Phase I Cultural Resources Survey Two Stream/Wetland Impacts Study Radii Proposed South 75 Logistics Center Project Butts County, Georgia USACE No. SAS-2022-00384

During June 2022, R.S. Webb & Associates (RSWA) conducted a cultural resources literature review and

Phase I cultural resources field survey for two 100-meter (m) stream/wetland impacts study radii originating

in the South 75 Logistics Center development tract in Butts County, Georgia. These radii are collectively

defined as the “project area”. In total, the project area covers approximately 7.2 hectares (ha) (17.9 acres)

and constitutes the project Area of Potential Effects (APE). Of this area, approximately 6 ha (14.8 acres) lie

within the development tract and make up the APE for direct impacts. The remaining 1.3 ha (3.1 acres) lie

outside the development tract and were only inspected for historic resources that might be indirectly impacted by the project. RSWA conducted the survey at the request of Ridgeline Property Group, who provided RSWA with aerial photographs showing the study radii around locations where wetlands/water impacts are proposed within the development tract. Areas within these radii are subject to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Clean Water Act permitting. Due to this permitting, the development project must comply with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Under the NHPA, a cultural resources survey is conducted to determine if archeological and/or historical resources eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) will be affected by a proposed project. When found within the project APE, cultural resources are assessed for significance using the NRHP eligibility criteria set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.4. The current cultural resources survey was conducted following guidelines set by the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists (2019) and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior (Federal Register 1983).

Literature and Records Search: Georgia Historic Preservation Division (HPD) offices were closed to the public indefinitely on March 16, 2020; therefore, online databases and previously collected in-house data were reviewed. Georgia’s Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographic Information System (GNAHRGIS) online database and other online resources were queried for cultural resources located within or adjacent to the project APEs. Reviewed files/databases included the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF), Butts County historic structures survey maps/files (as available in-house and online) and GASF compliance/research reports. Historic maps, and early aerial photographs were examined at various online sources. Various Civil War-era documents and maps were consulted for the locations of Civil War-era military actions, associated sites, and/or features. Field Surveys: RSWA systematically surveyed lands within the project APE for direct impacts for archeological resources. This survey employed surface and subsurface techniques on a 30-meter grid. Exposed surfaces within the project APE for direct impacts were inspected for artifacts and surface features. Subsurface techniques included the excavation of 30-centimeter-diameter screened shovel tests to sterile subsoil. Shovel test profiles were inspected and soil data recorded. Shovel testing was performed at designated stations across the APE for direct impacts except where slope exceeded 15 percent or where wetlands/open water were encountered. The historic resources field survey was designed to identify possible historic buildings/features within the APEs for direct and indirect impacts. This survey included a pedestrian inspection of parent tract areas within the APE boundaries, and a visual scan from public access of portions of the APE beyond the development tract boundaries. The APE was photographed to document its nature/condition and the presence of any modern intrusions. The only potentially historic resource encountered during the survey is located in the APE for indirect impacts; it was photographed from public access and plotted on the project map.