On May 31 and June 1, 2018, Brockington and Associates, Inc. (Brockington) completed a Phase I archaeological survey for the proposed Pooles Creek Substation located in Hart County, Georgia (Figures 1 and 2). The substation tract (approximately 18-acres) is located between Lavonia and Bowersville just east of the Franklin/Hart County line east of Twin Branch Road and southeast of Pooles Creek. Proposed development includes the construction of a 115/46kV substation. The archaeological Area of Potential Effects (APE) for this investigation is defined as the 18-acre proposed substation property.
Our archaeological survey was carried out as part of the Programmatic Agreement between the Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC) and the Georgia State Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division (HPD). Though this a due diligence project, all activities described herein have been carried out in accordance with the stipulations of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (per 36 CFR Part 800, as amended through 2016) and by personnel qualified under 36 CFR Part 61. This project included a literature review and archaeological field investigations conducted to determine if the proposed project will impact archaeological resources that are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This letter report includes a description of our methods, the results of our background research and survey, and our recommendations for the proposed project.
Prior to fieldwork, we called Georgia811 and initiated a Locate Request to identify buried utilities within the APE. On May 30, 2018 we received notice that buried utility lines had been marked. We also called the Georgia System Operations Corporation (GSOC) Control Center when we arrived at the project tract and when we left the area. GSOC manages access to transmission liens and substation facilities across the state for safety, daily operation, and maintenance purposes. We conducted a daily safety meeting on site and followed all Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety requirements.
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