Phase I Cultural Resources Survey and Assessment Scuffle Telecommunications Facility (proposed) Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia

As part of a Phase I NEPA/NHPA checklist, Environmental, Inc. performed a Phase I Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey and Assessment of a proposed telecommunications tower and associated facilities (e.g. compound, access road, etc.) for ForeSite Services, LLC to be located near Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia (Figure 1). The lead oversight agency for the proposed project is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). As such, it is subject to review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 as amended 2006 (16 USC 470) and it’s implementing regulations (36 CFR 800). Environmental, Inc. assists its clients and the FCC, in conjunction with the appropriate State and/or Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO/THPO) and the Georgia Division of Natural Resources (DNR), in meeting its obligations under Section 106 of the NHPA.

The aims and objectives of the NHPA/Section 106 portions of our client’s application are fourfold (as excerpted from the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement For Review Of Effects On Historic Properties For Certain Undertakings Approved By The Federal Communications Commission [FCC 04-222], Section VI.A): (1) define the area of potential effects (APE); (2) identify Historic Properties within the APE; (3) evaluate the historic significance of identified properties as appropriate; and (4) assess the effects of the Undertaking on Historic Properties. The term “Area of Potential Effects” is defined in the FCC’s Nationwide Programmatic Agreement (Section II.A.3) as the “geographic area or areas within which an Undertaking may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of Historic Properties, if any such properties exist.” The APE for direct effects is comprised of the access road easement and the tower compound or lease area, as it is “limited to the area of potential ground disturbance and any property, or any portion thereof, that will be physically altered or destroyed” as defined in Section VI.C.2. The APE for visual effects, as defined in Section VI.C.3, is “the geographic area in which the Undertaking has the potential to introduce visual elements that diminish or alter the setting, including the landscape, where the setting is a character-defining feature of a Historic Property that makes it eligible for listing on the National Register.”

The site can be viewed on the United States Geological Survey 7.5-minute Thomson East, Georgia dated 1981 (Figures 2 and 3). The site is located in the 133rd District of McDuffie County, Georgia at Latitude 33° 28’ 57.1” North and Longitude 82° 27’ 17.76” West. This site is referred to as the proposed Scuffle Telecommunications Facility and is to be located off of Rivers Circle in Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia 30824; the parcel containing the site is identified by the McDuffie County Tax Assessor’s office as Parcel Number 00510091 and is addressed as 1773 White Oak Road. The site consists of a proposed 100-foot by 100-foot lease area and slopes gently downward toward the west. Young hardwood trees are scattered throughout the site and range from one to three inches diameter at breast height (dbh). The proposed access road easement extends to the south-southwest from the end of Rivers Circle for approximately 150 feet to the site. Proposed activities consist of construction of a 190-foot (199 feet with appurtenances) monopole telecommunications tower and associated compound, enclosing the compound in a fence, placement of support equipment within the compound, grading an access road, and covering the compound and access road with gravel (Figures 4 through 8).

The proposed project’s area of direct effect is approximately 0.25 acres in size (tower compound 0.23 acres / access easement 0.10 acres). Based on tower height guidelines set forth by the FCC Nationwide Programmatic Agreement regarding historic properties, the radius of the APE for Visual Effect was set at one half of a mile (Figure 4).1 Prior to a field survey, background research was conducted to identify any archaeological sites and historic properties that may be located within both the direct and visual Area of Potential Effects. Field investigations for the project consisted of a pedestrian reconnaissance, employing both visual inspection and subsurface testing, of the tower site and its associated access road easement, as well as a casual windshield survey while traveling to and from the project site, so as to locate and identify any archaeological sites or remains, historic standing buildings or structures, and historic cemeteries within the APE and assess their significance based on guidelines set forth by the National Park Service (NPS) regarding eligibility criteria for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and provide such assessments, along with recommendations, to the appropriate SHPO/THPO offices for comment. The field survey was undertaken October 12 and 13, 2016 by Thomas Mark Shelby (Cultural Resources Specialist), who also serves as the Principal Investigator.