would not expect sites to occur here.

In conclusion, our intensive Phase I archeological survey failed to detect any archeological resources in the proposed area of potential effect. We recommend clearance for the project to proceed.